Why guppy babies with pointed tail

[fxbillie]

Hi,

Some of my guppy babies are having their tails pointed as if they have gone through a pencil sharpener. They have trouble swimming and have to wriggle hard to balance. Some already died. What cause their tails like this? If it is fungal problem, I have some Fungus Clear (from Jungle), but I am not sure if these babies can take medicine treatment, being so tiny. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

[peppermint]

Originally Posted by fxbillie

Hi,

Some of my guppy babies are having their tails pointed as if they have gone through a pencil sharpener. They have trouble swimming and have to wriggle hard to balance. Some already died. What cause their tails like this? If it is fungal problem, I have some Fungus Clear (from Jungle), but I am not sure if these babies can take medicine treatment, being so tiny. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Hey, I've noticed that as well before they start dying. I'll be following closely!

[fxbillie]

It seems to be a problem shared by others. The following is a post I copy & paste from another forum, just identical to my problem:

"I have a 10 gallon tank with 5 adult guppies. (All adult guppies were purchased separately and at different stores to avoid interbreeding) About 2 months ago, one of my females had babies. I was able to catch 6 and moved them to their own smaller tank. At first, they appeared normal and appeared to be thriving. After about 2-3 weeks, they started looking different in appearance. The tail fin started looking pointed. It looked like they got their tails caught in a pencil sharpener. They looked like tadpoles instead of fish. Eventually they all died. The next time my female guppy had babies, I scooped up about 12 and put them in a plastic floating breeder tank and kept them in my main 10 gallon tank. Again, at first, all looked healthy and normal. As the days are going by, they are now starting to look like my first batch....pointy tails look like tadpoles. Any idea what is wrong? A long time ago when I was a kid, I raised guppies and never had this problem. My babies always thrived. I need your help and advice."

Can any one come out with the solution to this curse to the guppy babies? Kind of feeling helpless seeing them dying. Sigh!

[WhiteDevil]

Ive only had a few out of thousands of guppy fry that end up like this. They dont live long so I get them to the amazon tank as soon as possible.

foods, water cleanliness,and decor can all be to blame, who knows.

[HN1]

Inbred fish most likely. Try introducing some new blood into the mix, it may reduce the number of fry that die or need to be culled.

[peppermint]

I also thought it was a genetic problem at first but recently, upon moving 9 healthy babies (a month old) to a new smaller aquarium of their own, all 9 developed the pointy tails the next day and died within 24 hours.

I made several newbie mistakes: I moved old water into the 5 gallon, I put a super strong internal filter that created a sort of tornado in the smaller aquarium (die of stress?), I put maybe too much or bad water treatment in the water.

I don't know what exactly caused the pointy tails but it is strange that they all developed it within a 24 hour period of moving them. Could it have been the stress of the move + my mistakes that reduced their immune system making them prone to an already existing disease in the water? My best bet is that.

I've read on another forum that someone treated the fry with some Copper treatment and it apparently worked. Haven't tried it.

[fxbillie]

Yes Peppermint, I recently move the guppies from a 20 gal to 30 gal, but I move 60% of the water plus all gravel & the filter plus all plants to the new tank. Can this cause the stress? I guess it may mean no moving baby fries from now on for me. If this problem persist, I will probably treat the 30 gal with a fungus product (I have Fungus Clear from Jungle Products). I just don't know if the other healthy fries can survive a full strength treatment.

[peppermint]

Originally Posted by fxbillie

Yes Peppermint, I recently move the guppies from a 20 gal to 30 gal, but I move 60% of the water plus all gravel & the filter plus all plants to the new tank. Can this cause the stress? I guess it may mean no moving baby fries from now on for me. If this problem persist, I will probably treat the 30 gal with a fungus product (I have Fungus Clear from Jungle Products). I just don't know if the other healthy fries can survive a full strength treatment.

I was advised to not move water from an older aquarium at the risk of moving pollutants by the very helpful people in this forum. Just decoration, gravel & your filter media should be enough to keep the good bacteria for the nitrification cycle.

I was planning to try to move a few babies again later this week with a more adequate filter for the 5 gallon & cleaner water. Will let you know if it works out.

[meegosh]

I too think inbreeding is to blame here. It could be that your female was already pregnant when you got it and is still dropping fry. Guppies can have multiple broods, they can store sperm for months.