# fastbreathing and red gills



## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

well i thought i had a pregnant platy but i think now she is not i still however have her in a 1g tank alone cause she had a skin parasite it was like fungus but tiny patches all over...anyway i medicated her and the spots are almost gone, they are like 10% of the starting patches, but now she is breathing faster than usual and her gills have turned red. what could this be? what should i do?


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## austinroberts23 (Jan 25, 2012)

Sounds like ammonia to me


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

i have a conditioner for ammonia, should i use it


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## austinroberts23 (Jan 25, 2012)

Try a partial (maybe 50%) water change first. Could be all the medication and being in a 1g


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Yes, big water change and use a "detoxifies ammonia" conditioner. Hospital tanks can have water turn deadly fast. They are small, and often have no cycled filters or filter bacteria hurt by meds. Add more aeration if you can.


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

i currently have a filter with more aeration than needed even for twice the size of tank. the conditioner i use is jbl's denitrol, is it good?(google it) there isnt a wikipedia page bout it but you can see al jbl's products in their site


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## austinroberts23 (Jan 25, 2012)

I'd side with emc. Doing some water changes (25-50%) every couple days is needed in a hospital tank. Just use your normal water conditioner that will rid the new water or ammonia and all that good stuff


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If what I found is correct, that's a "bacteria in a bottle" product. Good for seeding a filter, but not for basic water conditioning as it likely contains ammonia to feed its bacteria. Switch to biotopol or Prime or whatever you can find that chemically, rather that biologically, "detoxifies ammonia" and preferable nitrite as well. Small tanks are prone to ammonia spike that are high enough to kill both fish and filter bacteria. Change water no less than every other day and more often if symptoms recur.


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

the lfs assistant said i use biotopol and an hour after i put denitrol... i think it says on the back that it neutralizes ammonia and nitrites both: ''8 complementary bacterial cultures for the breakdown of proteins (heterotropic bacteria), ammonium and nitrite. '' if im wrong, correct me, and what would you suggest for ammonia and nitrites?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

use the biotopol. Skip the Denitrol


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

i did the water change but before i did it, i had noticed that she was mostly laying on the gravel not moving her tail, it was like clumped, but her side fins were moving. She was near the glass, and it looked like she was squashed to it a little bit. i heard that prgnants ten to hide and behave like bottom dwellers, and the story about her pregnancy makes this more interesting...anyway, non of my other fish in the other tank have red gills and non of them are breathing fast, so i guess ammonia is good in the main tank, how about putting her back there?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

An "under the weather" fish will get picked on. Only put her back if she can hold her own. You can put her back, but watch the other fish, you might have to pull her again. You could put her in the main tank in a cage or fill the small tank will water from the main tank.


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

that is what i had done when i set up the tank, but now i see she much more active after the water change...she still has the red gills...if its ammonia, it's not something wrong with her, i mean she is not carrying the disease, it's something wrong with the water, right? anyway, what is an under the weather fish, and what could her lousy behavior be caused by?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If its just the water, putting her back should be fine. She was in that tank originally, right? So if its disease the other fish have already been exposed. Put her back, but watch.


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

thank you very very much, i get really bonded with my fish since i dont have many so she would be a huge loss


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