Problems with Mickey Mouse Platys

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Seacon

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Aug 18, 2003
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I'm having a recurring problem with getting MM Platys to survive my aquarium.
The tank has been up and running for almost a year. It's a 20 g.
My current water stats are Nitrates: 30 mg/L, Nitrites: 0mg/L, Total Hardness: 120 ppm, Total Alkalinity (buffering cap) 90-100 ppm, pH 6.9.
The load in my tank, and the fish I have successfully living: 4 albino cory cats, 5 LF zebra danio, 1 bristlenose pl*co. The zebras have been in the tank about as long as it's been up without problem, the cats just a little shorter and the bristlenose has only been in a few months .
During this year, many MMPs have died. Most didn't last 24 hours. The majority didn't last the 14 days of live fish guarantee. So I figured I was trying to keep alive the weakest fish ever, until my two oldest MMPs died unexpectedly. They had been in for oh 6 months, while a crew of newbies died around them, they were constant. (The was no sign of disease with the new fish)They died about 2 wks ago, within 24 hours of each other. It was a male and a female. They were hanging around the top of the tank, but not gasping for air. The female I basically watched go, she got really sluggish, and started doing a headstand, I pulled her out into a small bowl of tank water and that was the end. The male died the next night. I still have a female and an adolescent (about 3 months old) in the tank doing fine. The kid is the offspring of the dead pair. The two remaining MMPs showed no signs of stress during the time the other two were dying, in fact, none of the other fish did, I also did water tests in case something bizarre had happened, and it was all pretty much the same as above, and I also did Cl and Ammonia (0) just to cover the bases. No one messes around in the area, nothing added, no water change had been done in probably 4 days prior.
Anyone have any input/suggestions? I basically want to know if I'm doing anything wrong for the MMPs, and anything on the untimely death of the pair.
Oh, more on my tank, it's a 20 tall, for filtration it has two Biowheel 125s, it is heated (78F), not planted, 10% water change at least weekly. I do not added aquarium livebreeder salt, except when I first got the tank up and running. I do about monthly, add carbonate salt buffer to increase my buffering capacity, but only 1/4 tsp. for the whole tank (instead of the recommended 1 tsp.). I use Amquel plus as declorinator every water change. Please give me your input and if any info is left out, please let me know.
Thank you.
 

marks69

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Feb 7, 2004
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if your keeping them in a marine tank i know the problem.lol
seriously i've never had that problem, sorry.you should get a mod to move this to freshwater.
mark
 

tricksterpup

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How often do you do water changes?
How many fish are in your tanks?
I would stop adding buffers into your tank. This is not needed unless your water is super acidic. This guys can tolerate pretty extreme conditions, they do better in more alkaline water though but adding stuff is bad. I would add some crushed coral into your filter, this may help. Or it may just be better to add, just RO water to your tank to make it more neutral.
Like all live bearers, platies like clean water, so more water changes may help things out.

jim
 

maigen

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i was very interested when i saw this post.....i have had the same problems but with calico sunset platys. 3 fish to be exact...dead for no apparent reason. i finally figured that it might be a bad batch from that fish store. so i bought another from a different place & (knock on wood) no probs so far...........3 weeks & counting
 

Seacon

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That is what I thought too, I was sure it was the store and not me. I still don't have any clues as to what the problem is/was.

Good luck with yours, Platies are pretty cool...
 

Lazersniper

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I've read that all livebearers like salt. I have guppies and not too long ago I had numerouse deaths of unknown cause. Right around the same time I ran out of salt for water changes. I kept forgetting to get salt for them. The salt that I had in there sustained them for a lil while but as I did more water changes more and more seemed to die off, up to 7 a day. I got fed up and finally remembered to get salt in the tank. I have seen no fatalities since. I don't know about MMPs as I have not kept them yet (I am planning to get some for my mom in the next few days tho). I have read that corys are more sensitve to salt however mine don't seem to be bothered by it at all.
 

Seacon

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Salt - it worked for me

Just to put closure for future thread searchers. I started adding in salt to my aquarium at every water change. I got a few new Mickey's and they've done terrific. So, I don't know if salt is the magic key, but it seems to be working for me. My cory cats also don't seem to mind, as I saw noted above.
 

LWOODS

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Ditto to the above. When I first set up my tanks 1-1/2 years ago with a nice batch of MM Platys, 2 males and 3 females, among other species, I was told to use aquarium salt. I always have, and my platys have reproduced like crazy! I still have an original male (though he looks quite old and ready to go). Just recently lost the last original female after 3 big broods.

I have never measured the salt properly with utensils - 'looks about right to me' has been my method. Maybe 6 months ago, I stopped adding salt at every water change (I've since restarted) and I seemed to notice a general decline in their activity and spunk, which could have been why I lost a few here and there, with no apparent reason. And of course no new babies.

Fortunely, I am not overrun by baby platys - as they were raised in a tank that also has a yellow spiny eel and 4 dwarf frogs, 2 corys and a kissing gourami. All of which have handled the salt seemingly fine (maybe they prefer it too).

Good luck...
 
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