# Help with my platy.



## cossie (Dec 19, 2010)

i recently got my 5g hospital/guppy breeding tank. it has cycled for a week and a half and i have an ill platy. it is basically off balance it has got worse since i moved the male into my brothers to make way for the female guppy.

it has healed before but never completely. basically its crippled but what can i do to make her a bit better and give her a better quality of life?


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Not much you can do for injuries except keep the fish away from bullies, give them clean water and maybe some cover (suggest floating real or plastic plant) to make them feel safe.

Fish can surprise you with their resilience. I had a very chewed up mbuna sit under a rock for 2 weeks without eating and today she is up, swimming level and eating with half her tail grown back.

On the other hand, if the sick fish dies in hospital, it doesn't foul the main tank or spread disease further.


----------



## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

isolate her and treat her with antibacterial meds, fish with open wounds and cuts will be get sick


----------



## cossie (Dec 19, 2010)

e048 said:


> isolate her and treat her with antibacterial meds, fish with open wounds and cuts will be get sick


she hasnt got a wound lol shes just crippled.

look at my ill x-ray tetra too guys cus thats the worrying one as i dunno if it will spread.


----------



## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

still though, I had a cichlid once who was crippled for 3months, as soon as I ran out of meds he got fin rot and died


----------



## cossie (Dec 19, 2010)

right she is now in my main tank again but is WORSE she has her dorsal fin down and breathing heavy.

will she die and could it be because the hospital tanks not ready.

i done tests on the hospital tank and everything was were it was suppose to be at.


----------



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

well a week and a half of "cycling" does not give you a cycled tank unless you have a source of ammonia in it and an established bio filter.
I am still unsure of whether you had a fish in the tank and was using a bacterial additive for the required time or just threw some additive into the water without a fish.
heavy breathing and laying on the bottom with fin down is not a good sign. She may well die.
If there is any ammonia in your Q tank it is going to kill or damage your already sick fish even more.
Since you are dealing with only small fish you could easily use a smaller container for them and do 50% water changes daily on them. Stuff like fin rot responds well to tea tree oil ( melafix) or betta fix. 
BUT you do have to remember to adjust the medication(antibiotics etc) downward to accomodate the size of the tank. Over dose of meds will kill too. Don't forget increase aeration and keep the fish warm.
My sick individuals usually go into a small heated room( electric) that is easy to control the temperature and I put a bubbler into the container.
Because I was a nurse I am able to adjust the medications fairly easily. I do 505 water changes daily.


----------

