1 Dead, Others Possibly Suffering

[ParadiseGuerrero]

Tank size: 120L
pH: 7.6
ammonia: 0
nitrite:0
nitrate: between 20 and 40
kH: unknown
gH: unknown
tank temp: 26 C

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

so far only affecting guppies

1st one (now dead) -at first i though she was just pregnant, she swelled up but then on her last day she hung around near the top like she had dropsy except she would swim down every once in a while but she could only swim vertically, head down and when she stopped swimming she would be carried by the filter current and end up at the top of the tank. she also apeared paralysed down her right side- she couldn't move that fin nor could she seem to move her tail to the right. There was no colour change on her. But she never stopped swelling and she popped, swam around for about 5 more mintues and then died

I also have 3 other females all looking very pregnant (one in particular) so they may either be pregnant or have the same problem as the 1st.

Then there is also a male that looks like he's pregnant, but he is definatly male so i can only assume he has this illness.

So far swelling is the only symptom on the others- they're still swimming well and no paralysis

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 10-20% weekly ; my tap water has 0.5 ammonia so i prefure to do smaller changes especially considering the lack of fish in the tank

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: none, just a normal filter

Tank inhabitants: 10 guppies, 2 platies and a betta (I know bettas shouldn't mix with guppies but he was kept with the previuosly and so far he just swims with them) so far it's only the guppies definatly being affected however the female platy is also a tad swolen; I don't know if this is from pregnacy or the illness

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): a few plants yesterday but this was after the first fish died

Exposure to chemicals: none that i know of

Digital photo (include if possible): I'll keep trying to get one but they're quite quick still

any ideas what it is and what i should be doing?

 

[KittyKat]

Sounds like constipation. What do you feed and how often?

 

[willsonb_978]

I would ask the same Q about feeding. Are you feeding them pellets? What substrate are you using? guppies are really rebust fish, I normally use them for cycling a new tank.

 

[ParadiseGuerrero]

I would ask the same Q about feeding. Are you feeding them pellets? What substrate are you using? guppies are really rebust fish, I normally use them for cycling a new tank.

Sounds like constipation. What do you feed and how often?

i feed a small pinch of flakes twice a day once between 7 and 8 in the morning and once about 6 in the afternoon- just enough for them to eat in under a minute. I switch between 4 differant brands and once a week they get half a de-sheld pea between them and once a monnth, instead of flakes, they get either some frozen brine shrimp, again enough for them to eat in under a minute, or a slice of cucumber which they tend to peck at over a day and a bit (i don't feed until the feeding time after they finish it/ i take it out). I don't feed pellet because the guppies can't get it in their mouths(tried it once but they never managed to eat it- the shrimps had a feast though).

for subtrate its black gravel, reasonably sized pieces and very round about 3mm

as for guppies being robust fish i find it seems to vary quite a bit- a number of mine have died on the day or the day after putting them in for no particular reason, meanwhile others that I've bought at the same time have been fine.

could it still be constipation? If so what can I do- I've already fed half a de-sheld pea (that suposed to help with constipation I think?)

 

[KittyKat]

[…] guppies are really rebust fish, I normally use them for cycling a new tank.

as for guppies being robust fish i find it seems to vary quite a bit- a number of mine have died on the day or the day after putting them in for no particular reason, meanwhile others that I've bought at the same time have been fine.

Yes, it does depend on the source of the guppies. Usually, farm bred ones are very "weak", while ones from breeders who cross the strains out often are quite sturdy. At any rate, there is no point to use any fish for cycling.

Sounds like constipation. What do you feed and how often?

i feed a small pinch of flakes twice a day once between 7 and 8 in the morning and once about 6 in the afternoon- just enough for them to eat in under a minute. I switch between 4 differant brands and once a week they get half a de-sheld pea between them and once a monnth, instead of flakes, they get either some frozen brine shrimp, again enough for them to eat in under a minute, or a slice of cucumber which they tend to peck at over a day and a bit (i don't feed until the feeding time after they finish it/ i take it out). I don't feed pellet because the guppies can't get it in their mouths(tried it once but they never managed to eat it- the shrimps had a feast though).

[…]

could it still be constipation? If so what can I do- I've already fed half a de-sheld pea (that suposed to help with constipation I think?)

I think it could be. What are the names used for the dry foods you feed?

For the moment, do not feed for the next 24-48 hours (at all), then try peas as their first and second feeds after that. If it helps at all, try switching to feeding them dried foods 4 days per week, peas on 2 days per week (only one feeding session on these days) and no food on one day per week. Then feed live foods 1-4 per month instead of dry foods or on one of the pea days as a second feeding.

 

[ParadiseGuerrero]

I think it could be. What are the names used for the dry foods you feed?

For the moment, do not feed for the next 24-48 hours (at all), then try peas as their first and second feeds after that. If it helps at all, try switching to feeding them dried foods 4 days per week, peas on 2 days per week (only one feeding session on these days) and no food on one day per week. Then feed live foods 1-4 per month instead of dry foods or on one of the pea days as a second feeding.

the dry foods are- TetraMin, King British- natural tropical fish flake food, Aquarian advanced nutrition and Fish R Fun- the last one i don't tend to use quite so much.


okay I'll give that rutine ago and see how things turn out, thankyou i really hope it sorts it out. One of the other fish seem to have developed something- a pinkish oval that looks asthough it's burting though the skin but she's still swiming fine and acting normal so hopefully that me being paranoid

 

[KittyKat]

the dry foods are- TetraMin, King British- natural tropical fish flake food, Aquarian advanced nutrition and Fish R Fun- the last one i don't tend to use quite so much.

