Platies - dying one by one!

Hi,

I have 180L community tank with about 18 Platies (10 are about 4 months old raised from fry), 2 Moonlight Gouramis, 2 neons, 2 Bristlenose Plecs and a red-tailed shark.

My problem is the adult platies appear to be dying one by one over the last few weeks - so far have lost 3, latest one today.

There are 2 more which are not looking very well - one is really thin and seems to be gasping at the surface. Over the last 2 weeks I treated with eSHa 2000 (twice), added some additional air and did some fairly large (60l) water changes. I also changed one of the filter sponges for a new one.

The main water params seem fine :
Ammonia : 0ppm
Nitrite : 0ppm
Nitrate : 40-60ppm (this is always high even from the tap)
Temp : 27 deg (raised it from about 23 when started using the eSHa 2000)

The pH is one which is a possible cause, currently at 6.6 but typical value from 2-3 months ago would have been 7.2. The differences are :

1. The tank was a little neglected during Dec due to christmas and me being away for a bit. When I got back to it I think it had suffered a pH crash (or at least drop) as it was almost off the scale, definite 6 or below. With water changes I've got this back to 6.6 but not higher and with the medications I havent done any big water change this week.

2. I added a fairly large piece of bogwood for the benefit of the Plecs who seemed to be fighting with each other! They are a male and a female. dont know if this would lower the pH.


Apologies for the long post but thought I'd give you all the details, any ideas on what may be up with the Platies ?

Possiblities :

1. they have some infection/disease that is not being cured by the eSHa 2000 or improvements in water quaility.
2. they were so far gone there was no hope from the beginning
3. old age ? They are all adult and were when bought so no real idea how old they are.

Any advice? Should I just continue with water changes and hope things improve ?

I can handle losing the platies but dont want to lose the Gouramis, plecs or the shark...

Thanks,
Declan.

true, the pH could have been a problem.

are they still feeding? if not it is probably too late anyways.

why eSHa 2000?

I found Platies to be very sensitive to rotting food. did you keep any in nets and maybe old food was washed into the tank? while other fish would usually avoid it I found Platies still eat such stuff.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I'm still feeding, most are eating well, the really thin one doesnt seem to eat much though!

As to why eSHa 2000 ?? No particular reason other than it seemed to be a broad spectrum treatment cause I didnt have a specific diagnosis! I'd heard good things about it but this was the first time I'd used it myself.

Declan.

I've used eSHa 2000 in the past. As Declan says, it's a good broad specturm treatment if you're not sure what disease you're dealing with. It can also be used with eSHa exit which eliminates ich and such parasites.

It's also not hard on the fish so shouldn't stress them which is the last thing you need.