Possible guppy fin rot?

[fishtonic1]

Hi all

I think one of my guppies has fin rot...
I'll post before and after pictures. They are a week apart. I only got 3 guppies a week ago. The other two are fine and thriving swimming around all over the place, but my blue guppy's fin has deteriorated, and he only stays at the top of the tank. He sorta swims funny too as his rear fin doesn't operate fully. He still eats though, like the other two.
Edit: he is now swimming at a 45 degree angle upwards

Tank parameters are all in check.
0 ammonia and nitrite, around 5ppm nitrate. ~7.4-7.6 ph. Water is quite hard. Did a ~40% water change yesterday.

What would be the appropriate treatment? Thanks!

 

[Andy Sager]

Yes, he's definitely infected. Typically this would need an antibiotic but I'm not sure you can get them in Australia. You'll need to check your local stores and find medications that include Malachite Green( Victoria Green) or Methylene Blue or Acriflavin and if possible, in combination with Formalin. I'd place this fish in a hospital tank and also treat with non iodized salt at a rate of 1 tablespoon per 3 gallons of actual water. ( You should measure the amount of water you put into the hospital tank to prevent over or under dosing meds. )
If you need assistance setting up a hospital tank, I lay it all out in post #2 here: Quarantine tanks and Hospital tanks, are they really different?

Hope this helps.

 

[fishtonic1]

Yes, he's definitely infected. Typically this would need an antibiotic but I'm not sure you can get them in Australia. You'll need to check your local stores and find medications that include Malachite Green( Victoria Green) or Methylene Blue or Acriflavin and if possible, in combination with Formalin. I'd place this fish in a hospital tank and also treat with non iodized salt at a rate of 1 tablespoon per 3 gallons of actual water. ( You should measure the amount of water you put into the hospital tank to prevent over or under dosing meds. )
If you need assistance setting up a hospital tank, I lay it all out in post #2 here: Quarantine tanks and Hospital tanks, are they really different?

Hope this helps.

Thanks Andy. I was going to get onto this tonight but unfortunately I found him dead this morning.
I noticed the loss of fin days ago but you live you learn. I think ill keep a secondary filter in my established tank just incase i need it for a quarantine tank, and take action immediately if this happens again. I've got aquarium salt now so that will be handy when needed.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thanks Andy. I was going to get onto this tonight but unfortunately I found him dead this morning.
I noticed the loss of fin days ago but you live you learn. I think ill keep a secondary filter in my established tank just incase i need it for a quarantine tank, and take action immediately if this happens again. I've got aquarium salt now so that will be handy when needed.

Sorry to hear. Yeah, you can't let diseases like this fester because it can go bad very quickly. Just for the record, you don't want an established filter in a hospital tank but do in a quarantine tank but you don't want to medicate in a quarantine tank because many meds will either kill or suppress the bacteria bed. Please read the thread I linked in my previous post.

 

[fishtonic1]

Sorry to hear. Yeah, you can't let diseases like this fester because it can go bad very quickly. Just for the record, you don't want an established filter in a hospital tank but do in a quarantine tank but you don't want to medicate in a quarantine tank because many meds will either kill or suppress the bacteria bed. Please read the thread I linked in my previous post.

Gave it a read, very helpful. After researching online yesterday, there were lots of mixed answers and confusion regarding quarantine tanks and how to set them up, but what you explain makes sense. I plan on getting more fish soon so ill get another filter in my main tank for a future quarantine tank for new fish. And i know how to set up a hospital tank if something gets bad and requires medication. Hopefully the two guppies in my main tank right now are disease free, as i didnt quarantine them

 

[Andy Sager]

Gave it a read, very helpful. After researching online yesterday, there were lots of mixed answers and confusion regarding quarantine tanks and how to set them up, but what you explain makes sense. I plan on getting more fish soon so ill get another filter in my main tank for a future quarantine tank for new fish. And i know how to set up a hospital tank if something gets bad and requires medication. Hopefully the two guppies in my main tank right now are disease free, as i didnt quarantine them

That method was taught to me , years ago, by a public aquarium curator so you know it's good. They never put new animals in established tanks without quarantining for at least 3 months I was told. If you see anything odd with the other 2 fish, definitely react quicker.

 

[fishtonic1]

That method was taught to me , years ago, by a public aquarium curator so you know it's good. They never put new animals in established tanks without quarantining for at least 3 months I was told. If you see anything odd with the other 2 fish, definitely react quicker.

Would you say 3 months minimum?

 

[Andy Sager]

Would you say 3 months minimum?

With most fish, 60 days should be enough but there are some parasites in nature that have life cycles of 90-120 days so public aquariums do not take chances. If you are getting wild caught fish, I would definitely do at least 90 days ( 3 months.) There's nothing wrong with keeping fish in quarantine tanks for long periods because they are just a mini version of the main tank. You have to limit the time in a hospital tank however because it's not a cycled tank.