# Sick Platy; Please Help!



## MissPisces (Jun 8, 2011)

And yet another one of my fish comes down with a strange illness...

OK, last week I bought three platies for my new 10 gallon tank. Ammonia has been a bit high, but now nitrites are rising. I dosed with AmQuel yesterday and two days before. One of my fish, a red platy, is very sick and I can't find exactly what's wrong with her...

The first symptom that I noticed was that her gills seemed swollen. They don't look red, they're just swollen. In fact, they're actually lighter in color. She wasn't gasping for breath or anything, but her tankmate - a blue micky mouse platy that we have since taken back to the store - had been picking on her mercilessly. After we took her out of the tank, the red platy seemed fine. 

Then, last night, she didn't eat much and seemed a bit lethargic. 

This morning, she was gasping and her gills were more inflamed than ever. There was also a fuzzy whiteness showing up on the insides of them. This made me think it was fungus, and when I talked to someone who had kept platies before, they confirmed that it could be fungus. So I set up an isolation tank and treated with the proper dose of API Fungus Cure powder (the case was so dire that I decided to bite the bullet and use the malachite green, as much as I hate to use anything that toxic...). She's been in there for a few hours now, but I'm still wondering what the heck this could be.

Again, her symptoms are:

- swollen, pale gills (not red at all) with white fuzziness on insides (NOT the outside, though)
- lethargy
- staying near surface and sometimes bottom of tank
- loss of appetite
- yesterday I noticed that she passed a bowel movement that had two large lumps in it; not sure if it's relevant, but I wanted to mention it just in case

pH is 7.0, ammonia is a little high, nitrites are high but not yet in the danger zone, and nitrates are climbing a little. Again, I used half a dose of AmQuel on two different days. Changed the water two days ago. 

Please, if someone knows what this is, let me know... Is this a fungus? Or should I be treating with antibacterial? If it IS bacterial, then what should I do about dosing the hospital tank? Should I take her out, dump the water, and put new water in with the antibacterial, or do I have to wait? Please help!

*c/p*

EDIT: She's also listing to the side a little. 

Now that I think about it, this looks like the same thing that killed one of my sunburst wag platies. The betta that was in with her seems fine, though he does have a white spot on his eye. Is there something in my water? HELP!


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## MissPisces (Jun 8, 2011)

... And she's dead now... 

She went about five minutes after I posted this... Still, I'd like to know what it was because I want to know how to treat any other fish that come down with it... 

She's the third fish to die like this in the past month. Honestly, I'm wondering if I'm competent enough to even keep fish...


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Sorry to hear that, but those are symptoms of ammonia and nitrite poisoning. Is the tank cycled?


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## Pigeonfish (Jun 23, 2011)

Seems like the tank is cycling.

You should add more plants.

Did you feed them?

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Beaslbob always says to never feed a Platy in the first week of being in the tank, especially if you're cycling with it. If he fed the Platy, it would usually die on the fifth day.


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## MissPisces (Jun 8, 2011)

Can nitrite poisoning affect just one fish? The other two are just fine, but I have done two 10% water changes this week so maybe it didn't affect them so badly. Maybe she was just sensitive...

I'll cut back on feeding them. I fed them this morning, but I'll hold off on it tomorrow and see how they do. Thanks for the opinions, guys!

Oh, and I added two more wisteria yesterday. I guess it was just too late for her, though.


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## MissPisces (Jun 8, 2011)

Here's some basic info on the water quality, just in case it helps to clarify if it was nitrite or ammonia poisoning: 

- ammonia .25
- nitrite 2.5-3.0
- nitrate 10
- pH 7.0-6.8

Like I said, the other fish were not affected, but they do have red spots on their gills. I thought it was normal because all the platies in the store have them, but here's a pic just so I can show you what I mean:








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It was hard to tell on the red platy, but her gills were not red or brown. But if it was nitrite/ammonia poisoning, can I do anything for my other fish before they succumb to it?


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