Why isnt my sunburst platy eating?

Question

I have had my sunburst platy for at least 2 or 3 months and all of a sudden he just stopped eating. He is a lot smaller than my other sunburst now. I have not made any changes, I have not added fish, or anything. So I went to the store and bought a breader and took the stuff inside out so it was bigger. So I tryed to feed him in there, thinking maybe he couldnt get to his food because of the other fish and I dont think it has help. Now, for the past couple days he has been slowing down and he is laying on the bottom of the rocks. Please Help!!!! What happen??

Nicole

Well as a follow up to my question. BOTH of sunburst platys died. And 2 of my white mollies and a neon tetra. All my fish are starting to look bad and i dont know what happen. Oh and i just bought a shark fish 2 days ago and hes dead too. And my agale eater is black and brown... Ive only seen him like this once and it was only for a day or two but hes been like this since saturday. What is happening to my fish!!!

Answer 1

I'm sorry to hear about your fish. There really isn't much to go one here, but I can give you some suggestions as to some possible causes.

Have you been doing regular water changes (around 20-30% of the water each week)? It sounds as if maybe you had ammonia or nitrates building up, especially if this is a smaller tank. Do you have a water test kit so you can find out how much of ammonia or nitrate you migth have? If you don't have a kit, you could take a sample (in a clean container) to your pet/fish store and they will probably test the water for you. At least you can test for this possibility.

Another possibility is that your one of your newer fish may have had a parasite or disease that they spread to the others. Had you noticed any spots or fuzzy areas on your fish before they died?

I would say to do a 25% water change to reduce any ammonia or nitrate in the tank (it will help remove any free-swimming parasites as well). If you have an salt without iodine (canning, kosher, or pickling salt, or non-iodized table salt) add one tablespoon of salt for every five gallons of tank water.

I'll include two links with fish diseases in the box below. If there's something that seems like the same symptoms as your fish, this will help you know how to deal with the problem.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I had 4 sunset platys, and you'll find there will always be competition between them. We had 4, only one of which was female. Apparently there should be 2 females to every 1 female, otherwise competition occurs. Now our female has died, and one of the males so we only have 2 males left. There is still competition between them, one is significantly smaller than the other. I think there may be an alpha male thing going on with platys, and I think that alpha male tends to bully any of the smaller ones into submission, which I think explains your platy's submissive behaviour.

I could be wrong. I think you're doing all you can, perhaps introduce some more platys, but I'm not sure this will make a big difference unless it takes the heat off him a little. Take care not to overfeed the other fish in the effort to encourage your sunburst to eat.

Answer 3

well, fish to just die...i'm sorry...it doesn't seem like doing too well...

but hey, your fish could make a great recovery! :^|