FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hey guys,
I presently have 3 male guppies in my 10 that is waiting for my corys (I am taking the guppies to my lfs) but i was just sitting and staring at them today( instead of studying :%)) and i noticed that it looks like one of their tails is unraveling?? I imagine its fin rot, but im not sure. He appears to be fine, real active, eating, etc, and it is just his tail, no where else. I dont have the tank parameters on me, but i checked them a few days ago and they were fine. He is a juvenile i have raised in the same tank (about 6 mos. old) Is this fin rot? and how do i treat it??
Sam

Sam it sounds like fin rot to me...quickly run to walmart or an lfs or wherever, and get some melafix...1 teaspoon a day for 7 days should take care of the problem, and help to regrow the tail...keep in mind eventually tail rot will kill your fish, and is contagious, treat it before it gets worse...Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Hmm, not the news i was hoping for, i will have to run to wal-mart tomorrow after class, hope this is soon enough,....i cant drive myself beacuse i just had knee surgery!

Just a question on fin rot......is it only contagious among guppies, or can it spread, there was a few corys in there until recently, can this affect them? Should i treat me 20 also?

Thanks for the quick response Heidi....

This can be caught by any and all fish that I know of (one of my goldies had it once). Tomorrow should be soon enough, but if you can get someone to run to walmart now it would be better. I've lost fish basically overnight because I didn't have the MelaFix on hand...but tomorrow should be soon enough, just don't put it off, ok? And check you 20 gallon fish...unless they've been exposed they should be ok. Just keep an eye on them, and in the morning don't turn on the light, less stress, best of luck, and try to keep the Mela-Fix on hand...it has a strange scent, but after awhile it grows on you...Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Thanks for the quick answers!! THe only things i have on hand now are Jungle fungus clear and parasite clear tabs? should i treat with those for now? Or will that have no effect?
Sam

Best to wait till tomorrow and just stick with one med...unless it is a severe case...see the picture below, he/she should be ok till then, just leave the light off for tomorrow...best of luck and let us know...Heidi

PS Take care of that knee!





heidi attached this image:


"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Ok well its not that bad! I will wait to tomorrow and get to wal-mart? anyone else ever notice how fish always get sick before pay-day when you have absolutely NO money?? o well, ill charge it! Thankyou for all of your help! I'll let you know what happens!
Sam

No problems, and don't worry that's what usually happens to me as well...if you have a petsmart close melafix is usually cheaper there...8oz bottle at walmart here runs $7, while at petsmart it's about $5.50 or so...best of luck again, and no she wasn't that bad at night, i found her that way in the morning:#(Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

O dear, i do hope he survives the night Im sorry about your poor fishy Ill keep you posted!
Sam

don't worry he should be fine, she had passed when that photo was taken...do you have a photo of what it looks like right now?


"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

unfortunately no, my digital camera broke, and im not getting a new one until my bday (the 28th) It doesnt seem to have gotten much worse in the past few hours tho, maybe thats a good sign? Even tho he is goin back to the LFS, i don't want to cause them more problems!! If he survives this i may not be able to take him there! I only have the three because they had such pretty tails, i recently took a whole bunch back, and i have a whole tank full of young(ish) fry, they really are like underwater rabbits! I may just keep my 3 males and just give the fry back!

Unfortunately, i go to a small(ish) university and i only have 2 LFS options, one which i dont much care for, they tried to sell me 3 male gouramis for my 20 gal and another thats a 30 minute drive away. As for Petsmart or Petco the closest is 45 minutes at least. Ah well!

Sam

OK just keep the lights off tomorrow (I've only said that a million times haven't I, sorry) get the melafix and treat the tank...Keep the 3 males, they can be beautifuland raise the fry for a bit so you can get some store credit, thus having some "$$$" when you need it for fishie things...Till Tomorrow, Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Good morning-
update- fin rot appears to be just the same as yesterday, not any worse (whew!) and i wont put the lights on, should i leave them off all day, until i get the meds???? I keep you updated
Sam

What Heidi's suggest is a reasonable idea, but might i suggest you need to find the cause of the problem. Have you got test kits for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate? If not, it might be worth taking a sample of your water to your LFS for testing, and getting the results in PPM so you can post them here.

Finrot can be caused by a number of things, but the most common cause is poor water quality. To fix this, you need to make sure you are doing regular water changes, and while the finrot exists, increase the regularity of the water changes. I recommend a 10% every second day change. Melafix will help stop the finrot, but it will not remove the poor water quality. You need to fix the cause of the problem, otherwise the symptoms will persist. If it is bacterial finrot, then the other meds you already have are ideal for treating it. But try the easy road first, and do water changes.

So, add the melafix if you wish, but if you improve your water quality, i suspect all of your problems will go and the fish will heal themselves.

Hey thanks for the advice. I took the water in, and the lfs said my water is fine (not that im too sure i can trust them, but its the best i got!) I have been doing 20-30% water changes every week, but ill start doing them every other day, Until recently i had a complete overload of guppies in my tank from all the fry, that may have had something to do with it! Let me know if there is something else i should be doing?

Sam

Yeah, i'd get some test kits, particularly Nitrate with your current problem, and see what your results are. Some fish are quite sensative to Nitrate levels above 20ppm, and they will show signs of fin rot. You're weekly routine sounds fine provided you are doing a gravel vac with the water change, just to clean up the fish muck.

If you do get your own test kit, and the Nitrates are below 20ppm, then perhaps the idea would be to keep your regular routine, but monitor the tank during the week, and keep an eye on the fish. If you can't see translucent bits on the fins, which will be the sign of new growth, then the fins are not recovering, and it may be time to do a fungal treatment using an antibacterial medication. It could still be stress related, but if you haven't introduced new fish, and you keep the light low, then it really should not be stress.

It would be a good investment to get an Ammonia, pH, Nitrite and Nitrate test kit if you love your fish and are enjoying the hobby. These kits are very important in monitoring the health of your tank, and if you aren't sure what the results mean, there are heaps of people in FP who can explain them in quite some detail. It's how i learnt a lot about what the results mean!!/:'