Yellow guppy has red streaks on tail

FishNewbie82912 · Sep 3, 2019

Hello,

I’m new here. Title explains the problem and I attached a pic. I noticed the redness today. Wasn’t there yesterday. Looks like red lines.

Stats about my tank:
25 gallon
Nitrates 5.0ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Ammonia 0.25ppm
pH 7.4
Temp 82
I do add a little aquarium salt since I had ich and it cleared that up quickly
I do weekly water changes 7 gallons usually
I add api quick start and stress coat to my tap water
I try to let it age 24 hours prior to use

3 glo fish tetras
2 glo fish danios (I think that’s what they are - tiny guys)
2 guppies
3 Cory fish
1 rainbow
1 dwarf gourami
1 ballon molly
1 snail

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

Colin_T · Sep 3, 2019

Hi and welcome to the forum

I can't see any red lines on the fish. Can you take some more pictures and try to find one that shows the problem?

Red lines in the tail can be fin rot, which is caused by poor water quality or a dirty tank. The quickest way to treat it is by doing a 75% water change and gravel cleaning the substrate every day for 2 weeks. The big water changes will also help get your ammonia down.

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How long has the tank been set up for?
What sort of filter do you have?
What filter materials/ media are in the filter?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness) of your water supply. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

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Mollies and guppies like water with a GH around 200ppm for guppies and 250ppm for mollies.
Tetras, Cories and gouramis normally occur in soft water with a GH below 150ppm.
Most rainbowfish do better in harder water that is similar to the water used for guppies and mollies.

Rainbowfish should be kept in groups of at least 6 and preferably 10 or more. However, most species can grow to 4 inches long and will be too big for your tank.

What sort of rainbowfish do you have?

FishNewbie82912 · Sep 3, 2019

Okay hope I answer everything...

I do not know my GH of my tap water. I will have to get that tested.

My rainbow is small. Max size was 4/5 inches per Pet Smart. They didn’t tell me to buy in a group. Just told me he’d get along with my other fish well. He’s actually my favorite. He’s very personable.

I’ve had the tank for 7 months. I used the filter and cartridges that came with the aquarium. It’s a top fin kit from Pet Smart. It uses those carbon filters. My substrate is gravel. I think I should get a bigger filter given I have a lot of fish. But haven’t done that yet. I rinse the cartridge with cold water to get all the slime off every other water change (so biweekly) and then dunk it some water treated with stress coat to remove minerals from the tap water.

I actually take apart the filter about once a month. Maybe less. I do weekly water changes and vacuum each time.

My tank size approx 20.5 in H x 10.5 D x 25 in W. It is a bow front so a bit bigger than those as I took those from the flat back.

On a side note my snail has been floating for about a week or so. He’s alive. He will attach to things but that’s new behavior for him.

FishNewbie82912 · Sep 3, 2019

Another pic of the tail....are you able to see it now?

Colin_T · Sep 3, 2019

If you post a picture of the rainbowfish I will try to identify it for you. Alternatively, you can check the following link and see if you can find your fish on it.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

FishNewbie82912 · Sep 3, 2019

Here he is. His color is awesome.

Colin_T · Sep 3, 2019

The rainbowfish looks like a Melanotaenia lacustris hybrid (cross with another species). It will get to about 4 inches and need a bigger tank.

FishNewbie82912 · Sep 3, 2019

Colin_T said:
The rainbowfish looks like a Melanotaenia lacustris hybrid (cross with another species). It will get to about 4 inches and need a bigger tank.

How big of a tank?

Did you get a better look at the tail on my guppy? It actually seems to have faded since I did the water change this morning. The snail is still floating though.

Colin_T · Sep 3, 2019

The rainbowfish should be in a tank that is 3 foot long or longer.

I can't see much on the guppy apart from some damage to the tail and a mark on the tail near the body. I would just do big daily water changes for a couple of weeks and monitor him.

Snails sometimes float about. If it doesn't move around and has its operculum (the little door used to close the shell up) shut all the time, then it is probably a water quality issue with something in the tank stressing the snail. Big water changes should help with that too.

-----------------------
You can get sponges for different brands of filter and these can be cut with a pair of scissors so they fit in your filter. I use AquaClear sponges but there are numerous brands available. You add the sponges to your filter and leave them with the filter pads/ cartridges for a couple of months, then throw out the pads and don't replace them. You can add some more sponge after you remove the pads.

You can also get round/ cylindrical sponges for some brands of internal power filter. These sponges have a hole through the centre and they fit over the intake tube of most external power filters. They help stop small fish and plant matter being sucked into the filter.

Sponges and filter pads should be squeezed/ washed out in a bucket of aquarium water and then put in the tank. The filter case and impellor assembly (magnet with plastic blades) can be washed out under tap water.

If you wash the filter sponges/ cartridges under tap water, you can get rid of the beneficial bacteria living in it and this can cause the tank to cycle again. If that happens you can get ammonia and nitrite readings that can harm the fish.

FishNewbie82912 · Sep 4, 2019

Colin_T said:
The rainbowfish should be in a tank that is 3 foot long or longer.

I can't see much on the guppy apart from some damage to the tail and a mark on the tail near the body. I would just do big daily water changes for a couple of weeks and monitor him.

Snails sometimes float about. If it doesn't move around and has its operculum (the little door used to close the shell up) shut all the time, then it is probably a water quality issue with something in the tank stressing the snail. Big water changes should help with that too.

-----------------------
You can get sponges for different brands of filter and these can be cut with a pair of scissors so they fit in your filter. I use AquaClear sponges but there are numerous brands available. You add the sponges to your filter and leave them with the filter pads/ cartridges for a couple of months, then throw out the pads and don't replace them. You can add some more sponge after you remove the pads.

You can also get round/ cylindrical sponges for some brands of internal power filter. These sponges have a hole through the centre and they fit over the intake tube of most external power filters. They help stop small fish and plant matter being sucked into the filter.

Sponges and filter pads should be squeezed/ washed out in a bucket of aquarium water and then put in the tank. The filter case and impellor assembly (magnet with plastic blades) can be washed out under tap water.

If you wash the filter sponges/ cartridges under tap water, you can get rid of the beneficial bacteria living in it and this can cause the tank to cycle again. If that happens you can get ammonia and nitrite readings that can harm the fish.

Thank you so much for the info! I’m a little concerned for my rainbow as I definitely have no plans of getting a bigger tank anytime soon. Wish they told me this before my purchase. They knew my tank size

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