# Help! My fish has a pimple?



## bananas

:help: 

Ok I have a 10 gallon tank with 25 or so platys, a golden chinese algae eating catfish, and 2 apple snails (cramped condtions arent my fault, they started as way less than 25 but multiplied).

The unique thing about platys is that they bear their eggs inside of them during pregnancy and give live births after


Now two of my fish have been pregnant for a long time now (you can tell by the large stomach area on the females).


One of them has today developed a pimple-like thing (about the size of its eye) on the side of it, close to its head. And since then it's been in a top corner of the tank just sitting there, moving its fins. It still responds to other fish like the males that approach it, but moves as little as possible.


I really need some help, I have no idea what to do, and I admire this fish very much above the others.


Thank you in advance to anyone who can help out.


----------



## TheOldSalt

Pimple, eh?
Hmmm......
It could be lots of things. Can you describe it better? What color? How fast did it grow?


----------



## bananas

Well it appeared today in the afternoon, and it wasnt there this morning
It's red in color
And it's about the size of the fish's eye.


----------



## bananas

I'm thinking it could be a bacterial infection or maybe a bruise if she got attacked, but I need help.


----------



## bananas

Is there any awkward behavior by platys when they are pregnant that I should know of?


----------



## TheOldSalt

No, not really.
If it appeared that quickly, then it's probably a wound. If you have some melafix, try that.


----------



## bananas

thanks you're probably right

I don't have melafix, but it should be fine without it right?


----------



## amelia

Bacterial infections and funguses do not just clear up on their own. The problem will only get worse if it's not treated, so it would probably be in the best interest of your fish to move her out of the aquarium into a small tank with a filter or air stone, add the appropriate amount of aquarium salt to the water (Which should help the problem, as well) and buy a bottle of Melafix to medicate her with.

If you would rather not go though the trouble of trying to save her, freezing her is always another option. She'll go painlessly and you won't have to worry about buying another tank and medicating her for an odd wound. The loss of the babies inside her won't be that great, either. It seems like you've already got your hands full, and freezing the sick fish really might be the best way to go to 1) prevent any more overcrowding; 2) keep the fish from spreading some sort of infection to the rest of your fish; 3) keep the fish from dying a bad death. 

The choice is entirely up to you, but to answer your question--No. The fish probably would not be fine without treatment. 

I hope I've helped a little.. It really is sad when fish get sick and those kind of choices have to be made.. -big hug-


----------



## amelia

Also, I see on your signature that it says "25 Platys (MF Unknown)". You can easily sex platies by looking at their anal fin. If the fin is straight and tubular, the platy is a male. If the fin is rounded/triangular, the platy is a female. I know it's not easy to tell from finnage and colors.


----------



## bananas

Thanks a lot for all this.
Hmm, i'll count my MF tonight.


----------



## bananas

hmm

I was thinking about this

she seems really active and fine now, swimming around and pushing other fish
she ate a lot

I think it's just a small wound that will heal in a few days, not a bacterial infection or fungus or anything that would make her sick.

And the wound's significantly smaller too.

Shall I leave it to heal a day or two and see how it goes?


----------



## amelia

I would still move her and medicate her. Even though she seems better, bacteria in the water can still infect the wound and kill her in the long run.


----------



## bananas

ah why must keeping fish have to be so sad 

I don't have another tank to move her to and I can't bear to freeze her now if she seems fine. If she becomes sick I will freeze so that death wouldn't be painful, for now my only choice is to leave her be, the thing's almost gone now.


----------



## fish_doc

Make sure the water is kept clean and it could turn out ok. At the very least you might want to add some salt to the tank to help reduce the stress while he heals.

Salt serves as a general tonic and stress reducer for freshwater fish. During disease and stress, healthy gill function of fish is disturbed. This can lead to the loss of electrolytes through the gills (sometimes called osmotic shock), reducing the intake of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide. Freshwater Aquarium Salt replenishes natural electrolytes and promotes healthy gill function. Aquarium Salt also temporarily blocks the toxic effects of nitrite to freshwater fish until water quality improves.

Here is a article on adding salt to a freshwater tank
http://www.bestfish.com/fwsalt.html


----------



## bananas

thanks for all the help guys, the tank is being kept extra clean now, extra extra clean

Salt is out of th question since I have 2 apple snails. 

Thank you fish_doc I've been waiting for you to post


----------



## mlefev

I do have to say that's a lot of platys to care for in one tank. They breed like rabbits (actually worse than that). If you're keeping a handle on the water conditions, good for you  . Keep an eye on her, it sounds like it could get infected, and if it does buy some melafix (as was mentioned), it seems to cure a lot of problems. Good luck with her


----------



## fish_doc

If worse comes to worse. You could move the snails to a jar or other small container for a couple days while you try to help your other guy. Since there wont be algae you can add some lettuce or other type of greens for them to munch on.


----------



## bananas

yup the water's absolutly fine, it may sound crowded, but the fish are all very active and have a lot of room and stuff to swim around. And I have to admit I'm not the one cleaning the tank my mom does that LOL. But she changes 5 gallons of water every day and 1 filter cartridge every 3 days. Very costly, but it's worth it for these guys.

If I see the wounded fish acting strangley at all I'll move the snails and carry out the salt treatment, maybe try to get some melafix.

For now the fish is looking good.

thanks


----------



## mlefev

5 gallons a day and a cartridge every 3 days? That sounds excessive...anyone else have an opinion on this?


----------



## bananas

Well for their food we half-boil a slice of squash, freeze a bunch, and put one in every two days. And we crumble some tropical flakes for the babies.
These guys poop a LOT, I mean we're talking over 25 fish right now in a 10 gallon tank. When its left for three days the filter clogs up and starts circulating dirty water without cleaning, and the water is yellowish.

1) We need a bigger tank (but we have no room for one in our tiny tiny house)
2) We need to give away some fish but don't know where to give them away. (plus we kind of had to go and name them all so now we're attatched to them.)



plus they're still having babies. It started out as 10 platys from the shcool, then the school gave away 5 when they had babies, and it was 15 or so when it came to us, but now the total is at least over 50 counting the ones given away. 10-50 in about 6 months!


----------



## bananas

by the way

amelia i tried counting the males and females but I still couldn't identify them. I don't really get what you mean by round/triangular or straigt/tubular anal fin


could anyone who gets it take this pic and make a quick drawing of what it would look like by adding the anal fin? I think a pic is the best way to explain it.


----------



## amelia

here's a sloppy little picture plus some pictures i found on google of actual fish to help you out.


----------



## fish_doc

http://fish.orbust.net/livebearers.html

The link has some good photos.

The one with the green backround is a male. The one with the white is female. On the anal fin is on the underside of the fish closest to the tail.


----------



## bananas

that helps a lot thanks


----------



## thecatdidit

amelia said:


> If you would rather not go though the trouble of trying to save her, freezing her is always another option. She'll go painlessly and you won't have to worry about buying another tank and medicating her for an odd wound. The loss of the babies inside her won't be that great, either.



*Freezing a fish is inhumane! *They WILL NOT "go" painlessly or quickly. Do people die of hypothermia quickly? Heck no! Is it painless? Hardly! This was not a wise thing to say.

Be a man and do it right. Put the fish on a block quickly smash another block onto the fish as hard and fast as you can. You should be able to kill it in one blow. Then the fish only suffers a few seconds. Freezing another animal to death is painless for the one doing the killing!


----------



## bananas

hey hey it's all healed now thanks anyway!!!!


----------

