Hi Everyone! Its been about 6 months since I've been on here, and now I find myself back here again. Before, I had a 55 gallon of red wag platies (started with 8 fish - turned into 100), all was well until I put some of those "alkaseltzer-like" tabs in the tank....I forget what they are off the top of my head, but they treat disease. I thought I was starting to see signs of something, so i dosed the tank (A VERY LOW DOSE), went to work, and came home to find 99 out of 100 fish dead! Not only dead, but they had turned white, and were disolving in the tank water. WTF?! I was heart-broken because I had these guys for years...with only maybe 3 casualities in 2 years. Anyway, I had ONE survior - who i was able to nurse back to health. I dont know what the heck happened, because I have used those tabs multiple times with no problems, and I am 110% sure that I did not overdose the tank (I underdosed it actually). To this day, I dont know what the heck happened. I was heartbroken and wasn't going to get anymore fish...when my last one survivor-platy died (who was already almost 2years old), I was going to be done. So I cleaned the heck out of the tank, and eventually put my 1 surviving female back in.

But, obviously I couldnt keep this 1 poor girl by herself... so I went and got her 3 buddies (1 male, and 2 female platies). I used the hospital tank for 3 weeks on the newbies to ensure all was well, and then added them in with her. Everything was okay - except my new ones have done nothing but hide in the bottom corners of the tank, on the gravel. A few months ago, my original platy died (old age, I assume), which left me with the 3 "newer" platies (2 male, 1 female) that hide in the corners 24/7. My tank looks empty! (Minus the decorations.) I know a 55 gallon is awfully big for 3 platies, but I thought they'd like the space. I've had these 3 platies for months now, and they do nothing but hide 24/7 - except to come out and eat. They've had some babies - which swim around the tank like normal - but their parents hide. They are always in the corners, on the gravel, not moving. I dont know what the problem is. The water params are fine, they have hiding spots, and NO ONE is being aggressive to them. The MALE even hides - he never harasses the females!

Anyone have any idea whats going on here??? Oh, and I should add, they do not appear to have grown AT ALL since i got them. They are still pretty small - they looked TINY next to my big 2 year old girl (when she was still around) - and by the way, she NEVER hid in that tank. Any idea what is going on with the hiding??? Or about the mysterious death of 99 fish in one day? Maybe a bad batch of tablets? Any help would be realy appreciated. Thanks!!! Photo Attached.

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Marie

Honestly, I'm stumped about the mysterious massive deaths... Maybe the tab was contaminated, or maybe it had expired? Products like that can actually expire on the store shelf without customers knowing about it, because many of them don't have expiration dates printed on the packages.

As for the hiding, I don't know about that either. If they've had babies, then obviously they're coming out sometimes. Consider the room they're in. Are they in direct sunlight at all? Are they in a high-traffic area in your home? Do you have other pets that might be startling them when you're not around? Are they close to your TV, and is it on a lot? What about radios and such? Are they more active when you turn out the aquarium lights at night?

One thing you could do to see if they're just afraid of you for some reason is to set up a video camera to record when you're not in the room. Then observe their behavior. I actually had a platy that was afraid of me because my two-year-old niece once pounded on the tank. Even though I stopped her, the fish might have thought that I had been the one knocking on the glass and so they hid from me every time even though they would come out to greet my husband...

It could also be something in the tank that stresses them that may not have stressed your other fish. Is the filter flow very fast? Do you have a lot of bubblers going? Are there plenty of places for them to hide? Is the temperature in the tank stable? (if it's near a source of heat, like a window, then it might be fluctuating too much).

Sorry, that's a lot of questions to answer your questions! But you've got to cover all the bases. I hope the little guys are OK!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

actually, after my post, one of them died yesterday... she was the one that had developed a curved spine... She did not have that when I got her. I am curious if she had fish TB. From what I have read online, their odd behavior, lack of growth, and the curved spine are symptoms of fish TB. But then again, I also read sometimes their spine curves after having babies. I'm really not too sure what to make of this situation... I don't think they are afraid of me because they are always in the corners, regardless of if I am there or not. No pets or kids are bothering them... the temperature is always around 77 degrees... I honestly cannot think of a single thing that could be bothering them. however, if you suggested quite a few things... and I am going to check each of them and I will let you know what I find. part of me thinks I might have just purchased sick fish in the first place... especially since they have not grown at all in months.

And I wanted to sincerely thank you for responding to my question. I was starting to think no one was going to! they probably just did not want to read such a long post. haha. so thanks again for taking the time to help a fellow fish-lover. and i will definitely check each of your suggestions.

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Marie

Sorry to hear about all the deaths, that's terrible and I cannot imagine losing so many so fast. I wish I had some advice or input, but i'm a newbie here and just learning.

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

Wow,Marie I am sorry I missed this.

Fish TB is a definate possibility.However,how did you acclimate the new fish?Do you have any live plants?Perhaps raise the temp just a hair,and add some plants to the tank.

On the tabs many have mention on other forums that the concentration of medicine will vary throughout the tabs,so you could have had a super concentration of it and didnt know it.

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