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One of my female guppies had a pink piece of flesh coming out of her anus. The male was picking at it. I noticed that she died last night. What in the world happened?

I've got a fever... and the only prescription... is more cowbell!

Could be camallanus nematodes. Did it look like a dangling worm(s)?

I don't know enough about female guppy anatomy to know if this was part of her female organs, like a uterus, coming out. Did she give birth lately?

Are you in the US? If so, I would pick up the new Anti-Parasite medicated feed by Jungle. It is only available at PetSmart right now. You can get it over the web at PetSmart.com too, if you don't have one near you. It has levamisol in it, which is the only effective treatment for camallanus nematodes. Chances are, your other fish have it too, if she didn't have something wrong with her female "stuff'.

Here is a link: Jungle Medicated Feed

Camallanus is not a fast killer, but more of a slow one. It is not typical to have it in aquarium fish because it usually requires a host in the lifecycle that is outdoors. I believe bird poop can spread it where snails can pick it up for the second stage, then it goes to fish. Bird eats fish and it starts over again.

However, I must admit I was dismayed when I spoted wild birds flying around a local chain petstore and bird poop on the wide open, live plant reservoir. Bird seed was stored right near the live plants yet so the birds were perching and pooping into the live plant bin . Good grief!

Anyway, the ingredients in this food are quite safe for all fish. You can crush the pellets smaller for your smaller fish.

In any event, you should watch all of your fish when they are relaxed. This is when camallanus nematodes sometimes dangle from their "vent".

Last edited by Cory_Di at 05-Nov-2004 13:56

would i do the antibacterial or antiparasitic?

I've got a fever... and the only prescription... is more cowbell!

I would do it, if I thought there was a chance that the red dangling thing from the female guppy was a camallanus nematode.

View these pics. If it looked similar, then do the medicated feed for your entire tank. Others may have it, but it may not be showing yet. You feed for 3 days, then feed normal for a week, then feed three days again. The three active ingredients are very safe: levamisol, praziquantel, and metronazidole.

http://images.google.com/images?q=camallanus&hl=en

Last edited by Cory_Di at 05-Nov-2004 17:34