The Editor
Aquarium Advice Activist
Hi everyone!
Some of you may remember a while back I asked for advice regarding a bully guppy shredding the tail of another, after trying a few methods I added a few more gupps to the tank to spread the aggression about and give them better hierarchy..
You'll be pleased to hear that the previously bullied and shredded guppy is looking much happier and the tail is on the mend!
Now however one of the new additions doesn't look so well..
He's hanging out at the surface only fining about using his side fins, letting his tail almost droop down. He's got a swollen belly and is producing whitish stringy faeces which doesn't break off cleanly like the others does. He's also lost his appetite, I have him in a breeder box in my tank so I can monitor him more easily and to prevent any bullying of the weak. Finally and what I'm possibly most suspicious of is the top of his tail fin and tail section of his body looks almost rough and uneven with a whitish tinge, could almost look fungal like but I'm really not sure.
Could you help me diagnose/treat this poor chap?
Tank is 30L volume, have a Fluval U1 internal filter running (a few ceramic biorings and sponge only), and keeping the water at 28*C.
API fresh water master test gives:
pH = 8.2
Ammonia = 0.25-0.5 (kinda in between)
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10
Ammonia is a little high I guess due to a mini cycle after increasing the tank occupancy by 2/3rds... Doing regular (every other day or so) 40% water changes to try and keep this at bay while the filter catches up.
Also dosing the water daily with Melafix and using API aquarium salt when I do a water change to help the shredded tail heal.
Total stock is 5 male guppies. The two new additions went in on Friday and I thought his odd behaviour was stress related due to the move, however he's got worse and certainly didn't have the fungal looking patch in the shop...
So what do?
Some of you may remember a while back I asked for advice regarding a bully guppy shredding the tail of another, after trying a few methods I added a few more gupps to the tank to spread the aggression about and give them better hierarchy..
You'll be pleased to hear that the previously bullied and shredded guppy is looking much happier and the tail is on the mend!
Now however one of the new additions doesn't look so well..
He's hanging out at the surface only fining about using his side fins, letting his tail almost droop down. He's got a swollen belly and is producing whitish stringy faeces which doesn't break off cleanly like the others does. He's also lost his appetite, I have him in a breeder box in my tank so I can monitor him more easily and to prevent any bullying of the weak. Finally and what I'm possibly most suspicious of is the top of his tail fin and tail section of his body looks almost rough and uneven with a whitish tinge, could almost look fungal like but I'm really not sure.
Could you help me diagnose/treat this poor chap?
Tank is 30L volume, have a Fluval U1 internal filter running (a few ceramic biorings and sponge only), and keeping the water at 28*C.
API fresh water master test gives:
pH = 8.2
Ammonia = 0.25-0.5 (kinda in between)
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10
Ammonia is a little high I guess due to a mini cycle after increasing the tank occupancy by 2/3rds... Doing regular (every other day or so) 40% water changes to try and keep this at bay while the filter catches up.
Also dosing the water daily with Melafix and using API aquarium salt when I do a water change to help the shredded tail heal.
Total stock is 5 male guppies. The two new additions went in on Friday and I thought his odd behaviour was stress related due to the move, however he's got worse and certainly didn't have the fungal looking patch in the shop...
So what do?
