male guppy w/torn fins.....

[boothbrave]

Hi folks.

I've got this male guppy with 2 female guppies and 2 female bettas. Both seem pretty well off with each other.

However the male guppy when introduced a few months ago had a split in his tale. I never noticed till a friend mentioned it. It never healed and remained that way for a couple months untill it split again (2 splits) and then once more into 3 splits!


He's still full of energy and I don't believe I have any ornaments that could damage his fins. Any explanations? A friend said it could be the water.



Thanks

 

[Allivymar]

It could be the water if the tank has ammonia or nitrites, or high levels of nitrates.

If the bettas weren't in there (assuming water parameters are ok) I'd suggest Melafix (helps fins heal) but bettas don't do well with Melafix.

 

[An t-iasg]

I have used BettaMax when my bettas got splits in their fins, and it works well. The package says it can be used on fancy-finned fish like guppies too. I would give BettaMax a try for your guppies. Use it in a QT tank, because it will stain the silicone. One of my betta tanks has stained silicone from using BettaMax in there, and it drives me crazy!

I don't have any experience with Melafix. I know it stressed my betta, but I haven't read anything about it being bad for guppies. If you do try it on the guppies, use it in the QT so it doesn't harm the betta.

 

[boothbrave]

Thanks for the replys.....

Still no fix on his torn fins , I'll try to quarantine the guy.........but lately I've been preoccupied with helping my male betta fish in his 2.5 gallon tank.

Seems he has developed ick on the gills and I've applied the "nox-ich" for a few days and hasn't helped. Done a few partial water changes as well.

Any suggestions?

I'll probably start another thread for this topic as well.


Thanks in advance

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi,
Sorry to hear the guppy isn't any better. What did you try -- the BettaMax or Melafix? Yes, I would QT the guppy to try to get him better. I don't have guppies (wouldn't mind getting some, though!) You should PM Guppyman for help on the guppy.

Now the betta is getting ich? Oh no! Did you read the ich article in the articles section on this site? The recommendation is to slowly raise and hold the temperature to 86 degrees (or maybe it's 88 degrees; check the article to be sure). It's been awhile since I read the article, but this heat treatment speeds the ich thru the life cycle so they die sooner. It also speeds up the part of the cycle in which they are attached to the fish. You would still need to do daily water changes to eliminate the ich that are free floating. Is there any chance that you could get a heater and a 5 gallon tank for the treatment?

But in a 2.5 gallon tank, you probably don't have a heater. In that case, I would use Aquarisol. It's a copper based medicine, and copper, over the long term, can be harmful too. Only use the recommended dose for the recommended length of time. Definitely don't use Aquarisol, or any copper-based med, if you have any inverts, like ghost shrimp, in the tank too.

I also have on hand Kordon's Rid Ich+. It doesn't have copper in it, but it's probably no less harmful over the long run either. It says to use 1 teaspoon for every 10 gallons, but for a 2.5 gallon, that probably only works out to a few drops. As with any med, watch for signs of stress.

Good luck and I hope this all clears up for you!

 

[boothbrave]

Thanks An t-iasg ,

I'll do another read up on the article as I remember briefly reading it through a while back.

I'd love to get a heater for the guy but I was told that getting the smallest heater out there (25 watt ?) will cook the guy.

I'm thinking he could be stressed as upon the 2nd day of medication he seem to have more ich on the gills. I stopped after the third day of treatment but continued a couple days later after the water change.

I'm also adding more aquarium salt but don't know how much ? Anyone know?



Thanks

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi boothbrave,
How are the fish doing? I remember Guppyman saying to someone that you should do a formalin dip for a certain guppy problem. But PM him to make sure. I have never had guppies. Kordon (maker of Novaqua and Amquel) has a formalin product, I think. Do a search on guppy and formalin to see what comes up.

About the betta...if you've re-read the ich article by now, it suggests using salt to attain a specific gravity of 1.002 -- 1.003 above what you normally keep the tank. I normally use 1/4 teaspoon of aquarium salt (Jungle brand) per gallon. I don't know what specific gravity that is, though. I would buy a hydrometer (what the SW guys use). I've seen them at Petsmart or Petco for about 5 or 6 dollars. You may need to calibrate it with distilled or RO water.

Here is another topic that talks about how much salt to use in FW for ich treatment: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=17531&start=10

I have used aquarium salt in my betta's bowl before (a few years ago when I had a betta in a bowl). It was a 2-gallon bowl. I used one teaspoon per gallon on him, and he did fine with it. That teaspoon looked so huge, but the betta showed no signs of stress. I would add the salt gradually. Take a full day (about 24 hours) to get up to the 1.002 -- 1.003 specific gravity level. Then you will gradually reduce the salt level back to your normal levels with your normal water changes.

I would be cautious about putting a 25-watt heater in a 2.5 gallon tank. I've seen small, 10-watt or so heaters at Wal-Mart, but honestly, I don't know if I'd trust them.

What med were you using that stressed the betta out? Hopefully this salt treatment will work.

 

[boothbrave]

Thanks An t-iasg ,

What I ended up doing was cleaning out the 2.5g tank all togerther.
Wanted to start with a clean tank since I had only made partial water changes for it the past two months.

Seems to work so far, and wilson the betta is doing better! Will watch closely.

 

[An t-iasg]

You're welcome!

Since it's easy to take down and clean a 2.5 gallon tank, then that will help to eliminate the free-floating ich or ich in the substrate. Like you said, just be sure to watch closely! Glad Wilson is doing better!