Poorly Guppy

Cammie

Cammie

Large Fish
#1
Feb 26, 2010
106
0
0
Bournemouth, United Kingdom
#1
I'm sorry it's me again!

One of my guppies has a very large tear in his tail, this happened two days. It does look a little worse now and while trying to inspect him (if he would just stop swimming around!) it looks maybe as if the area towards the body end of the tail, is a little white.
I'm quite worried as I'm sure this could be fin rot?! I've only had them a few days!
How should I treat this and are my other guppies at risk?
I feel so bad, I don't want them to get poorly :(

Thank you for reading and hopefully helping me x x x x
 

L

LeighSBrown

Small Fish
#2
Mar 2, 2010
11
0
0
UK
#2
Sounds like fin rot! It happened with my daughters Tiger Goldfish a few months ago. It had a yellow spot on its tail fin when i brought it home...a few days later turned into a hole...then a split...then even after treatment had no tail left!!
I wud say try treating it asap..
 

exhumed07

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
#4
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#4
with the guppies I've had they split their tails all the time. not sure how but they would and on occation they would get a slight bacterial infection. but I'd treat it with salt and it would go away after a week or so.
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#5
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#5
Is it a ball of white at the base of the tear or is it just a little white edging? When their fins are growing back, they will appear white or clear at the edges of the regrown part. I have to male crowntail bettas right now who are regrowing fins (they got to each other through the divider in their old tank) and the edges of their regrowth is white. I would almost be willing to bet that one of your other males nipped the tail of that one male while they were establishing who was in charge. I had a couple of delta tail males when I first got my guppies who were constantly picking at each others fins.
 

Cammie

Cammie

Large Fish
#7
Feb 26, 2010
106
0
0
Bournemouth, United Kingdom
#7
Thank you everyone. I put the treatment in and it seemed okay but then this morning it seems much worse and one of my other guppies died! I thought he was okay. I'm very sad and now the water in my tank is getting a little cloudy.
Everything is going wrong and I don't want to put my three guppies at risk!
 

Cammie

Cammie

Large Fish
#9
Feb 26, 2010
106
0
0
Bournemouth, United Kingdom
#9
I took a water sample to the fish shop and they said it was all over the place! I now know from the advice I've received from this website, that I should have done a longer fishless cycle but I've now learnt.
I've done a 20% water change and they've recommended some bacteria treatment.
What is the best water testing kit to buy? I don't trust the fish shop anymore seeing as I bought the guppies from them and they had fin rot so I want to test my own water. Will it give me advice on what to do if certain levels aren't correct etc?
I don't want anymore fish to die or even get sick, it's unfair and I don't want them to be unhappy!
Thank you everyone for your amazing advice :)
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#10
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#10
The API Master Freshwater test kit is a good one. It measures ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. Make sure its the freshwater version, as they also sell a saltwater version.
 

RexyTexel

RexyTexel

Large Fish
#12
Apr 29, 2009
179
0
16
Maryland
#12
I wouldn't blame the fish shop for "bad fish" guppies fight amongst eachother quite often. If there are too many males and not enough females they'll start nipping their fins and if your water isn't changed often this can lead to fin rot. Frequent water changes and salt is one of the best ways to treat fin rot. I've never bought any medicine for my fishtanks and have always cured my fin rot on my bettas.
 

exhumed07

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
#14
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#14
carbon filters are about worthless. the carbon soaks up their max amount within hours. as for salt I use a premixed salt from my lfs that has seasalt and other minerals in it. but I use one tablespoon per gallon. just remember when u use salt keep a general idea how much water u take out for a water change so u can replace the amount u have taken out.
 

sombunya

sombunya

Large Fish
#15
Jul 25, 2008
304
0
0
67
So. Cal. USA
#15
If you have any doubts about water quality my advice is to do at least a 50% water change every day. Treat with PRIME, three drops per gallon out of an eye dropper and try to match the temperature as closely as possible.

I had a Bluegill injured in a fight. I put it in a 10 gallon hospital tank, treated it with it with Melafix (I think that was the name) and did 100% water changes every day. 6 months later the fish is fine.
 

Doomhed

Doomhed

Large Fish
#16
Feb 11, 2003
687
0
0
41
Rhode Island
Visit site
#16
sombunya said:
If you have any doubts about water quality my advice is to do at least a 50% water change every day. Treat with PRIME, three drops per gallon out of an eye dropper and try to match the temperature as closely as possible.

I had a Bluegill injured in a fight. I put it in a 10 gallon hospital tank, treated it with it with Melafix (I think that was the name) and did 100% water changes every day. 6 months later the fish is fine.
Click to expand...
the 100% water changes are why he took so long to heal. the tank never was cycled and stable. Cichlids heal fast if they are in a stable environment with the right amount of aquarium salt to alter the specific gravity to balance with their internal osmotic pressure.

Melafix is a good treatment, but your water changes were way off the mark, too much of a good thing.
 

sombunya

sombunya

Large Fish
#17
Jul 25, 2008
304
0
0
67
So. Cal. USA
#17
Doomhed said:
Melafix is a good treatment, but your water changes were way off the mark, too much of a good thing.
Click to expand...
I set up a 10 gallon "hospital tank". The fish was producing Ammonia, of course, and the water was reading .5 ppm in one day. I suppose I could have seeded the tank or set up a 20 or 40 gallon tank but I didn't have one.

I matched the temperature (10 gallon changes are easy) treated with Melafix and the wound slowly healed.

I got that info from a member NANFA, linked in my signature. Good info, at least in my case.

Edit: Not sure if I was clear. It didn't take 6 months to heal the fish, only about two weeks. The incident occurred about 6 months ago.
 

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aglowe00

Small Fish
#19
Mar 22, 2010
21
0
0
#19
are you quarentining your fish? if you are not i think you should? even though fin rot isnt contagious.. it is still easier for me to keep a close eye on them :)
 

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