# Sick swordtail?



## Sugarbeet (Feb 7, 2013)

So, I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice. Two days ago my biggest swordtail female, who is normally very active, started hanging around the bottom of the tank with a small notch out of her tail, looking like she was struggling to breathe. 

I don't know if maybe someone nipped her fin, since I've never seen anyone chase her. She's kind of been the boss fish from day one. I put her in quarantine overnight just in case someone was harassing her, and returned the next morning to find more of her tail missing. It's a neat C-shaped chunk. Is she biting it herself? She continues to stay at the bottom of the quarantine tank and she's still gulping. She hasn't shown any interest in food for a couple days now, and she's usually a total pig.

Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are 0, pH is ~7.4, and the water is 80F. I've got 1/2 tsp per gallon of aquarium salt in there in the hopes that it'll help ease her breathing, and her quarantine tank is blocked out with paper so she's getting some light but not exposed. 

What should I be doing for her? I miss my swaggering jerk of a swordtail. :-(


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

What size is your tank?
How often is the tank cleaned?
How big is the quarantine tank?

Is she "boxy" aka very large? I find that with live bearers, the females tend to stick to themselves to birth, however sometimes they have a ton of trouble birthing too, causing excessive labor issues.


----------



## Sugarbeet (Feb 7, 2013)

The tank is 20G, with a 50% water change/vacuum once a week. The quarantine tank is 5G, and I've been changing about 25% of the water every morning. 

This is actually the thinnest I've ever seen her. She gave birth about a week and a half ago. I only counted three fry, but the other fish may have nabbed some of them. Today her fins have relaxed and she's not fighting to breathe, but she's still showing no interest in food.


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Hmmm... Are you able to get garlic juice? Not only do fish stores sell it but you can also use the juice from minced garlic - commonly found either in the home or in any grocery store.

Fish love garlic, and it benefits their immune system. Dipping pellets in it, softens them and entices them to eat. May or may not work, but it is worth a try.

Do you have anything in the quarantine to give her refuge? Like a cave, plants, etc? Make sure she has coverage!  That way she feels more secure and less scared/stressed. 

As for the fin, C shaped is usually due to fin biting, yes. Fish can do it to themselves or to others. Is there any other physical difference? White lined lips/eyes? Fins changed color? Is she paler?


----------



## Sugarbeet (Feb 7, 2013)

Oh, I just bought a garlic bulb the other day! I'll try to tempt her with some stinky garlicky food. She's trying to swim more today, so hopefully she'll eat a little. 

She's got a couple fake plants in there with her. Do you think that's enough? I could probably find something safe to use as a cave if it would help her. 

She may have done it herself. I know the first morning after I quarantined her there was a little more gone. She doesn't look to have done it since then, at least. She's a little paler and thinner than she normally is. I can't find any discoloration or white on her. I don't know what the trouble could be, unless she just got stressed out by something, though I can't think of any recent changes to the tank that might have triggered that. 

Thank you so much for your help, Sena. I'll try that garlic juice trick and let you know if she goes for it. This fish is driving me crazy.


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Giving birth also does take a toll.. After the babies did she act exhausted, slow, lethargic, etc?


----------



## Sugarbeet (Feb 7, 2013)

She was fine for several days afterward. Maybe the strain caught up with her. Do you suppose she's overbred? She's one of four females, but this is her third "litter" this summer. None of the other girls seem to be pregnant as often as she is.

She didn't go for the garlicky food, but I'll try again tomorrow. I left one sinking pellet (I guess it's a stinking pellet now) in case she wasn't wanting to eat because I was nearby. Ugh. She used to be so eager for food she'd practically jump out of the water when she saw me.


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

How is she acting overall now? I'd say give her a cave  it's a security thing with fish. 

I bred balloon mollies... I found my "alpha" lady and the sailfin balloon molly fella were mated for life. Which is silly because male livebearers literally mate everything that is female! -.- not him. But I had an issue with one other one (got more males ;p) where she strained to give birth (fourth batch) and died a few days after. Also had issues with dalmation mollies unable to birth and died due to complications.

Do you have one male to the four females? I make sure to keep it 1:3 ratio (or higher for female numbers).