Those foods are all fine, from what I know, especially as they're generic flakes.

okay I'll give that rutine ago and see how things turn out, thankyou i really hope it sorts it out. One of the other fish seem to have developed something- a pinkish oval that looks asthough it's burting though the skin but she's still swiming fine and acting normal so hopefully that me being paranoid

Is the bloating towards the front (chest) area or towards the back? Is there anything sticking out of their arses? What does their poo look like?

 

[Delloy12]

[/quote]
Is there anything sticking out of their arses?
[/quote]

 

[ParadiseGuerrero]

the dry foods are- TetraMin, King British- natural tropical fish flake food, Aquarian advanced nutrition and Fish R Fun- the last one i don't tend to use quite so much.

Those foods are all fine, from what I know, especially as they're generic flakes.

okay I'll give that rutine ago and see how things turn out, thankyou i really hope it sorts it out. One of the other fish seem to have developed something- a pinkish oval that looks asthough it's burting though the skin but she's still swiming fine and acting normal so hopefully that me being paranoid

Is the boating towards the front (chest) area or towards the back? Is there anything sticking out of their arses? What does their poo look like?

well with the male its more towards the chest area, but the females just look seriously pregnant(i know they are pregnant so it could be swelling near the back from pregnancy and at the front from this?) - one of them seem to be going the same as the other did; not swimming so much. I've also noticed that there is a slight bit of pineconing on the female and male- none of the others though. I didn't notice it before- probably because its not alot (i guess guppy scale can't pine cone quite as much as bigger fish) and it's only on their under sides.

nothing coming out of their arses and poo looks like it always does- shortish strings; kinda a whitsh colour?

Since I got back one of the others has started to clamp her top and bottom fins (cordinal and anal fins?) and she also seems to be hold her tail shut (not sure if that makes sence but it normally fans out) but she can still swim well- she's not the particularly bloated one; it's one fo the others.

does this change anything or is it still likly to be constipation?

Thankyou for all the help your giving

 

[KittyKat]

White poo? That's not normal, it should be somewhere in the browny-red, brown or dark green area, depending on what you fed them. Does it look smiley? When did you last add new fish? It could be internal parasites.

 

[PyroBrit]

Symptoms of Dropsy can include pine cone effect (tick), swollen belly (tick), pale poo (tick).

Affected fish may go off their food and show a darkening of colouration, pale gills and a 'pop-eyed' appearance.

Treatment is not exactly precise. Keep water quality high. Good quality food and try a general fish tonic.

 

[ParadiseGuerrero]

Symptoms of Dropsy can include pine cone effect (tick), swollen belly (tick), pale poo (tick).

Affected fish may go off their food and show a darkening of colouration, pale gills and a 'pop-eyed' appearance.

Treatment is not exactly precise. Keep water quality high. Good quality food and try a general fish tonic.

they've shown the first three and when they rit rock bottom(was about an hour before it died for the first one) thy do go off their food. but they don't loose colour or any of the others

White poo? That's not normal, it should be somewhere in the browny-red, brown or dark green area, depending on what you fed them. Does it look smiley? When did you last add new fish? It could be internal parasites.

apart from the first day i got them (which was bright red) it's been white since then- I've always figured its normal what do you mean smiley?

last added was about a week and a half ago- the betta and a guppy niether of which seem so far effected, can they carry them without being effected?

so whicch most likly- internal parasites or dropsy? and is there a sort of lap over cure so i could be treating both at once to be sure? (besides clean wwater that is) or is thee something else I should be doing? I have some aquarium salt- is a salt bath a good idea? i know it works beautifully for fun rot and that sort of thing but thats the only thing I've ever had to deal with

 

[PyroBrit]

The way I understand it, Dropsy is not contagious although it is recommended to move the fish to a hosipital tank for treatment.

As I have not experienced Dropsy, the above needs clarification from someone with more knowledge than I.

 

[KittyKat]

In my experience, "dropsy" is a description of a collection of symptoms caused by a range of problems, sometimes more than one at a time, not an actual disease.

Go read about Bettas' tolerance for salt, I can't remember it off the top of my head, but if it's high enough, then I do recommend addition of *aquarium* salt to help with the bloating.

For the rest, I can not 100% be sure that it is internal parasites, so I would probably recommend first a treatment with a generic anti-bacterial/anti-fungal medication (they are sometimes labelled as "tonic", but make sure you don't pick up something like tea tree oil, which can also be labelled as "tonic"), then a large water change and if nothing has changed, treatment for internal parasites.

Can you look at this page: http/www.guppyhobby.com/hexamita-white-feces-refusing-food/ and look at the first photo, which is of a female guppy. Can you see the poo which starts at the end of the pink bit and goes up? That's what a guppy with Hexamita looks like, if yours is similar, treat immediately for Hexamita. Unfortunately, decent medications for it in UK are only available by prescription from a vet. Actually, as you keep guppies, read the whole page anyway, it points out the importance of correct water parameters (although I disapprove of adding powdered stuff, I recommend addition of rocks or crushed shells which permanently leach into the water as I think that provides a better long term solution).

 

[PyroBrit]

Wow, that was a very informative read.