# Blood bubble and fast death



## platy+catfish (Jun 4, 2015)

My yellow tuxedo male platy died this morning. It was a fairly sudden death - on Sunday he started hiding behind the filter and spitting out food (he had been the dominant fish and very healthy prior to this). I used melamix to medicate the tank. Then last night (Wednesday), he was hiding in the castle (decoration - I also have plants in there). This morning he was still in there but lying on his side, not dead. In the space of half an hour, he spasmed and then died - he looked like he had blood in his eyes, blood ringing his anus and when I netted him at the end, he had a tiny raised bubble of blood near his eye (my father wondered if the fish had had some sort of stroke or heart attack when I discussed it over the phone with him).

The tank is a 20 litre tank, it's been running for 9 months - the ammonium and nitrite levels were 0, nitrate was 10ppm, and pH was 7. The temperature was 26 degrees celcius. It is stocked with 1 other adult platy - a female mickey mouse and their offspring including 2 four month old platys, and 6 babies born about 2 weeks ago. I also have a young bristlenose pleco in there - I know he needs a bigger tank in time, he's only about 5cm long at the moment and so he'll be getting a much larger one to live in within the next few months, I was also planning on giving the babies to a colleague with a large tropical tank to reduce any capacity concerns. The yellow tuxedo and the catfish, I've had for about 8 months now. The mickey mouse I've had for 4 months - she came with another girl who died about 3 weeks ago - was really thin fish the whole time I had her and got very very thin in the final week so I wondered if she was actually quite old when I got her from the store. She was quite long too compared to the others.

The other fish seem fine - though the female mickey mouse seemed a little agitated when I hooked out the yellow male - but because I don't know why my yellow tuxedo died, I'm a bit concerned about them. Any ideas? (I've now got myself in a panic that it's fish TB and my poor babies are all doomed)


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Fish getting really thin makes me think parasite. I'd try some metro-soaked food (you get the powder and add it to frozen brine shrimp and refreeze. 

Clean water is good medicine, an ammonia spike can kill fish and be gone before you can test. 

Unless you have some softwater fish in with them, get the pH up to 7.5 and get it a little harder by adding a little bit of baking soda, about a tsp for 20 gallons. Soft, acid water is bad news for livebearers.


----------



## platy+catfish (Jun 4, 2015)

Thanks emc7 - I'll try that. I changed 20% of the tank last night (trying to do it slowly so as to not shock them too badly.

The male that died wasn't thin at all though, only the one that died weeks ago - he was healthy size and brightly coloured when he died - what do you think that one may have ben?


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Probably not TB. Sudden embolisms/aneurysms are usually caused by parasite blockage.


----------

