I just found one of my female guppies stuck to the filter intake tube. Turned off the filter, caught her in a net, and she's still alive. She tries to swim a little, but her body is all bent now. Is there anything I can do to save her? I hadn't seen her all day today, but I saw her at feeding time last night and made sure she got plenty of food. I do not have a hospital tank; my only other tank is a 1.5 G with a male betta in it. Please help!!!!!!!!!
HELP--guppy found stuck to filter intake
- Thread starter fishwish34
- Start date
Hello; I never had a living fish get stuck on a filter intake, but floating plants dead fish and debris used to clog up the intake of a filter. The surface area of the strainer was too small for the flow. I made up a cover from plastic window screening material that was much larger. This worked, but was cumbersome. I eventually got a plastic T for plastic pipe and fixed it so that there were two intake ports. A power filter that pumps out several gallons per minute has to draw in the same amount. I imagine it is like getting stuck in the intake of a swimming pool. My guess is the guppy was stuck on her side. She may have been ill and too weak to dislodge or perhaps the intake was partly clogged causing a strong suction at that point. Food will be drawn to the intakes and attracts the fish.
I have suspended a sick or aggressive fish in a community tank in a net. I use a net large enough to give the fish some room and fix it in a corner of the tank at top. This keeps the others from nipping at it while it has a chance to heal.
I have suspended a sick or aggressive fish in a community tank in a net. I use a net large enough to give the fish some room and fix it in a corner of the tank at top. This keeps the others from nipping at it while it has a chance to heal.
Okay, I had the guppy in a net, and she died last night. Woke up this morning, found another female guppy dead. I tested the water:
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-between 5 and 10
So, water parameter's seem to be okay. The guppy I found dead this morning, though, looked really weird when I took her out of the tank. For the past few weeks or so, she's been really fat, so I figured she was pregnant. When I took her out of the tank today, there was a big hole in her belly. It's sort of split in the middle, and hollow inside. A few days ago I also noticed something red and spiky sticking out of her a tiny bit, behind the fin on her underbelly, where poop typically exits the fish. I see this same thing on a female guppy still alive in my tank, except in front of that fin. Is it possibly an internal parasite??
Attached are pictures of the dead guppy when fat and alive (sorry it's kinda blurry), and the dead guppy with the hole in her stomach. Any information would be helpful, as I do not want any more fish dead!!
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-between 5 and 10
So, water parameter's seem to be okay. The guppy I found dead this morning, though, looked really weird when I took her out of the tank. For the past few weeks or so, she's been really fat, so I figured she was pregnant. When I took her out of the tank today, there was a big hole in her belly. It's sort of split in the middle, and hollow inside. A few days ago I also noticed something red and spiky sticking out of her a tiny bit, behind the fin on her underbelly, where poop typically exits the fish. I see this same thing on a female guppy still alive in my tank, except in front of that fin. Is it possibly an internal parasite??
Attached are pictures of the dead guppy when fat and alive (sorry it's kinda blurry), and the dead guppy with the hole in her stomach. Any information would be helpful, as I do not want any more fish dead!!
Attachments
I put this info up on another forum, and someone suggested Camallanus Worms as the culprit. Does anyone know anything about them or have experience with them? Apparently they're very hard to get rid of, and can pass between tanks if equipment is shared...and I do share some equipment between the 20 G and my betta tank. Also, both the remaining guppies have been hanging at the top of the aquarium all day, not swimming around much. I'm really worried now...Any suggestions?
Hi guys,
I had the exact same thing about six months ago and after a LOT of research, it was Camallanus Worms.
It's horrible to see them poke out their anus and the actual cycle of them really never stops, so the eggs and larvae are everywhere and you can never really get rid of them without cleaning your whole tank. Also every fish will eventually get infected, as did mine.
They are the worst thing I have ever experienced (I know I sound sooo dramatic but it was really horrible to experience as a newbie).
All of my fish were infected by this nasty parasite, from my guppies right down to my beautiful plec.
I tried EVERYTHING, temperature rises, adding salt (my plec was in a different tank as salt is not that good for them) all of the meds going. There was something but I could not get any over here, it seemed to be something for parasites on pigs! Whether it worked, I don't know but I think they had stopped selling it over here as there were links to it being carsanagenic.
So after a lot of research and money and heartache (not that it bothered me but it was getting on for £100+) I decided the best thing to do, for them was to euthanize
It was horrible.
I have no idea where they came from, I assume my LFS.
I hope you don't think I'm being pessamistic but I just thought I would share and hopefully someone else knows how to cure this *SICK*
x x x x x x
I had the exact same thing about six months ago and after a LOT of research, it was Camallanus Worms.
It's horrible to see them poke out their anus and the actual cycle of them really never stops, so the eggs and larvae are everywhere and you can never really get rid of them without cleaning your whole tank. Also every fish will eventually get infected, as did mine.
They are the worst thing I have ever experienced (I know I sound sooo dramatic but it was really horrible to experience as a newbie).
All of my fish were infected by this nasty parasite, from my guppies right down to my beautiful plec.
I tried EVERYTHING, temperature rises, adding salt (my plec was in a different tank as salt is not that good for them) all of the meds going. There was something but I could not get any over here, it seemed to be something for parasites on pigs! Whether it worked, I don't know but I think they had stopped selling it over here as there were links to it being carsanagenic.
So after a lot of research and money and heartache (not that it bothered me but it was getting on for £100+) I decided the best thing to do, for them was to euthanize
It was horrible.I have no idea where they came from, I assume my LFS.
I hope you don't think I'm being pessamistic but I just thought I would share and hopefully someone else knows how to cure this *SICK*
x x x x x x
I think I know where the worms came from...the guppies that have developed it to the greatest degree (meaning I see symptoms) were both from the same pet store and bought at the same time. Would there be any reason to notify the store of this, or see if they know anything?
I have read about pH and levamisole. The problem is, my pH is over 7, more like 7.4 or 7.6. I have some stuff (acid buffer and neutral buffer, I think) to lower it, but what would be a good way to do this gradually?
I'm so sorry to hear about your fish, Cammie. I'm hoping it doesn't go that far with my fish...
I have read about pH and levamisole. The problem is, my pH is over 7, more like 7.4 or 7.6. I have some stuff (acid buffer and neutral buffer, I think) to lower it, but what would be a good way to do this gradually?
I'm so sorry to hear about your fish, Cammie. I'm hoping it doesn't go that far with my fish...