# What's wrong with my platys



## yukonjon86 (Oct 24, 2009)

As you can see in the pics, the platy on top is an adult but all the others are juveniles and they all have bloated stomachs. They all readily eat and eat a lot. They show no signs of any sickness, just bloated stomachs all the time.


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

The really fat ones look like females. They don't look sick at all, more like pregnant! Or just really well fed. I think you're OK though as far as disease. Plus it's unlikely any disease would only effect the juvies and not the adults. 
GL!


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## yukonjon86 (Oct 24, 2009)

I'm pretty sure they're just well fed. All of the juvies are fat and have been for a while now so they can't be pregnant. I don't even think they're old enough to breed yet, only 2 months old. But I didn't know that fish can get fat.


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## DarrylR (Dec 5, 2007)

Could always stick in blanched deshell peas in their diet. It is pretty much a laxative. 

Get frozen peas, dump in boiling water. Deshell than smush the pea and feed.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

On the negative side, Platies can also carry worms, intestinal parasites. Might be a good idea to worm them, just in case. 

That lowest one in the picture looks too fat for it just to be pregnancy.


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## yukonjon86 (Oct 24, 2009)

How do you de-worm a fish? I read on another site that platies can get pregnant after 1 month. Hopefully thats it and theyre gonna make some live food for my angels.


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

medicating the tank for one fish that likely doesn't have an infection is a bad idea. Platy's eat a lot of alage and can get huge. That's true for most TR/domesticated livebearers. You may have gotten a strain that just gets fat (the 'balloon' trait stems from an accidental mutation- platies can surely get something similar).
Parasitic medications are usually quite strong and using them "just in case" is not good husbandry. Plus, if they were infected you would see other signs, such as stringy feces. Internal parasites are often found in fish that are wild caught, not domesticated strains like yours. Plus if the fish have been in your care for more than a couple weeks- meaning there's onkly the chance they got the infection from the tank- it's highly unlikely they got an internal parasitic infection. Aquariums, unless severely undermaintained and open to the environment, won't have fish getting internal parasites. Unless you've been feeding from a natural waterway, which most people dont (like mosquito larvae from a stream or something).

Also, platies can definitley get pregnant 1 month after being born. It depends on the tank and the care. Your fish looks really healthy- I really don't think anything is wrong with them. Everyone jumps to meds to cure "just in case" and that is hard on the fish and even harder on the biological filtration- no matter what a product is telling you. 

GL!


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## fibertech (May 9, 2009)

They are pregnant.


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## Gibby (Aug 5, 2009)

Yep, pregnant


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

They look healthy and overfed and as others have said - pregnant.
Do not overfeed your fish. It is the quickest way to disease and death.
A little aquarium salt (1/4 tsp per gallon) in the water would be good for your Platies. However, this depends on whether you have any salt sensitive plants.


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## yukonjon86 (Oct 24, 2009)

Good to know. I do feed them a lot because I have 6 angelfish in the same tank.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

The Angelfish will make a quick meal of any babies.


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## Cliff Mayes (Jan 29, 2007)

Platys are always gravid. If you have a batch of fry at least some will almost always be male and female and they start early without the taboos that humans have.

Fish are for all intents and purposes are cold blooded and do not have to waste energy keeping their body temp up to a particular place and are otherwise very well suited to their environment. They do not need much food unless you are trying to help them to reproduce. Remember that the fish are small and usually can see very small things that we may not be able to see. Someone said (and at the risk of repeating nonsense) that the most common method of killing (and there are many methods) wet pets is by overfeeding.

I have been the keeper of Platys for many years and yours look fine.

By the way while a small quantity of salt will probably not hurt your fish it may harm your plants. I keep salt around, mostly marine salt for raising brine shrimp, but I seldom use it in regular tanks. As with oxygen salt is very common but an overabundance can be very bad so be careful.


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