Platy with Red Spot

Question
QUESTION: Hi Nicole,

You have been so helpful in the past...I'm the girl with the two goldfish in the Mega BiOrb you helped with the ammonia problem.  I did a 100% water change, cleaned the media and plants and the water has been crystal clear with little to no ammonia problems for over a week solid, so I think it was mainly a cycling issue although I do plan to upgrade to a much larger tank within the next month because I know it's the right thing to do for Brutus and Helga, my calico orandas.  The friend that was bringing me a larger tank for them thought it was a 20 gallon, turns out it's only a 10 gallon so I decided to donate it to my daughter's school since they need a fish tank for the year and I volunteered to maintain it.  Anyway, now I have a new problem.  I cleaned the new rectangular, standard tank, filled it with fresh water, added water conditioner, aquarium salt as directed, and let it sit with the heater and filter running for 3 days.  I then added a cremesicle lyretail molly, and 2 yellow and black variated platies (I'm quite sure both platies are female from what I have read and can tell).  I have been monitoring the water everyday.  The temp stays at 78F, pH is 7.2, and the highest the ammonia gets is 0.25 before I do a 30% water change, which is usually every other day.  They have all had slight fin clamping and the platies hid in a cave for the first few days but they have always eaten aggressively (a pinch of tropical pellets a day) and now swim about normally.  If I come around the tank and they see me they clamp their fins up.  Other times I see them and they aren't clamped so I'm not sure if they are truly stressed or still adjusting to their surroundings even though it seems they are clamped more than not.  I have had them about a week now I guess.  The problem: One of the platies has started to swell in her abdomen.  At first I thought she might be pregnant from being in the tank at the pet store with male platies but then I noticed she has a definite red dot on her belly.  I've read gravid spots are black and this is definitely red.  The red also appears to fan down into her lower fin a bit but I see it nowhere else and I know it's new for her and I can definitely tell a size difference between her and the other.  The other platy does not have it.  She is still acting and eating normally but I don't want to make anymore mistakes with my aqua babies and want to know if she's possibly ill and if so what it could be.  It's hard to tell any other difference with the platies.  She is all black with only a yellow face, yellow belly and yellow fins.  Thanks!  April

ANSWER: Hi April,

I'm glad to hear things are smoothing out. I do remember you, Brutus and Helga! Great names, by the way.

When I saw the subject heading, I immediately thought - gill flukes. However, these red patches are on the gills and can overlap to the fins, but not on the belly, in my reading and experience. They give the gills a swollen appearance and eventually suffocate the fish, plus they are a nasty parasite to remove, requiring harsh medications to treat. "Fluke tabs" are the most common remedy used.

I looked online, but couldn't find a good picture. This is about the best I could do, take a look:
http://www.atlas.or.kr/donation/donation_files/Dscn0829.jpg
That's sort of what inflamed gills look like.

The clamped fins on the platys are probably because the tank is not exactly cycled yet. 0.25 ppm of ammonia is still toxic, and even if the ammonia is zero, you have to watch for nitrite, which is not as toxic as ammonia, but toxic nonetheless. Hopefully the tank will be all the way cycled soon! It depends on factors, such as the kind of filtration, or rather filter media, that is being used. If you have little to no biological media (ceramic rings or foam sponges) in there, then cycling will take longer. An undergravel filter can help get a tank cycled more rapidly as well, although they are hard to find these days as they are rather old school. You probably don't have an UG filter in there, but I suggest you look for the AquaClear filter media I'm sure I have told you about, since this re-usable and rinseable media fosters lots of beneficial bacteria, and keeps you from having to spend money on disposable media.

My gut feeling is that the platys are stressed by the water quality issues - and this will get better with time - and they are perhaps bloated from not being fed green foods. Regular flake is rather bad for them, having too high a protein content. You would do much better to feed them an algae based flake, such as Tetra's Spirulina flake or Wardley's equivalent. Algae wafers will work too, platys don't mind picking at their food from the bottom.

Another thing you can do is leave a slice of cucumber or zucchini for them to pick at. This would be very helpful right now, since you don't want to be feeding much since there is still some ammonia present in the water. The immature filter can't process the waste that the food is creating. So feeding vegetables or a light feeding of low protein, high green content flakes would be desirable.

This article gives you a feel for all of the basics:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/poeciliids.htm

10 gallon tanks are rather difficult, I have to say. The small volume of water is hard to keep stable - but I understand that size wise, they are really convenient...they can fit on a sturdy countertop (no particle board, though!) and changing 50% of the water is just a matter of filling a 5 gallon bucket, so I see their appeal. However, do know that they can "go bad" rather quickly, with fish getting sick or algae covering every surface, so feed very sparingly (once a day is plenty, and a tiny pinch at that) and make sure when you change water, you change a considerable amount. Strive to change 100% of the water weekly, maybe by doing 25% changes four times a week, or two 50% changes a week. I know this sounds like a lot, but just do your best. The only way I have ever found to keep a 10 gallon looking clean is to either add live plants, or change lots of water. Otherwise the wastes and the nutrients build up fast!

