Platy Died

Question
Hello again Karen.  I asked you about a female platy that was looking a little pale and was acting reclusive a few weeks ago.  It turns out, from what I could research on diseases, that she had fin rot, a bacterial disease.  Her fins started decaying and in the end, it looked like the top part of her mouth as well.  When I looked up remedies, all I could find was to use a broad spectrum antibacterial remedy.  So, from what I've read on here, I tried using a combination of Pimafix and Melafix.  The wonder potion combo.  I did a 35% water change and dosed daily for 9 days.  Unfortunately, it didn't work.  I was wondering what I should have used?  I feel terrible.  I had her the longest of all my fish and she was always lively and playful.  I hated to lose her.  I just want to know if there is anyway I can prevent this kind of thing in the future and if it does happen again, how to treat it.  I do everything I know how to keep my fish healthy and this just sucks.  I keep up with water changes every 4-5 days, I use aquarium salt, I feed them a healthy diet of brine shrimp, flakes, green beans, and once a week anti-parasite food just to be safe.  I keep the water temperature at 78 degrees and test the water once a week for ammonia, nitrites, PH, and nitrates.  I have a background on the tank and there are plenty of plants and decorations for hiding to keep stress down.  What more can I do?  Any advice or recommendations you have will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks again for your time and experience.  Best wishes.

Answer
Dear Mark,
I'm very sorry to hear about your platy. That really is unfortunate. The finrot would certainly explain her mysterious reclusive behavior. What may have happened with the finrot is she may have been too far into the disease for Melafix and Pimafix to work. Sometimes with bacterial/fungal infections you have to revert to a much stronger medication. A stronger antibacterial in your case. I know you read all the good things about melafix and pimafix but they can't always do their job, especially with stubborn cases. This probably means little to you now but a better medication might have been Mardel brand 'Maracyn' or use the Maracyn and the Maracyn II medication. Using these two meds is generally safe and they cover both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.

During any treatment you'll want to do massive daily water changes. Even if the medication product doesn't say to. Water changes save fish and relieve stress on them. Finrot is a result of a stressed fish in a dirty aquarium. I'm not blaming you at all. But the biggest cause of almost all fish diseases is a dirty aquarium, where bad bacteria thrive. Maybe you need to start doing water changes twice a week, which is much better than once. You feed a very good diet, but I wouldn't recommend giving the anti-parasite food every week. I understand your good intentions but it has been said that constantly giving an anti-parasite food can lead up to any parasites eventually building resistance to the medication. It would be much better to substitute something else other than the antiparasite food every week. Maybe something like an Algae wafer, peas, or some other kind of frozen/freeze dried food?

You are doing a very well-above average job at taking care of your fish. But these things happen, sometimes you just get a sickly fish, and sometimes it is your favorite one unfortunately. Sometimes fish are just weak in general or don't have a healthy immune system to start. This may not be the cause the loss of your platy but it's just a guess. Then again it may be something you werent aware of, like maybe the gravel was very dirty or maybe excess food got down in there and caused a breeding ground for fin-rot bacteria we never know.

The best advice I can give about preventing finrot and almost all diseases is pay attention to two simple things-
    Food and water
I know this sounds too simple. But giving a high-quality diet with plenty of variety (you are doing well so far) and keeping up with large frequent water changes (the more the better) fish will thrive with rarely any disease occurance. There's nothing better you can do for your fish than frequent large, partial water changes. And make sure to rinse the filter media too. (In a bucket of tank water)

I know this seems really hard and you felt like you did everything. But even the best most experienced fishkeepers get sick fish, it's just how things go sometimes. I think if you made sure to increase your water changes and continue feeding a varied and healthy diet, I doubt finrot will ever re-occur.

I really hope this helps!!
Karen~