Should I feed my q'ed Platy?

One of my new Platys has gill flukes/mites/something of that sort. I gave him a salt bath yesterday and it seemed to help a lot. Today he seemed to be doing well but then he started spazzing out, swimming crazily and scratching his gill over and over. Poor guy looks pretty miserable.

Anyway, I finally finished getting the q tank disinfected and set up and have him in there. Unfortunately I currently do not have a clean spare filter. I've got the Platy in there with about 5 gals of water, salt, meds, and Prime. The meds are 48 hr doses, so it'll be 2 days before I can change the water. I figured he'd be fine in an unfiltered tank for 2 days with the Prime dechlor, but I'm trying to decide whether or not I should feed him. I was getting a bit worried about him because the two females always hog all the food--I don't think in the week or so I've had him he's gotten a single flake--he's stuck picking at algae and scraps. But, I don't want the water quality in the q tank to go downhill too fast if I do feed him. Any thoughts anyone?

 

Poor guy, I hope he makes it (seeing that the Q.tank isn't cycled etc.) I would feed him at least 1 flake twice a day if he is hungry, so he can keep his strength up.

Just a thought - you could remove some water each day & add the meds each day being careful that the dosage is correct in relation to the amount of water you take out, or if you have a air pump/stone to keep the water agitated, that would help.

I would also be careful using meds. that contain formalin as I think they don't mix with salt & can become toxic - could be wrong on this though.

 

The med I'm using doesn't contain formalin, but thanks for the warning.

I guess I could do partial water changes and re-dose the meds I removed, but it would be hard to get the dosage right since the meds come in tablets that each treat 10 gals.

 

yea, i'd feed him and do the water change before each scheduled dose. A turkey baster could be used to clean up any noticeable debris like poop or leftover food.

 

I did end up feeding him this morning, just a couple flakes. He didn't go for them, but they're gone now. I'm not sure whether we have a turkey baster or not, but I'll find some way to remove debris. Gosh for such a little guy he sure poos a lot.....

He seems to be doing better. Fins are no longer clamped and I haven't seen him flashing.

 

that sounds like good news.. including lots of poo.. for them, that's a good sign. The Dollar Tree is a good place to pick up a bunch of turkey basters for a buck a pop, we like to have plenty around so we can always grab a clean one when we need to.

 

Ooh the Dollar Tree is a good idea...I might actually be able to afford something there!!!!

 

He seemed to be doing much better today so I decided not to give him the optional second dose and move him back to the main tank. He seemed pretty unhappy all alone in the pretty much bare q tank, but he perked right up once he saw his girlfriends again.

 

yea, we hear you there.. it's been a money saver with the flat glass marbles too.

Ooh the Dollar Tree is a good idea...I might actually be able to afford something there!!!!