How Can I Help My Sick Swordtail?

My swordtail, who I’ve had for over two weeks now, has two fuzzy white patches. One is on his right side lower abdomen and the other is at the base of his dorsal fin.
I’m assuming he is a young fish because he did not have the beginning of his sword when I brought him home. I am am completely stumped as to how he lost a chunk of his tail. The only other fish in the tank are two male mollies (who actually seem to enjoy eachother and are quite mellow), one female platy, one male platy, one female swirdtail and four kulhI loaches. These fish are in a 29 gallon tank with a heater, filter, light and a mixture of sand and gravel substrate.The male platy has gotten fairly aggressive over the last week, but my swordtail was injured prior to that. I actually bought three other female platys in an effort to get him to stop harassing his lady.

My pour swordtail has taken to hiding behind the filter until I turn the light on. I’ve been treating the tank with paraguard for the past three days. I would have treated him sooner but my package was delayed. Also, I’ve been adding bio spira to their tank with every water change.

In the past few days he has perked up a bit in comparison to before treatment, but his fins are clamped, he still stays near the surface, and I can’t tell if his wounds are healing. Also, I haven’t seen him eat in a few day. The thing that is really getting me is the strange behavior he’s doing when any fish besides the other swordtail go near him.This became noticeable two days ago. If another fish approaches he begins to shake/convulse/vibrate and tries to get really close under them and nip or touch their bellies. Whatever he’s doing is very obvious and only occurs when another fish goes near him. Yesterday he was chasing the female swordtail away.

Initially I thought he had an internal parasite (which is why I chose paraguard) and a bacteria or fungus had set in and caused the white lesions. But now I’m not so sure.

Another reason I thought he may have an internal parasite is because his poo’s are a cloudy white/grey color. The only thing is, all the other fish have segments of poo like his but with other colors mixed in. Also, the poos are loooonnnnnggggggg but normal thickness, not stringy.

I’m honestly at a loss of what to do at the moment. Should I add him to the quarantine tank with the new female platys? The male platy picks on him whenever he gets the chance, so do you think the switch would make him less stressed?

All my other fish are happy with their dorsal fins up, bright colors, plump as ever, eating well, and always seem to be in the midst of some very important fish business. That being said, I was worried about the female swordtail prior to treating the tank because she had slowed down, was hiding with her fins partially clamped, and her colors seemed dull. After treatment she has bounced back and swims around the tank and hangs out with the other fish all day, dorsal fin up and bright colors back.
I just want my little man to get better. Any ideas on what I should do?
Literally just did a partial water change, so not sure if tests are even worth adding.

 

Welcome to Fishlore!

It may be a kind of neon tetra disease which can affect not just neon tetras. Unfortunately its uncurable and will spread the best thing to do is to euthanise it. Clamped fins and staying near the top of the tank also aren't good signs.

Heres a link that will help -

 

What are your tank parameters, how long has it beem set up, what other fish are in the tank?

Looks like possibly body fungus but it's hard to tell from the photos. It's really hard to know how to advise without this info.

 

Thank you so much for answeragain!
Nitrates: 40 ppm
Nitrites: 2 ppm
Ph: 7.5
Oh: 80 ppm
Gh: 30 ppm

Literally just changed water though!

It's been set up for about a month.

Other fish: one female swordtail, two platy's, two mollies, and four kuhlI loaches.

Welcome to Fishlore!

It may be a kind of neon tetra disease which can affect not just neon tetras. Unfortunately its uncurable and will spread the best thing to do is to euthanise it. Clamped fins and staying near the top of the tank also aren't good signs.

Heres a link that will help -

Welcome to Fishlore!

It may be a kind of neon tetra disease which can affect not just neon tetras. Unfortunately its uncurable and will spread the best thing to do is to euthanise it. Clamped fins and staying near the top of the tank also aren't good signs.

Heres a link that will help -

Thank you so much for answering!
Do you have anymore information on the disease? In order to take such a drastic step I want to be as sure as possible. The internet hasn't really been helpful in finding a case of neon tetra disease in a swordtail. Thankyou again! This is helping so much!

 

Is my tank big enough for 4 adults to choose pairs? It's not a huge floorplan. Though it still may be less stocked than his.

Thank you so much for answering!
Do you have anymore information on the disease? In order to take such a drastic step I want to be as sure as possible. The internet hasn't really been helpful in finding a case of neon tetra disease in a swordtail. Thankyou again! This is helping so much!

Completely understand but I'd be careful about making sure the disease doesn't spread, I'm not 100% sure that it is neon tetra disease but it looks like it

 

I'd unfortunately have to agree with the others. Euthanasia is most probably the kindest thing to do as I imagine it's in some pain. What I would do immediately is separate it from the others so at least it is out of harm's way to and from others.

 

What is your ammonia reading? It looks like your tank is still cycling.

You need to get your nitrite down. It may mean doing daily water changes. What chemicals are you using when you change the water? I would suggest prime. Are you using a bottled bacteria to help cycle the tank?

Body fungus is an opportunistic disease and a fish whom is stressed is more susceptible to it. As this swordtail was injured and the tank parameters are off it's likely why it got sick.

I would try apI fungus dips for the swordtail. The instructions are the package. I would not treat the entire tank as your cycle is still trying to develop and it may kill any progress you have made.

Keep us posted.

 

What is your ammonia reading? It looks like your tank is still cycling.

You need to get your nitrite down. It may mean doing daily water changes. What chemicals are you using when you change the water? I would suggest prime. Are you using a bottled bacteria to help cycle the tank?

Body fungus is an opportunistic disease and a fish whom is stressed is more susceptible to it. As this swordtail was injured and the tank parameters are off it's likely why it got sick.

I would try apI fungus dips for the swordtail. The instructions are the package. I would not treat the entire tank as your cycle is still trying to develop and it may kill any progress you have made.

Keep us posted.

Thank you for answering! I’m not ready to give up on him just yet. Last night I put him in a floating isolation tank so he can’t get beat up by the others.

I’m going to try your suggestion. Last night one of my mollies was shimmying and having what looked like a bit of neurological problems. I read up on it and discovered that mollies enjoy higher ph. I added some salt and that cleared up the problem almost instantly! My other fish seem to be doing well with it, too!

As for the little man, he seems happy in the isolation tank. He has a piece of plant in there to hide under and he’s for the most part very calm. I can’t tell if he’s getting better. Sometimes he sits on the bottom, dorsal fin clamped and swaying with the water and other times he’s perky, dorsal fin up higher, and swimming around. Although he seems stronger today he has more white on his dorsal and tail fin.

I’m going to do what you suggest and I’ll keep you up to date. Thanks so much for all your help! I am new to this!

 

Okay guys, so I’m thinking it’s culmanaris, especially since he was injured prior to getting sick.

I’m going to give him and a few other fish salt baths today. After researching the disease it seems like people ereally like the outcome of treatment of daily salt baths for a week or so.