help!!!!!!

Ulcers can be an indication of several problems; fungal, internal parasites and poor water quality come to mind quickly. Because of the over crowding issues in your tank, your fish are most likely stressed and as a result are more likely to be sensitive to any type of water fluctuations and more susceptible to infections. I would agree with most of the previous posters and believe water issues and crowding are important factors here. Liquid tests are actually far more accurate than strip tests, so if you are getting separate readings, I would trust the liquid before I trusted the strip. What are your readings according to your liquid tests?

That being said, there may be other issues present in your tank, it’s just hard to know because of your fish stocking. Here is some info on ulcers and what to do;
How are ulcers caused?
They can be caused by damage to the skin from parasites or chemicals (for example exposure to high levels of ammonia or nitrite or high/low pH). Fish can also be susceptible if their normal defences are compromised by stress. High numbers of opportunistic bacteria, such as would be found in water with a high organic content or other diseased fish, also increase the risk of infection.
If just one is affected it is probably due to a health problem specific to that individual. However if several are affected it is quite likely that there is an underlying environmental problem. In this quite common situation it is no good simply throwing in some anti-bacterial treatment and hoping. It is important to establish and resolve the underlying cause, be it water quality or parasites, as well as treating the bacterial infection.
Treatment
It is hard to give a general answer because it really depends on the circumstances surrounding each case. If just one individual is affected and assuming that it has been diagnosed at an early stage, simply dealing with any other health problems and treating the lesion topically may suffice.
If several are affected it is vital that the system and all of the fish are examined, either in or out of the water, to determine the full extent of the spread of the infection.
My own experience is that the chances of survival are greatly improved by a thorough debridement of the lesion together with topical treatment. This is an important step irrespective of any other treatments used.
Treat all the affected fish
It is often the case that there are many more infected fish than initially thought. It is important that all of those affected are treated at the same time otherwise the untreated fish will in turn get worse as well as acting as a reservoir of infection. This is often the situation where an outbreak of bacterial disease goes on for months, despite continually treating the most obviously affected individuals. To the owner it looks like fresh outbreaks despite his best efforts, when it is really just an ongoing chronic infection.
As far as treatments are concerned this is really a matter of judgment based on the severity of the situation. The options are topical treatments, medicated food, bath treatments (short duration or long term) or antibiotic injections. Whatever course of treatment is decided the aim should be to resolve the problem within a matter of 2-3 weeks. If there is not a marked improvement during that time then either the treatment plan needs reappraising or there are still underlying problems that haven’t been tackled.
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good call rowangel.

the fact that the tank may be overstocked in and of itself doesn't mean the fish are going to die or for that matter that is what killed the fish.

if the tank is overstocked there is a greater chance that the fish will get stressed with water conditions...remember we use the nitrates as an indication of dissolved solids.

the amount of pollutants in the tank is greater in a slightly over stocked tank and makes life easier for bacteria.

a stressed fish is more prone to attack by these bacteria and less able to use it's natural defenses against said bacteria(the same can be said about parasites too)
these could have been contributing factors.
having the tank 'overstocked' can be compensated for with more frequent water changes.

that said, you may have mentioned it but I missed it.. what is your water change schedule like?

btw, I'm reading about the use of H202 to help combat some nasties in the tank.(hydrogen peroxide)
 
you said "as indicated by my ammonia levels" just what level is your ammonia at, exactly? you know that ammonia must be 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates under 20ppm, right? I also agree that your tank is overstocked, and the your belief that liquid test kits are inaccurate is erronious. it would be prudent that you get rid of the shark and the pleco, regardless of their current size.
 
the ammonia is at 0, the nitrite is at 0, and the nitrates at 10.
none of the other fish have ulcers, and neither did any of the dead platys, and no more have died overnight.
none of the fish are acting stressed, the most stress they seem to be under is from being pregnant.
30% water change once every7-10days, all new water going in is dechlorinated.
is it possible that there is a genetic problem?all the platys which have died were from the same tank and shop, the living platys which are older were from a different shop. it just seems all a bit too coincidental that the only ones to die were all from the same tank and a differnet shop to all the other fish in my tank.i know this is possible in other animals, so why not fish?

another thought, could it be down to live bait? i found a damsel fly nymph in my tank the other day, my betta also found it and ate it. but surely if insects like this are coming in with bloodworms and daphnia it cant be too good a sign?
 
I hate to say this, but another vote for overstocked. The platys from the other shop may not be as healthy for variuos reasons, but that would just mean they would be more susceptible to overcrowding and stress would have a bigger impact on them.

I am surprised that you didn't do a water change for 2 weeks and your parameters were all still in line. That is really surprising.

BTW, the pleco and sharks need to be moved not just because of overcrowding, but because they need more room. In time they won't be able to turn around in that tank, plus, the pleco is a poop machine, it is really hard to keep them in an overstocked tank, which you shouldn't do anyway.
 
damsel fly nymphs, bloodworms daphnia all natural foods.

the tank is considere overstocked, however, you can combat this by increasing water changes.

in overstocked tanks you might consider 2-3 water changes per week of 20-30%.

it won't bother the fish and many thrive in clean water.

you can't ruleout genetic issues or possible infestations to the fish.

but again clean water helps many problems in tanks
(save for the genetic issues)
 
my water is clean though, thats the thing!!its perfectly clear, the parameters are all perfectly fine, and theres no sign of dirt anywhere! my bottom feeders do an excellent job and so does my filter!!
 
what happens in overstocked tanks is the stuff you can't see or tests are too difficult to administer.

we use nitrate readings to help us determine when to change water..what we arre trying to get rid of is the Dissolved Organic solids/waste.

aka pollutants.

in an overstocked tank these build up very quickly and can lead to problems in the tank.

I have seen large overstocked tanks run drip irrigation to keep clean water flowing continuously in the tank.
 
Your water params may be fine now, but if you don't keep up on weekly water changes they probably wont be good for much longer, especially with the number of fish that you have.

BTW bottom feeders will NOT eat fish waste. They'll eat leftover food thats made its way to the gravel but will definitly not clean up fish poop. And don't expect them to survive solely on whatever is in the bottom of your tank. Their diet needs to be supplemented with wafers or pellets made for bottom feeders depending on what type of bottom feeder you have, and cucumbers or zuchinni. Also, if you don't have one already, I would invest in a gravel vac as the "dirt" you don't see now will soon start to accumulate in your tank and the only way that you can remove it from your gravel is to gravel vac because, like I said, bottom feeders do not eat fish waste.
 
There is a difference between water quality and water clarity. If you can see through the water to the other end of the tank then you have water clarity but may still have a problem with water quality. The water can appear to sparkle but may still have an underlying problem. If you have not done a water change in two weeks then it is time to do one regardless of water you water test readings are. I have seven tanks and have been fishkeeping for more than a decade now. I do water changes in all seven of my tanks at the very least once a week and more if necessary. You need to be more viligint about your water changes if you want to keep your tank overstocked which I believe that it is.

I agree also that the pleco and sharks need new bigger homes since all of those fish will grow too large for the aquarium that you have them in. If you want to keep a pleco in that size aquarium, may I suggest a bristlenose pleco that only grows to about four inches and does an excellent job on algae cleanup. If you really have your heart set on keeping sharks, then you need to seriously consider getting a much larger aquarium for them because they really do need the room.

If you do what I and others have suggested, your fish will not only live but thrive in your aquarium, That is what you want, isn't it?

Marinemom
 
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