LYNDYLOO Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 HI Guys, I have a Platy that seems to be unwell, she seems to be in a state of exhaustion, she keeps on swimming head up tail down, and she is trying to swim but seems to be getting nowhere, any help would be great. Could this be from the males breeding with her that has lead to her exhaustion? Lynda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 The most common cause of buoyancy problems is swim bladder malfunction, either through over/under inflation or bacterial/viral infection. Before you can diagnose swim bladder problems, it's important to rule out other causes. Does you platy have any swelling around the abdomen? If any of the bits around the swim bladder are swollen, this could lead to pressure on the swim bladder, contributing to loss of equilibrium. It's also worth checking out if your platy is pooping properly. An intestinal blockage could have a similar effect. A few squished (de-shelled) peas could help you out there. If you suspect a bacterial infection, perhaps Melafix would be a good place to start? Otherwise, I'm not sure how you go about treating this problem, sorry. I'm sure others will be able to answer this bit more fully . I do hope she gets well soon! Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 How many male & female platties Lyndyloo?? If she is outnumber by males, then she could be suffering from exhaustion, I would think! Have you noticed anything else with her? Unless it is like Laura said, something doing on with her swim bladder. I'm checking on the net...but so far haven't come across anything related to fish with head up and tail down, but will keep looking. Perhaps Caryl will find something in her book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Posted February 7, 2006 Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 Hey again Lyndyloo I've just spotted Radu's post, and I thought it sounded like his/her sick fishy seems to have some of the same troubles. Does this sound like your platy? If so, there's some good advice there by BlueandKim and Pegasus. I hope she recovers like Radu's fishy! Cheers, Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted February 7, 2006 Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 Thanks Laura, you beat me to it Female livebearers quite often succumb to swimming problems such as head-standing and tail-standing when exhausted by males. As moving them to a breeding trap may stress them to the point of dying it is often best to put them in a tank of their own or even separate males and females when not breeding due to this. As a general rule, it is often best to have 2 females to every male when dealing with livebearers (as opposed to the 2 males for every female with egg scatterers/layers) as males are... well, single-minded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted February 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 Hi Guys, Thanks for the info, I have placed her in a breeding trap so that she can be on her own for awhile, and to give abit of a rest from the males that seem to be harrassing her, as I don't have another tank to put her into.I have also fed her some peas, which she seemed to eat quite happily. Everytime I go over to have a look at her, she gets up from lying on the bottom of the breeding tank and she swims over to see me, like there is nothing wrong with her. Really strange behaviour. Just hope she survives. Once again thanks for all the help. Lynda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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