Platies with eating disorders

Question
Hi Tina!

First off, here are the stats on my tank:

- tank size: 16 gallon freshwater
- carbon filter, aeration and all
- temperature: 78*F steady
- water changes: 30% weekly
- inhabitants: 3 platys (1 adult F + 2 babies), 3 swordtails (M, F, F), 1 molly
(M) and 1 cory.

I've had this setup for several months and everything has been fine. However,
recently I've been having (two different) strange problems with two of the
platys - the female adult and one of her babies. The mama's problem is more
serious. She was lively and happy for the first two months or so after I got
her, and then started getting shy and hiding from the other fish. She'd spend
most of the time behind the filter or in the plants. She gradually lost her
apetite and became more and more apathetic. Within a few days of noticing
this, I separated her in a hospital tank. Since she didn't have any external
problems, I figured it had to be a bacterial infection, so I ran her on a 5-day
Maracyn-Two medication period. Nothing changed. About a week later I did
another 5 days of Maracyn-Two. Still nothing. At some point she stopped
eating entirely, even though the food was literally hitting her on the head.
Despite the treatment (I also tried coppersafe, filter out, as I was getting
desperate), for the past month or so she has not eaten or moved from her
spot behind the filter of the hospital tank, up near the surface. She hangs
there motionless and wastes away. She has lost so much weight that you can
almost see her skeleton through the skin. I wonder how she's still alive! She
doesn't have anything on her body; nothing is peeling or falling apart; she
doesn't breathe heavily, rub, etc; her scales look fine. Everything looks fine,
except that she won't move or eat. All of the other fish are healthy and happy.
I'm confused, please help!

Now, problem #2, the baby. It's a 3/4 inch platy baby/adolescent who looks
like it has swallowed a pea whole! Everything started when I separated 7
newborns into a kindergarten tank. I had to leave them alone for a week with
a feeder, and when I came back there were 2 of the 7 left alive, and quite big.
One was definitely bigger though, and within a few days was the only one
remaining. His brother disappeared and no corpse was ever found. He looked
suspiciously round. That was two months ago. He is two and a half months
old now, and has been getting rounder and rounder! I found another baby
from his batch that had survived in the main tank, and use it for comparison.
This other baby looks like a normal fish, while fatty here looks like he's been
pumped with helium and about to explode! His, um, hole is about as big as
his eye and his poop is unusually thick in girth, yet strangely transparent and
off-white. The two female swordtails have both had babies over the past
month, and all babies keep disappearing. So, is there something wrong with
this guy or have we rightly named him Hannibal? He doesn't act sick at all. He
bullies the other baby, swims happily and eats like crazy. I'm confused.

Please let me know what you think!
Thanks,
Didi

Answer
Didi,                                                        You have me stumped on this one. This is a very rare and because it eans so much to you, because these are your babies. I have heard that young fish can eat too much like puppies, but he is good. I definately don't think it is dropsy. I am going to refer you to Chris Robbins. He is extremely knowledgeable and may be able to help you. Please resubmit your question to him. You can find him under expert of the month....Good Luck , I hope everything works out.... sometimes you get fish and don't know how old they are....., Tina..........Didi, I sent your letter to Chris... so you don't have to type all this again.... I hope he can help you .Tina