Lost a Platy today

[abnmonty]

Lost a Platy today. After changing the water and adding the required chemicals to the water I sat down on the couch for a minute and noticed one of the large Platy laying on it's side on the bottom of the tank dead.

I have a feeling that the fish died of a heart attack, what with me vacuuming the old water out and then suddently having a rush of water coming into the tank might have been enough to produce a mini heart attack, ( I was using the Python Drain & Fill kit).

I have used this method of draining and filling my aquariums countless times before and never had any problems and now I have lost a Platy. Poor thing never got to go into his new 30 gallon tank that I have been preparing for him/her.

...I just wanted you all to know that I feel the loss of my little fish....:(

[silverdraggin]

I'm sorry to hear that. I lost 4 Danios while setting up my tank just a few days ago. I had owned them about 30 minutes but I was still very upset so I know where your coming from.

Hugs from Texas

[Masher]

Sorry to hear about your fish. I hate it when you spend so much time to take care of these little guys and then for some reason they die.

~Kevin~

[Lucy]

I don't think it's very likely that the water change did him in. Do you check your levels regularly?

Sorry about the loss, I just went through a rash of losses myself. It's the worst thing when you don't know what's doing it.

[abnmonty]

Thank you all for the kind words. I know that this happens, but you never want it to happen to you.

All levels are normal and I do a quarter tank water change weekly. Since using the Python system requires very little effort, I almost look forward to the weekly task so everything is okay in this area.

I returned from a two night camping trip and just finished counting the Platy in the tank and noticed a tiny Platy among the tank plants so I am back to the same number that I had before I left...isn't nature amazing!:D

[MissAquaria]

I was just wondering after your post about losing fish, and then losing your platy, how everything ended up? I wish I had known about this forum earlier, I would liked to have helped you out in some way. I have only ever treated ICH with salt water, as with any other external parasite or bacterior. What you need to watch is your plec with this method and some species of sharks because they are not as tolerant to salt. If you encounter this problem later on, I would suggest removing the affected fish to a hospital tank and go with either the raising temp method or 1 tsp of salt per gallon over a 10 day period before using any harsh meds. As mentioned before by another member, these meds will not only kill bad bacterior but the good ones in your substrate and filter media as well. This will cause ammonia peaking and the like. Ammo lock will turn your free ammonia into amonium, and when you take the readings from your testing you will see that the levels may be exactly the same even after using ammo-lock, what your test kit won't tell you is the whether you have a level of free ammonia (very toxic to fish) or ammonium (virtually non toxic), so then you add more, ammo-lock and then you freak out and change more water, and this in turn upsets everything even more. I would recommend that if you find that you have high levels of ammonia again, to go through a process of ellimination: Am I over feeding? left over food will rot, causing ammonia, as will fish waste from their feces and through their gills. If this is the case, stop feeding for two days, vaccumm your gravel thoroughly, like under EVERYTHING and replace a quater of the water each day for a week, add stesszyme and stresscoat. Have I treated wish harsh meds? If this is the case, you may need to purchase a liquid bacterior or powder bacterior to help sustain the good bacterior population in your filter media and substrate. If the level of ammo is extremely high, you may need to do a measured water change and redose with required meds as per the water you took out. Don't wash out your filter media in tap water, the chlorine in your tap water will kill the bacterior, and in most cases will cause your tank to go through a mini cycle again, add a liquid bacterior and watch levels for up to 6 weeks. Remove dead plants and uneaten food. I hope some of this will help. I spose my moto is to treat with the least amount first. Ie: clean water before salt, salt before meds and so on. But do keep in mind, that your fish are everything your water is.

[CrazieEddie]

Welcome to the forum! :)

You have given alot of helpful information, of which alot can be found here by performing a search on several topics, such as "high ammonia". Though, I would like to comment on a few things.

