Dying guppy

[Kelly Preussner]

I have a guppy that I thought would die over the weekend. Since thurs he was breathing fast & shimmy shakin. All weekend he just laid on the bottom of the tank. We kept checking him every day to see if he was still alive and he was barely. Every day the other fish slowly were eating the top of his fin. Today he has no top fin and is still trying to survive. He keeps trying to eat and move around the tank. I took him out to try to feed him a little which is where I took this video. Thoughts? Do I put him out of his misery? Keep him in the tank?? Help!

 

[Naughts]

I can't see a video.
If you have a tank or container to quarantine him in that would be better than the other fish nipping at him.
Shimmying could be due to soft water. What are your parameters?

 

[Kelly Preussner]

Just to follow up, no water issues. I did a water change this weekend about 40%. 36gal bow front. All other fish are doing fine. No other tank issues. I just put him in my Breeder cup because only 1 fry in there. Can’t seem to post my video.

 

[Kelly Preussner]

I can't see a video.
If you have a tank or container to quarantine him in that would be better than the other fish nipping at him.
Shimmying could be due to soft water. What are your parameters?

I just put him in my Breeder cup. Water is hard.
PH 8.0, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.0
My tank has been pretty consistent these numbers since cycled the end of May.
Can’t seem to load video.

 

[Essjay]

How hard is your water? Look on your water provider's website to see if they give it.
What are the other fish in the tank?

Guppies do better in hard water, and if your water is soft that could be contributing to the guppy's problems.

 

[Kelly Preussner]

How hard is your water? Look on your water provider's website to see if they give it.
What are the other fish in the tank?

Guppies do better in hard water, and if your water is soft that could be contributing to the guppy's problems.

Harness looks like 120ppm
Has always been this hard. We have hard water here. Suburb of Chicago with Lake Michigan water.

Other fish:
1 other guppy
5 platy
2 swords
1 adult Molly & 2 teenager mollies
1 female betta
6 nerite snails
1 Molly fry in Breeder cup

 

[FishGuest5123]

Leave him isolated by himself in clean water. Aquarium salt at 1 tablespoon per gallon will help reduce stress and improve gill function. Dissolve the salt before adding to tank.

 

[Kelly Preussner]

But will he ever be able to swim without a top fin??

 

[howard_hopkinson]

Personally, given the state of the fish, I think the kindest thing would be to euthanise the fish.

 

[Kelly Preussner]

Personally, given the state of the fish, I think the kindest thing would be to euthanise the fish.

That is what I was thinking. I feel awful for the fish!

 

[howard_hopkinson]

I'd feel awful too, but it's inhumane to leave it to suffer and that's why I suggested euthanising it. It's not something any of us would want to do, but I feel it would be kinder for the poor fish.

 

[Kelly Preussner]

Ok. I will go get some clove oil now.

 

[FishGuest5123]

She doesn’t look like she’s going to make it long anyway. Is the dorsal fin completely gone?

 

[Kelly Preussner]

I used clove oil.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I’m so sorry.