# Platy with suddenly white mouth area.



## julem35 (Dec 22, 2010)

I came home from school to check on my pregnant platy, who is expecting o drop any day. I noticed she was hiding in the plants apart from the other fish and saw that her normally pure orage torso was now tainted with a stark white month area. She is swimming slowly, and am very worried.

I have just done a water test, and my NO3 (Nitrates) are at around 160 (i have the strip kit kind). Upon browsing the internet, I found similar cases, but no answers to help. This has never happened before, what do you suggest? 

I am going to change the filter pad and vacuum the tank, anything else that may be good? Thank you so much!:fish:


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I would do a good water change and rinse the filter pad thoroughly but not throw it out, and see what the levels come back at after the water change How often have you been doing water changes? Has something died in that tank? Do you have nitrates in your tap water?
If you do change the filter pad totally do not vaccum the gravel too thoroughly at this time or you might kill off your cycled tank bacteria.
Clean 1/3 of the gravel today and change 30 % of the water today and do it again in a couple of days.
What are your ammonia and nitrite readings??


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

White month area? Or do you mean a white moth area? Does it kind of look like cotton?


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I think he/she means mouth not moth


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Look at pics. it could be injury from fighting, but cottonmouth also starts as white on the mouth. I would do repeated large water changes with increasing salt levels


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## julem35 (Dec 22, 2010)

I changed out the water, and I use stilled water when I do water changes. The filter pad was very gross, so we changed it. We did a gravel vacuum, but not an intense one. Nothing has died recently, and yes, I meant mouth... oops.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Distilled water? NO, don't do it. Distilling boils water and collects the steam and throws away all the minerals. The only time to use it is when you are diluting hard water for softwater fish like rams or are adding back in the minerals so you know exactly whats in it, like making saltwater. 

Livebearers like hard water. Hard water fish in soft water are not healthy. IME live-bearers soon contract disease and die. Columnaris aka black molly disease aka cottonmouth is one of the ones they catch.


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