----------



## Sugarbeet (Feb 7, 2013)

I'll add a cave, then.  Whatever makes her comfortable. She's a little more active, now. Still staying near the bottom of the tank, but starting to cruise around a bit, instead of hovering in one place all day like she had been.

She ate a pellet this morning!!! She was actually swimming near the surface for a few minutes, too. I'm so relieved that she ate, even if it's only a little bit. Hopefully her appetite is coming back.

I've just got the one male, which is fortunate because he is pretty randy. He even tried to mate with the betta female when she joined the tank, though he didn't try a second time. No injuries, but she shut him down real quick. He tends to follow this female around a lot more than anyone else, though. He's pretty and he's not overly aggressive-- it's just too bad you can't neuter fish. I hope this isn't to do with her last pregnancy, but it seems like she's had a lot of babies this summer.

Something I noticed this morning, now that she's moving around, is that she doesn't seem as bendy as usual. She's not flexing more than the very end of her tail when she swims. If I look at her straight down, it looks like she has an S-curve to her spine. Could she have hurt her back during labor?


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I have noticed with many sick fish to have a weird s shape. Though the spine should not be affected during labor or birth, the swim bladder could have been (from straining, over breeding etc). I suggest perhaps adding in more females, having her added in last when she is better. 

But the fact she did eat, and she is moving is good. She's not bloated or anything right? Have you seen her poop at all in the quarantine?

sometimes the S shape is nothing, but it can also be more serious.


----------



## Sugarbeet (Feb 7, 2013)

That's strange about the s shape. This is the first long illness I've had to deal with, so I didn't know it was a common thing. Kind of reassuring, though. I wonder what causes it, stress or tension or something? In any case, it looks like she's going to need a good long rest before I let the male anywhere near her again. My lfs always has livebearers; I'll have to see about adding a couple more girls the next time I'm in. 

She's pooped a couple times while she's been in there. It's been a couple days since, but then again she hadn't been eating. No bloat, just a bulge to one side following the S curve, like something's knocked out of alignment. If her swim bladder did get affected during her last birth, could that be the bulge I'm seeing?


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

How did her poop look? Color, length, appearance etc

Can you get a picture up of her? Top view will be a good view, that allows us to see the S shape and the bulge.


----------



## Sugarbeet (Feb 7, 2013)

Her poo was dark, about half an inch long? Looked pretty normal for her.

Unfortunately, what I thought was improvement turned out to be a final rally, because I checked on her this morning to see if she'd eat more to find that she passed last night. She was hidden under one of the plants. Hopefully she just went in her sleep.
























You can see the big bite she took out of her tail. Now she looks bloated (or maybe it's weight loss?), and the asymmetrical bulge isn't very apparent. Being able to look at her from every angle for her photos, she just looks all kinds of wrong. Her back used to have a very even, shallow arc to it, not this humpbacked weirdness...

Yesterday she'd even started swimming up near the surface instead of sitting at the bottom. I was really hoping she was coming out of whatever was going on.


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Looks like she was a Hawaii platy. The males can be very ferocious - I had nine Hawaii platys and they were more mean than any other platy I have owned (sunburst, assorted, etc.) 

The bulge is on the left side of the fish? (right if looking directly at the picture)

I am wondering if it is from the fact she just had a hard time from this last birthing? It is possible, especially if the male overbred her. 

The bloat after death is actually the gas build up in the body; the beginning of breaking down the fish.

Sorry you lost her - was sure she would pull through because she started to do better.


----------



## Sugarbeet (Feb 7, 2013)

Figures that I'd end up with the most aggressive type. My male doesn't do a lot of chasing and I've never seen him go after any of his tankmates, but I guess I'll have to keep an eye on him with the remaining females and juveniles. 

Yeah, the bulge is on her left side. It was more apparent while she was alive, but I guess she must have been dead most of the night to be that puffed up by the time I found her. 

Thanks. I'm pretty bummed out; she had a neat personality even if she could be a bit of a bully towards the other females at times. I hope she was as comfortable as possible these last few days, at least.


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Well you did very well, trying to get her to feel better  And sounds like she was feeling better. The females can be just as mean as the males  :lol:


----------

