# Sick platy, swollen anus?



## DigzTheBeatz

I have a sick platy and it's the only fish like this. She has either has a swollen anus or is having problems trying to pass something huge. She is/was pregnant. There is 1 new baby in the tank. I'm not sure what is going on with her or what to do. She doesn't seem to be eating and her poop isn't normal. She usually either hides in a back corner on the bottom or in the floating plant on top. Rarely just swims around. When she first started acting weird I thought she was getting ready to give birth. Her anus or whatever she is trying to pass seems to be getting bigger. It's round and pink. I attached some pics, hopefully successfully. She isn't slapping around. Just keeps to herself. Any suggestions?


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## DigzTheBeatz

If no one can see the pics I can email them to people.


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## emc7

You have to post pics on a 3rd party site like imageshack or photobucket and link to them. Is she skinny, sunken-bellied? Could be a parasite. Try garlic food.
Swimming funny, could be a digestive issue, try peas.
Most likely is a birthing issue. Stuck fry, dead fry, undeveloped fry (looks like eggs) or the sack that the fry grow in turning inside out and sticking out. Not much you can do for her. Isolate from other fish (they will pick on her) in clean water and watch and wait. Sometimes they recover, sometimes not.


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## DigzTheBeatz

Ok, here are some pics. I hope this works. 

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc497/DigzTheBeatz/Sick Platy/IMG_0698.jpg
http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc497/DigzTheBeatz/Sick Platy/IMG_0704.jpg
http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc497/DigzTheBeatz/Sick Platy/IMG_0706.jpg


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## DigzTheBeatz

She just took a turn for the worst. She is now on her side at the top of the tank. Keeps trying to right herself, but doesn't last. I now see a red/black line going the length of her belly. I feel horrible. Looks like maybe she is blocked. I'm guessing there is nothing I can do.


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## emc7

pics work, but she doesn't look good. Puffing up like that is never good.


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## DigzTheBeatz

She didn't make it. She was was so swollen and then couldn't stay straight. She either started laying on her side or sinking face first. Once she started twitching all over the tank I knew she was done for. She didn't make it. Sad.


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## Betta man

Too bad. That happened to one of my platys. she was old.


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## DigzTheBeatz

Sad. Not sure how old mine was, but she was pretty big. I had her for about 9 months. She was a baby factory. Once she gave birth she would be pregnant again, I swear.


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## DigzTheBeatz

I just lost another platy to the same thing, but she wasn't pregnant. At least not that I know of, but she has never had babies so I doubt it. Here are some pics. She wasn't as bloated as the other and nothing protruding from her anus. She has always been anti social so it was hard to know if she was sick. Here are some pics when I took her out. 

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc497/DigzTheBeatz/IMG_0718.jpg
http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc497/DigzTheBeatz/IMG_0716.jpg
http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc497/DigzTheBeatz/IMG_0720.jpg

Any thoughts? Do I need to dose my whole tank with something? All the other fish seem fine. No odd behavior. I have 2 more platies in there and haven't noticed anything wrong with them. I'm at a loss.


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## emc7

looks like 'bloat', but that is more of symptom than a diagnosis. Fish can swell up with from intestinal blockages from too much or wrong food (and stupid stuff like eating salt or plastic pants) or internal parasites. But they can also puff up from kidney failure from any cause like sudden changes in a salinity or bacterial infection. And fish that die from any cause will swell from decay if you don't find them right away. 

Go back and document the timeline and compare it to new additions to the tank.


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## DigzTheBeatz

Hmmmm... I've tested my water recently and all levels are good. I'll test again today and post my stats. Did a water change a few days ago. I never noticed any raised scales, no pine cone look on any of them. 

I've been trying not to over feed them and the food I feed is good quality food. I feed them a mix of Tetramin crisps, frozen blood worms (most of my fish love this), frozen baby brine shrimp, plecocaine, and flies (for my golden wonder killis.) The rest of my fish seem fine. Very active, swimming all around, healhy appetites, no loss of color. My other 2 platies seem more active now that the others are gone, which is weird.

The only thing I could think of that would upset them would be the addition of my gold wonder killis. They seem to run the tank, first at the food, eat most of the food. All my new additions are / were:
Giant blue wood shrimp (passed away, think the water was too hot)
Pleco (disappeared)
2 albino african dwarf frogs (one got attacked and passed today)
3 corydoras 
3 golden wonder killis

The only time I really started to notice them being weird was shortly after the killis arrived. When the first one started to show signs of a swollen anus I treated the tank with prazipro and metronidazole. No signs of improvement at all. 

I'll do a 25% water change and test my water.


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## emc7

I would cut back or cut out the frozen bloodworms. Fish that eat mainly veggies have a long, twisty gut and stuff can get stuck and when a high-protein food gets stuck, the bacteria eat it and make gas which make the blockage even worse and can kill the fish. You could try pre-thawing and chopping it up and feeding only small amounts followed by a green flake, pea, or other suspected laxative like daphnia. 

I thought platys were less likely to bloat than mollies, but it can happen to any fish that gorges on a lot of frozen worms at once. symptoms are not eating, not pooping, swimming funny, and swelling up.

Also thaw a bit and smell them, sometime frozen food get thawed and refrozen en route and are carrying a bigger bacteria load than you expect. 

If you are suspicious of any food, throw it out. Don't take a chance.


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## DigzTheBeatz

I have food with daphnia, but my fish never seemed to care for it in the past. I've also tried zucchini, but they didn't seem to care for that. I'll try again. Do I have to cook the peas or anything? Do frozen (but thawed) peas work?


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## emc7

You nuke the peas in a little water in the microwave, then take the outer shells off. I use frozen. Not long, just until the water is boiling.


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## DigzTheBeatz

I just did a 25% water change and tested my tank, parameters are:

Temp: 84
Ph: 7.6 (usually lower, this is a recent shift.) 
Ammonia: 0
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: 0
GH & KH 0-50ppm range

Damn, I forgot the peas when I was at the store. They did eat the daphnia that I fed them.


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## emc7

If it was bloat, usually the unaffected fish are fine. Just be careful with frozen worms (don't let one fish eat too much at one feeding).


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## DigzTheBeatz

Thanks for the heads up. I will work more vegetation into their diet and thaw the frozen food out before feeding.


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