Guppy spine bent upwards...and looks like ich too?

[BlueZetes]

Was given 8 fancy guppies, all under 3 months old, mixed sex. Placed them in 5 gallon tank with power filter, NO heater that had been running for 3 days, but NOT cycled. Used tap water to start, and used Tetra AquaSafe. Had them for 3 or 4 weeks now. Feeding them standard flakes (probably overfeeding them, 2 or so have gotten little bellies, but don't appear to be carrying babies). All good eaters; no probs. All alive and well, until 2 days ago. One had lost most of the little color he had developed, and his spine towards his tail end is bent up, like a v, only not as dramatic. Took this fish out of the tank and put in fish bowl. Doesn't eat much. Seems to act, pardon the word, retarded. Has very little color, and also has spots that look like ich---isolated dots of white. Not really sure what to do other than what I have already done. Afraid for the health of my other babies. Don't want to use malachite blue, seems like a harsh route to go.

What should I do? Is it Fish Tuberculosis? Does it sound like ich? Could ONLY this fish have had Fish TB before, and got ich because of it's weakness from TB? Please help. Did I do something wrong? And what about my other sweet babies?

Hopefully someone can help, I understand you can't see my tank and can only go by what I say. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[i3k]

Well, overfeeding the fish will eventually lead to many health problems...especially with a small tank of 5 gallons. I would suggest doing water changes...partial water changes that is. Change about 20% of the water and raise the temperature up to about 84 degrees and that should kill off the ich over 3-4 days...cutback on feeding...keep changing bout 20% of water every week until the fish improve. Hopefully its not too late...oh, test your water for pH and ammonia levels.

 

[BlueZetes]

Thank you for the reply. I have cut back the feeding already, and did a 20 percent water change 2 days ago. Took the sick guy out already as well...only 2 of the other fish have it, all seems well and still healthy.

Hopefully its not too late

Will raise the temp...didn't do that yet. I was afraid to max out the ich potential seeing as ich's life cycle is faster at higher temps I thought. Any thoughts on this?
pH and ammonia testing...I know you all will slap me on the proverbial wrists, but i have never done any testing. All is still well in water land. Will this affect the ich as well?

Thank you i3k. Hopefully all this works. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[i3k]

Well when you raise the temp. ich will only die once they pop out of cyst which usually is at the bottom of the tank...the next stage is Tomite that is when they are sensitive to medicine and temperature. I also suggest adding salt to your aquarium to relief fish of stress that is caused by Ich. Add about 3 tsp of salt per gallon or 1 tblspn per gallon. Keep the temperature at about 85 degrees. You can try using aquari-sol to control ich....however it is pretty strong and if you have small scaless fish, I would suggest using half the dose suggested on the bottle. If you do use medicine...keep a lookout as some fish may be more sensitive to medication then others. One more thing...when you do partial water changes...you should clean out the gravel as well with a gravel cleaner.

Hope your fish recover.

 

[BlueZetes]

salt questions...

Please pardon my ignorance. What type of salt exactly should I be using? I have never used salt in my aquariums. :?

 

[i3k]

Any aquarium salt...do NOT use table salt. I use Instant Ocean by Aquarium Systems.

 

[BlueZetes]

Guppies doing much better. Ich is slowly disappearing. Since separating the others from the guppy with the bent spine, I've added aquarium salt and raised the temperature. All seems better, I'll let you know in a few weeks.

The guppy who has the bent spine and ich the worst seems to be doing alittle better. He's eating, and if it's not my imagination, his spine seems less dramatically bent. I suppose I'll find that out in a few weeks. I have no intention of placing him back into the original tank, until he is completely bent- and ich-free. Wish him luck!

i3k, I appreciate all your help and suggestions. Keep your fingers crossed!

PS One more question---do you know how ich affects pregnant guppies and their fry? One of the females appears pregnant...gravid spot not too too dark yet...are there any special precautions?

 

[CRaZeeeBiTcHisH]

if she doesn't have ich i wouldn't worry about it, if she develops it, she should be fine with treatment, i have had brand new fry have the misfortune of being treated for worse ills and they pulled through better than the adults 8O