Platy Plague?

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


doomydarkdoom
 
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:00 am

Platy Plague?

by doomydarkdoom

I got up this morning to find my 33-gallon tropical community tank had all died but one molly, and he isn't looking so great. It's pretty much exactly what happened to my 20-gallon a few months ago after I converted THAT into a community tank. It had been well-cycled for YEARS and the inhabitants in there were just very, very old and dying naturally, so the transition was seamless, I thought... and then the entire tank died off in one night after a few weeks of being a seemingly-healthy community tank. Except, ironically, one molly (who later died), and my buttmunch blue gourami who seems to survive EVERYthing.

So the same thing has happened to a well-established tank and a new tank.

In both cases, the fish were covered in white fungus and looked extremely decomposed, but I had seen no evidence of anything the day before. Since this 33 is only about a month old, I always looked at the fish when I fed them to see if they were doing ok, and they all seemed healthy. I had one die off at the very beginning, but I removed him quickly, and I don't overfeed. I have cycled many a tank, with several different types of fish (goldfish, tropicals, crawfish, etc.), and I've never had this kind of problem.

I didn't overpopulate this tank... I started with the fishless cycling, slowly adding my fish over the course of weeks, checking up on them and the water parameters, doing my water changes... I just have no idea what happened.

I found this article, which I guess was somewhat helpful. http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Columnaris.html

I'm just wondering if anyone knows what the deal might be, or how I can predict this in the future. Right now it just seems like The Powers That Be don't want me to have a tropical community tank. Is there some kind of platy plague going around, or what?

Grrr.


Mike0372983
 
Posts: 267
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:59 pm

by Mike0372983

not so sure what you should do or anything... but the same thing happened to me a while ago, excpt a fish would die like every hour, eventually it all stopped... sorry I have no advice


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

Maybe something is getting in the tank like a chemical, or electric shock and the fish die, then get covered with the fungus by the time you find it? Dead fish get gross pretty fast, especially if there is more than one. ?? They show no fungus right before but then you find them like that after they died? Sorry about that happening!


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

when did you add your last batch of fish? possibly the newest fish added introduced disease into your tank

also, possibly if only 1 or 2 fish died, and werew decomposing without your awareness, the decomposition may have caused a disease that wiped out the remainder of the fish.

Only thing that comes to mind, is you added new fish with disease. Did you quarantine any new fish? I know it is a pain in the butt to quaratine, but if you have an established tank or fish worth a great deal of $$, it is best to quaratine

let us know the last batch of fish you introduced into the tank - this is the only thing that comes to mind


doomydarkdoom
 
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:00 am

by doomydarkdoom

The last batch was a group of four variatus platies who came from a very reputable LFS... they were happy and active and all that. I'm thinking you might be right about one dying and starting a disease, although I lifted up decor and counted them for quite a while... it's possible one still escaped my count and died without my knowledge. None of the new fish had any patches of stuff on them.

Because this was a new tank, and my quarantine already has a resident, I went ahead and added them, which is why I'm not TOO upset about it. Cheap fish, new tank, easy to re-do if something like this were to happen. It's just weird that it happened twice with the same species of fish in two very different situations, and so suddenly both times. Whatever the bacteria or fungus was, it was very, very quick.


Zambize4899
 
Posts: 499
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am

by Zambize4899

How well covered is your tank? When I got tanks I had to carefully instruct the housekeeper to keep far, far away from the tanks. I explained about not using any chemicals on the tank, or over the tank, or using anything that had been near chemicals.

People will do the most ridiculous things though, I finally had to tell her to imagine the tank behind a floor-to-ceiling, tank-wide force field....and don't go near the force field. She's thinks I'm a crazy fish lady, but there's no more Endust in my tanks. I don't keep the glass quite as clean as she did, but I also don't dust the filters with a bleach-soaked cloth!

Maybe whatever is going on with your tank is from a totally unexpected source. If my cat could reach the tank, I wouldn't put it past her to back right up to it and pee. That kind of ammonia would wipe out any tank and I'd never know it. And why would my cat do that? Because she finds it thrilling to surprise me with her urinary creativity.

You never know what's going in your tank when you're not around...LOL

Zambize


doomydarkdoom
 
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:00 am

by doomydarkdoom

Good point... anything being sprayed would probably affect the tank above it too, but lord knows. Maybe the dogs figured out how to open the lid and have been poking around in there or something.


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

well doomy, I'm gonna blow your mind right now

I woke up this morning, and found 4 platies dead. Later on in the day, 2 more got ill, I placed them both in a hospital tank...few hours, one died...the other, I hope it does not happen, but will probably be dead by morning.

I have several platy fry (like 30 or 40 of them), so I can start again. But whatever brought about the death in the last 2 days, is troublesome.

All my water readings were fine, even tested for oxygen, fine. I did a complete water change (50%) and still the 5th fish died.

I have Maracyn TC with salt in the hospital tank, but still the one platy died. I raised the temperature (I have two airstones and a heater in the hospital tank), but I have a feeling by morning she will be dead too.

I am completely dumbfounded. No warning; water tests fine; temperature steady; 25% water change each week; live plants are fine; other fish fine except one silver tip tetra looks lethargic, isolating itself at the bottom of the tank and breathing heavy (the only two signs before the other fish died). No white spots (ich). I feed flakes, soft shrimp/crab/algae wafer mix (my own concoction) and fresh peas daily except on Sunday (they fast to clean their systems out).

only recent addition to tank were 5 Otocinclus Catfish (1/2" long, very young), but these catfish are fine.

so I guess you can add me to the list of the "platy plague"


doomydarkdoom
 
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:00 am

by doomydarkdoom

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that... I'm glad at least some of your other fish escaped the plague!

When I was cleaning out my plague-tank, one dead fish had escaped my earlier netting, and I saw the long, stringy white... strings... that indicate it might've been Flexibacteria Columnaris, which is explained in that link in the first post. That would explain why it was so fast-moving and deadly.

The article can tell you how to identify it if you don't already know. Stupid bacteria/fungus thingy.

That sucks. I hope the entire tank doesn't die. :(


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

the platy in the hospital tank survived the night, but I am weary of the near future.

I continue to put 4 tablespoons of aquarium salt in the main tank

funny you said about the long white stringy from the vent area...I noted a few days ago one red wag platy having this, but this fish, he is the fish that pregnated most of my platy females, is fine. So go figure, possibly his immune system is better than the rest.

the silver tip tetra survived in the main tank over night; but I still have tomorrow and so on so who knows. I will take it very slow for about 2 weeks, I hope by then it will have passed

thanks for the info and your understanding

Platy Plague?

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