Weird brown blotch on guppy

ashlyn_8

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I’m looking for advice on this weird brown area on my guppy’s lower body/ tail. I’ve had him for around two months and he always has had it and I’ve done some research but found nothing. Unfortunately when I bought him I also bought two other guppy’s but both died due to what I think was a weird illness also. At first I thought it was a bruise but it hasn’t gone away and I don’t think it is a gravid mark but I’m open to anything. Please help! Below is a picture.
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The fish is male so it's not a gravid spot, which would be further towards the middle half of the body.

It's either colouration or a parasitic worm that got lost in the body and is now living there. If it hasn't changed over the last 2 months and the fish is eating well, I wouldn't worry about it. If it changes shape or moves, then post more pictures.
 
The fish is male so it's not a gravid spot, which would be further towards the middle half of the body.

It's either colouration or a parasitic worm that got lost in the body and is now living there. If it hasn't changed over the last 2 months and the fish is eating well, I wouldn't worry about it. If it changes shape or moves, then post more pictures.

Thank you for the fast reply! Right now he is being quarantined in a 2.5 gallon tank, would you recommend putting him back in the original tank or keeping him quarantined? I don’t want him to infect the other fish but I know that the tank is too small for a guppy and if he isn’t sick I don’t want him to be quarantined for the rest of his life. I can also treat him with parasitic medicine?
 
Thank you for the fast reply! Right now he is being quarantined in a 2.5 gallon tank, would you recommend putting him back in the original tank or keeping him quarantined? I don’t want him to infect the other fish but I know that the tank is too small for a guppy and if he isn’t sick I don’t want him to be quarantined for the rest of his life. I can also treat him with parasitic medicine?
Don't treat him with any meds if we don't know what's wrong with him.
I'd put him back in the main tank.
 
Don't treat him with any meds if we don't know what's wrong with him.
I'd put him back in the main tank.
The only reason I’m a little reluctant is because of my previous guppy had a weird clear string coming out of him, never really found out if it was a parasite or not (the picture is below). I’m sorry for continuing to bother you, I’m just so worried about my other fish also. I tried to take a picture of my guppy now but he never stops moving so all were blurry, there is also something coming out of his butt that looks like little brown dots inside a clear film. This also happened to the previous guppy, is there some type of parasite that I don’t know about where this happens? Anything would help.
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Stick him back in the main tank.

If it is a parasitic worm that got lost, you can't really treat him. But it won't infect any other fish either so don't worry about that.

Sometimes fish pick up parasitic worms or worm eggs and the worms normally end up in the intestine. Occasionally the worm gets lost and ends up somewhere else in the body and the worm will spend the rest of its life wherever it ends up. The worm can't complete its lifecycle and can't spread to other fish in the tank.
 
I agree with @Colin_T , brown, white stringy poo either is caused by poor water quality, internal parasites or incomplete diet.
 
Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons.
1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be cured because massive internal organ failure has already occurred.

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2) Internal Protozoan Infections cause the fish to lose weight rapidly (over a week or two), fish continues to eat and swim around but not as much as normal, does stringy white poop. If not treated the fish dies a week or so after these symptoms appear. Metronidazole normally works well for this.

There is a medication (API General Cure) that contains Praziquantel and Metronidazole.

It's interesting that API and the Californian government have listed Metronidazole as a carcinogen. That's a concern considering it was widely used to treat intestinal infections in people.

Anyway, if you use this or any medication, handle with care, don't inhale the medication, and wash hands with soapy water after treating the fish or working in the tank.

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3) Intestinal Worms like tapeworm and threadworms cause the fish to lose weight, continue eating and swimming normally, and do a stringy white poop. Fish can do this for months and not be too badly affected. In some cases, fish with a bad worm infestation will actually gain weight and get fat and look like a pregnant guppy. This is due to the huge number of worms inside the fish.

Livebearers like guppies, mollies, swordtails & platies are regularly infected with gill flukes and intestinal worms. If the fish are still eating well, then worms is the most likely cause.

You can use Praziquantel to treat tapeworm and gill flukes. And Levamisole to treat thread/ round worms. If you can't find these medications, look for Flubendazole, which treats both lots of worms.

Remove carbon from filters before treatment and increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.

You treat the fish once a week for 4 weeks. The first treatment will kill any worms in the fish. The second, third and forth treatments kill any baby worms that hatch from eggs inside the fish's digestive tract.

Treat every fish tank in the house at the same time to prevent cross contamination.
You do a 75% water change and complete gravel clean 24-48 hours after treatment. Clean the filter 24 hours after treatment too.

Do not use the 2 medications together. If you want to treat both medications in a short space of time, use Praziquantel on day one. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate on day 2 & 3. Treat the tank with Levamisole on day 4 and do a 75% water change and gravel clean on day 5, 6 & 7 and then start with Praziquantel again on day 8.

The water changes will remove most of the medication so you don't overdose the fish the next time you treat them. The gravel cleaning will suck out any worms and eggs that have been expelled by the fish. Repeating the treatment for 3-4 doses at weekly intervals will kill any worms that hatch from eggs. At the end of the treatment you will have healthier fish.
 
Ok thank you! I give him flakes and do 20% water changes in a 10 gallon tank once a week, could any of that be the problem?
That's not going to cause any problems.

The only thing I would suggest is increase the amount of water you change. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate once a week. A bigger water change will dilute nutrients and disease organisms more effectively than a 20% water change.

Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
 

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