What you need to watch is your plec with this method and some species of sharks because they are not as tolerant.
IMO, most problems with treating with salt occurs from application. When applying salt, alot of people just dump the salt in the tank and let it dissolve. Unfortunately, this leaves a high concentration on the bottom. Bottom dwellers such as pl*cos and catfish suffer the most, since they have no where to go. When applying salt, we always suggest to dissolve the salt in water first, maybe after about an hour or so. Then slowly pour the salt/water solution in the tank over a long period of time, making sure it is poured in different areas of the tank. I have treated my tanks with high temp, water changes, and aquarium salt for an ich problem. At the time, I had 2 pl*cos, cardinal tetras, and a dwarf gourami in the tank. All are sensitive to salt, but none of them got distressed for the salt solution and they all survived the ich infestation. The dissolving of the salt solution is highly recommended throughout several reputable forums. But we always caution when using aquarium salt, and to carefully watch your fish for any signs of distress due to the salt.

If this is the case, you may need to purchase a liquid bacterior or powder bacterior to help sustain the good bacterior population in your filter media and substrate.
I do not like to recommend the bacteria cultures. There are alot of information on the net regarding them. It appears that these cultures are different from the natural bacteria that are found in regular tanks. The only way to keep these cultures growing is to keep adding more. This can be rather expensive. Besides, why spend for bacteria when you can let nature take it's course?

Ammo lock will turn your free ammonia intro amonium, and when you take more readings from your testing you will see that the levels may be exactly the same, what your test kit won't tell you is the whether you have a level of free ammonia (very toxic to fish) or ammonium (virtually non toxic), so then you add more, ammo-lock and then you freak out and change more water, and this in turn upsets everything even more.
I normally do not like to recommend Amo-Loc, becuase this gives the person a sense of security for a quick fix. High traces of ammonia can easily be resolved by a few water changes. One of the moderators brought it up to my attention that you don't want to make your tank into a chemical soup.

[MissAquaria]

Hi all, I'd like to say thanks to ed for the feedback, I never knew that the salt with plecs thing could be overcome so easily, but it makes sense really. I always disslove salt and add very slowly over a period of a couple days. As with the bacterior, I mention the bottled formula because after treating my tank with octazin for HITH, I was left with a tank on a mini cycle, I was either going to let it peak with many water changes, or add what I could to shorten the process until the natural bacterior took over, I opted for the later. And I aggree with you on the ammo-loc thing. I have never used it, I made mention because if you don't understand the nature of ammonia ie: free ammonia and ammonium it's easy to get carried away with adding more "things" to try and counteract what ever is going on. Once again thank you for your feedback, it's nice to learn more about the things you love :)

[CrazieEddie]

Hey, no problem. That's what this site is for...to share everyone's knowledge and experiences.

[abnmonty]

The Platy that I lost after the water change, I really believe it was due to a mini heart attack. The sad thing is that she was the large female platy that was producing all of the young.

My hope is that there are young female Platy still too young to reproduce in the group...time will tell. ;)

The rest of the platy the old as well as the very young are doing fine. I successfully transferred all of the Platy and Neon Tetra from the 10 gallon tank into the 30 gallon tank that I had been preparing for them and all look healthy so far.

Nevertheless, my endless thanks to all of you for your helpful information.

[CrazieEddie]

The Platy that I lost after the water change, I really believe it was due to a mini heart attack. The sad thing is that she was the large female platy that was producing all of the young.
If the platy had recently given birth, it may be still weak from it. If she was never seperated for a few days after giving birth, the males could have weaken her even more, byt continously chasing her. The stress of the water change probably did not help things, which could have caused her demised.

If you have no plans for the 10 gallon tank, maybe look into setting that up as a QT tank for any sick or new fish you bring home. You can also use it to keep any females that have given birth.

Nevertheless, my endless thanks to all of you for your helpful information.
Glad we (moderators and members) were able to help and give some good advice. :)

[abnmonty]

My intentions exactly, I have already set up the 10 gallon tank for any future fish. So all's well that end's well here in the Tar Heel state.:GRG