Guppy rotting away!!! Need Help ASAP!!!

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

juliemichelle

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Sep 8, 2003
Messages
78
Location
Iowa
I brought home 6 new fancy guppies this weekend and they're dying off one by one even with treatment!!! I am treating the ich with salt, warm temps and Coppersafe. Now one of the guppies is developing this cotton-y tufts covering its body and beneath the tufts are what looks like his meat inside his body. It is quickly getting worse! I've tried some cheap fizzy tank buddies for the treatment and it is not getting better. Any suggestions?! P.S. Ammonia is at 0.0 and the ph is at 7.0 (that's all I test for). They are in my 10 gallong quarantine tank.
 
First, do a 25% water change and make sure you have removed the carbon from the filter - it removes the meds.
Then, please get the liquid test kits for nitrites and nitrates.
Nitrites are just slightly less deadly than ammonia and they can kill fish - they should read 0 also. Are you sure your ammonia test result is accurate? - the lfs could confirm it if you bring them a water sample.

Body fungus is actually a bacterial infection brought on by poor water quality and/or a weakened immune system. It's a common secondary infection during and after a bad ich infestation.
You could try Marycin-2 (erythromycin). Since I'm not one for mixing meds, I would suggest treating the ich with salt and heat alone while simultaneously attacking the bacterial infection. Just be sure to increase tank aeration and keep a close eye on water parameters / perform frequent partial water changes since erythro will muck up the biofilter.
 
*nods and agrees with QTOFFER*

Sounds like your guppies have something called Columnaris which is also known as mouth fungus disease. It can appear funguslike, but is actually a bacterial infection. I strongly suggest your read this article; I don't know if you can save your guys but its the best article I've read about it and makes some very good suggestions: http://www.aquamaniacs.net/flex.html . The only thing I'd add is either use a medicated food that has oxytetracycline, or use Kanacyn in the water.

And actually QTOFFER, you don't want to up the heat if the fish also have a bacterial infection; it can also cause the bacteria multiply faster and that you don't want (and it won't kill it).
 
Allivymar said:
And actually QTOFFER, you don't want to up the heat if the fish also have a bacterial infection; it can also cause the bacteria multiply faster and that you don't want (and it won't kill it).

I know what you're saying, Allivymar, but Ich with a bacterial infection is such a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.:evil:
I was there a few weeks ago and I lost several fish after attempting to cure the ich first. :( I don't know if fighting the two problems simultaneoudly would have helped the poor guys any more, but at least it would have made me feel better knowing that my fish went down with all my guns-a-firing.

In this case, do you think it would it be safe to mix broad-spectrum antibiotics with one of the copper-based ich meds? I didn't want to suggest that initially because mixing meds just gives me the willies!
Otherwise, would it be better to nail the bacteria first and then go after the ich? This is such a tough situation to call.
 
I just got home from work and the pet store and the fish guy said that the Melafix and the Coppersafe should knock this in the butt. But...one of the other guppies now has the "saddle back" sore. I turned the temp down on my tank and I'll settle it down at 74 by tomorrow. My pet store has a 30 day guarantee so I guess if they all go I can try again. What is the consensus guys? Should I go back and get some other antibiotic? I can insert my carbon for overnight and then add the new stuff tomorrow. I love these guppies they're so active and colorful after living with convicts for 6 months! :?
 
I've now lost 3 more fish since my last post. Two of them were ones with fuzzy sores. Sigh. :(
 
I feel for you, juliemichelle. I lost three serpaes to the same miserable combination of diseases that are haunting you.
That's why I truly hate ich - it weakens the fish' defenses and leaves them wide open for opportunistic bacterial infections.
 
And Melafix does nothing for Columnaris infections; its just not strong enough *slaps the lfs guy*. While I usually don't recommend combining treatments, you may have to julie. See if you can find Kanacyn; hopefully its not too late for the rest.
 
I am on day 8 of Maracyn, day 3 of Maroxy and day 3 of Maracyn - 2 (always treat with CopperSafe). Two more have died. My tank is getting empty. Everything that I have researched says that this is caused by poor water quality. This weekend I bought a new filter for my 55 gallong and my 10 gallon inherited the supplemental filter rated at 20-40 gallons (size of tank)--it is a Whisper Advanced (biological sponge filter and flow control). This week I've added more salt and changed 40% of the water and vaccuumed twice. They're still dying and today one of my females has a saddle sore. No fish place in town has the Kanacyn and no place is willing to order it for me (I have no credit card - evil - bad things) and can't order anything on line. WHAT DO I DO?!! :cry:
 
Contact Bernie; he's one of our sponsors (see the Fish Store in the sponsor forum). Maybe he can work something out with you? I know he ships.
 
Thank for the help. I'll drive up to Des Moines this weekend (1.5-2 hours) away, if it isn't snowing too much and hopefully one of the large pet stores will have something. It's so heartbreaking when my daughter finds another of her fishies "hidden" by a plant. (My dad keeps telling her that she shouldn't name fish.) Should I get rid of my gravel and plants? Should I scrub them? I'm worried that I'll never be able to move my surviving guppies over to my big tank. Can I clean up their habitat? Is there anything else I can try until I can get more meds? Whew--quite a few questions!
 
Heh, many questions but important ones!

Actually, nuking the tank might be a good idea.

By nuking I mean killing off all living things that may be living in it (not the fish or plants tho LOL). Best way to do this is to move the surviving fish into another temporary tank, pull out everything and rinse it in a 9 to 1 water to bleach ratio. Even dip the plants in it (watch the roots), Throw away the filter media. Rinse all the tubes, and wipe down any cords that actually into the tank (like the heater cord). Soak the gravel in the bleach mixture, and either wipe the tank down or soak that as well. Don't do this until you get the antibiotics, then when you return everything treat the fish ASAP so they don't reinfect the tank.

As for what to do now, well, not much you can do. Just as when we get a bad bacterial infection that we can't kick ourselves, we need those antibiotics to help rid ourselves of the infection, so it is with the fish. You may want to reduce the temps a bit; that MAY slow down the infection as bacteria lurve warm moist places, and don't multiply as rapidly is lower temps (say, 72-74F rather then close to 80F).

*slaps self in head* I just checked, and realise I never gave you this link; there may be more info that can help in here: http://www.aquamaniacs.net/flex.html
 
Back
Top Bottom