One way you can cheat a little, is to get Tetra's Easy Balance. While this is no substitute for water changes, it seems to keep all the levels (pH and alkalinity, especially) more steady than without the stuff, and it keeps the water clear and clean and smelling fresh. It's what I use in my overstocked 55 gallon African cichlid tank, and the water is extremely clear in spite of the 20 messy, digging cichlids!

So my advice is to stay on top of water changes until the ammonia and nitrites are 0 ppm, make sure you feed primarily green foods so the platys don't bloat, and make sure you have biological media in the filter...and maybe, as icing on the cake, give Easy Balance a try. I hope that helps!

Take care,
Nicole

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Nicole, I did another major water change, vaccumed the gravel and I did add some Easy Balance and a touch of Melafix as a preventive.  I also bought the Tetra Spirulina crisps for later (I put a cucumber slice in the tank for now but they don't seem interested but we'll try it).  I also bought something else, the Aqua Clear Bio Max filter supplement (couldn't find anything called filter media).  It's a white mesh bag with little white cylinders in it, I hope this is what you were talking about.  I have a TopFin 10 filter.  Do I drape this over the cartridge inside at the top or place it up against the cartridge vertically so that it's back to back?  The one platy's fins have come unclamped, she seems really happy, the other, with the red spot, doesn't seem worse, but doesn't seem better.  I took a couple of pictures.  They aren't great since she wouldn't let me get too close.  I don't think it's flukes, her gills do not appear red or inflamed.  She eats and behaves normally except for looking bloated and red spot on her belly.  On a side note the pet store has no more of these fish.  When I went up there to get the items you recommended today there were only two left in the tank (one looked to have some of the same symptoms) and that tank was full of these fish when I bought them a little over a week ago.  

http://www.ssb5.net/users/16614/sick_fish_1.jpg
http://www.ssb5.net/users/16614/sick_fish_2.jpg
http://www.ssb5.net/users/16614/sick_fish_3.jpg
http://www.ssb5.net/users/16614/sick_fish_4.jpg

Thanks!  April

Answer
Hi April,

Wow, great pictures! The affected area is very clear and the pictures were in sharp focus. Good job!

I would not worry about this. It looks like maybe this might be some residual ammonia burn, perhaps from shipping. With your continued good care, I believe the odds are in your favor that this will go away. The scales and eyes look bright and clear, so these are always healthy signs.

Sometimes fish take a while to respond to vegetables, others get it right away - you'll have to see. Lettuce or spinach sometimes seems more appealing. All you can do is try!

What I would recommend, if you can, is to remove the filter floss from the old cartridge, fold it up in the filter, and then put the new Biomax in there so that it can start cultivating beneficial bacteria. Whether it is laying flat or vertical makes little difference, really. After a week or so, you can throw away the old floss. The Biomax will not need to be replaced unless it becomes damaged, it just needs a rinse in either aquarium water, or dechlorinated tap water, something like twice a month. Some people rinse their media weekly, but I don't feel this is necessary. In any case, unlike carbon which becomes expended very fast, and afterwards just becomes something of a biological host for bacteria, the Biomax has a huge surface area and will be much more effective at cultivating the nitrifying bacteria. This should help bring your ammonia and nitrites down to zero, and some nitrates will probably always be present, but this is fine. 10 ppm is about ideal.

The Spirulina crisps are great, I like crisps because the fish seem to prefer them, and I see less waste than when I use flake. Flakes are convenient, so I do use them. I also like spirulina flake and livebearer flake, just to give them some variety. You can also try baby shrimp (gammarus) and bloodworms in freeze dried form as an occasional treat. Also, peas with the skin removed (either defroster frozen, or canned unsalted will work) is a welcome change.

Anyhow, it sounds like you are doing a fantastic job. What I saw of your aquascaping looks very nice! I find the fish show their colors better when there is a background against the back wall of the tank, you can get one from the pet store, or you can use dark paper (like black or dark blue construction paper) or dark green or blue wrapping paper as a DIY background. Some people also like to use bubble curtains for a shimmering effect, I like these too, but make sure you get a quiet air pump if you decide to! The Tetra Whisper pumps are nearly soundless, cheap, and powerful.

Well, best of luck, and have a happy new year!

Feel free to write back anytime,
Nicole