Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fish Health => Topic started by: pollydoodle on July 07, 2018, 09:07:48 AM
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Last night, one of my scarlet platies zoomed manically around the tank and then died! :'( I think it was one of the 5 I bought Wednesday. I also lost another earlier yesterday, found it lying on the bottom I wondered
what could be the problem
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A couple of questions:
Have you checked your water for ammonia & nitrite? This is the first thing to do if a fish dies or even just starts behaving oddly
Did the two fish come from the same shop at the same time?
Did either of the fish have any marks on them, or bloating, or anything different from usual?
Assuming your tank water is perfect, if the fish did come together it could be a weak batch of fish at the shop. Or it could be they were infected with something before you bought them - this is why I asked about anything different about them.
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They were bought at the same time (wed) same shop/tank. My first thought was I had brought an infection with them. all the others are ok. no visible marks
I was going to exchange my tiger barbs for some more scarlet platies, but now i'm not sure.l
I tested water and I think I need to do a water change?. ammonia 0. Nitrite & nitrate 2.5 would this increase be enough to cause a problem?
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I'd encourage a water change based on that.
Nitrate of 2.5 is pretty good, you've no cause for concern there, but in an established tank, your nitrite should be 0ppm, so something's caused a nitrite spike.
You need to do a big enough water change to bring the nitrite level back down to 0ppm. Then you'll need to keep an eye on the tank in case the nitrite starts creeping up again, at which point you'll need to do another water change.
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I agree. Any reading for ammonia and/or nitrite above zero means you need to do a water change. If the platies had been weaker ones, the nitrite reading would have been enough to harm them.
I would still take the tiger barbs back but ask for a credit note. Then if the remaining fish are OK for the next week or so you can go back and spend the credit note, even if you use it on something other than fish and get fish from a different shop.
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I was going to get platies from a different tank and another black widow barb. Then I wont bother to go there again.
anyone bought from Pets at home? The Yeovil branch seem to have a fair selection.
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Pets at Home varies wildly. They've got a poor reputation on the whole, for being somewhere that doesn't look after fish too well and it's not entirely undeserved. It does vary from shop to shop, however, and some are better than others in this regard. Their staff are also trained to make sales, rather than to help customers with sensible decisions, so go in armed with your own information instead of listening to theirs.
My local P@H has been a mixed bag. I bought some Amano Shrimp from them which thrived in my tank, when I'd had problems with shrimp from a better-rated independent LFS dying off, but I also had a pair of red Honey Gouramis that were both dead within a month of purchase.
I'm nowhere near Yeovil, so I can't advise on if yours is any good. Google informs me that there's a place called Watermarque in Yeovil too, and from threads on here, they seem to be fairly well-rated.
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I'm nowhere near Yeovil, so I can't advise on if yours is any good. Google informs me that there's a place called Watermarque in Yeovil too, and from threads on here, they seem to be fairly well-rated.
That's where all my fish came from and when I asked to double check, was told all the fish were suitable for hard water, which from the advice on here and researching on seriouslyfish, some clearly were not!
Seems you pay your money and take your choice, or should it be chance, wherever you go
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My nearest P@H has an awful selection of fish :(
There is not a branch of Maidenhead Aquatics in Yeovil; the nearest are Wellington near Taunton (in Blackdown garden centre), Galton branch (in the Wyevale garden centre at Owermoigne, Dorchester) and Shepton Mallet (in Dobbies garden centre). MA's are a franchise business like P@H so they vary in staff knowledge and management practices, but most are better than P@H. If you can manage to get to an MA, again go armed with your own information.
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I tend to buy my shrimp from P@H but not fish. I buy most of my fish from my LFS and from MA and Aquajardin. I am lucky to have about 6 MA stores in my area, most of which are pretty good.
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My nearest P@H has an awful selection of fish :(
Galton branch (in the Wyevale garden centre at Owermoigne, Dorchester) and Shepton Mallet (in Dobbies garden centre). MA's are a franchise business like P@H so they vary in staff knowledge and management practices, but most are better than P@H. If you can manage to get to an MA, again go armed with your own information.
Funnily enough, it was Dobbies Shepton Mallet that re-kindled my desire for Tropical fish, and like topsy, it just grew :)