guppy with shredded tail - now in QT, next steps?

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Jharvey

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
57
Location
New England (USA)
Hi folks - I need some advice for my male guppy who has been hiding for the past couple of days. [I have a not-great history with the guppies from my LFS - I've had mollies, danios (which I re-homed), and tetras that have all done great but several guppy deaths :( Please let me know if there is something about my parameters that you think is causing this.] I couldn't see much but have never had any luck quarantining other guppies so I wasn't going to bother, but then he was out enough for me to get a good look and his tail fin looks almost shredded. I see no discoloration of any kind on the fin. I haven't seen any actual fin-nipping but my oldest molly is definitely territorial and will regularly chase any/all of the other mollies or guppies. It is also possible that his back looks a little more curved than normal - hard to tell.

So, I just moved the injured/sick guppy into a 5-gal QT using the tetrawhisper 10i filter from the main tank. I added 1 T of aquarium salt. Whereas he was almost constantly hiding under plants or in decorations in the main tank, he is now swimming around actively in the QT.

Am I doing the right thing with the QT and the salt? Do you think I should also medicate? Is it likely to be from nipping? Is there any long-term remedy outside of getting rid of this or the aggressive molly?

Thanks so much!


specs:
I have a 30g tall tank established for 5 months. Ammonia and nitrites are at 0. nitrates are between 5-10ppm (I have such a hard time reading that one), 81 degrees; pH 7.8

I have an aquaclear 50 HOB filter and a tetrawhisper 10i that I keep in the main tank in case I need to instacycle a quarantine tank.

I have 2 guppies (male); 4 mollies (1 male); 6 neon tetras; 4 cardinal tetras; 2 baby mollies (2 weeks old) in a breeder net/tank

I do weekly water changes/vaccumings of at least 5 gallons.

I feed them Aqueon tropical flake food once per day.

I haven't added any new materials, plants, or in the last month. (But have aquarium gravel for substrate, a couple of aquarium decorations, 4 real plants, 2 fake plants)

The guppy in question was added about 2 months ago.
 
Could be agression from the mollies.
Nipped cadual (back) tails on a male guppy will usually clear up on its own, however pectoral fin rot and or skin lesions/fungus are a sign its time to add an antibiotic.
 
Good to know. It does seem to just be his tail fin. He seemed to be hanging out near the bottom of the QT this morning... I hope nothing else is wrong.

Was adding aquarium salt a good idea? Should I continue to add salt when I do water changes?

Thanks!
 
Yes, it was a good idea. He/she may just be too far gone. In fact, you can treat and prevent alot of disease's in guppies/mollies with just salt. However, if possible, use marine salt, dissolved first for 30 minutes in a bucket. Regular AQ salt is not strong enough.
 
What's the difference between marine salt and AQ salt? I did 1 TBS for a 5 gallon tank.

He seems active and happy in QT right now. I'm retesting water parameters just to make sure it's staying clean. So glad I moved him.
 
Marine salt is full of trace elements. AQ salt is just sodium cloride. Mostly for osmosis,electrolytes, and gill and slime coat function.
Marine salt will actually increase salinity, and this will ward off the bad stuff, to a certain extent.
 
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