Guppies Dying/sick.

[cowgirluntamed]

Just to say this first...I'm not sure if this is an exact emergency but I felt I need to post it here just in case something IS actually wrong with my fish. I recently lost 2 guppies in the last month and a half to two months. They had similar symptoms and now another may be starting to show signs, as I noticed a different sign I hadn't before. Anyway, here are the answers to the major questions that I need to answer along with the symptoms of the fish.
 
 
Using an API liquid test kit. I did this test today before posting(hadn't tested since October even after the other two fish deaths).
Tank size: 10 gallon
pH: 8.2
ammonia: 0-0.25ppm
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0-5ppm (I'm assuming this is lower due to 4 fish in the tank now instead of 6).
kH: gH:  (Unsure on these two. I did test them but may have written them down wrong so if you want this test I can do it again and post it!)
tank temp: 77-78F (I noticed this was a bit high this morning at about 79 to 80 so turned heater down slightly. I had moved the tank to a different spot and it's a bit colder so was trying to get it right but forgot to check until today....*is ashamed*)

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
First symptom I noticed was that the two now dead fish stayed at the top of the tank. Neither seemed to breathe hard that I could tell. After about 2 or 3 days they went to the bottom. The first fish did not have bloating at all but he almost seemed to be paralyzed a bit and couldn't swim. I put him down after noticing one of his fins was at a bad angle. SIP Bluey. The 2nd fish that died did the same exact thing only he seemed to go a bit faster AND he was bloated and I ended up putting him down when he went to the bottom not swimming right. SIP Pirate. Now I have a third guppy that I just noticed today is staying at the top of the tank not really moving around much. He is not bloated. However, I shined a light on him and noticed that his tail is starting to be see through. The other 3 guppies in the tank also have tails that are starting to appear see through as well. My 2nd fish had died around a week ago. The one before that was like a month? I'm not really sure. Oh, and both of the two that died also had a red thing on their tail. It almost looked like a vein(whatever it's called that the fin attaches to) may have gotten hurt and it was like a drop of blood on them. I thought that was really really strange. I don't see any streaks on them though. It was like the injury bled a bit and just congealed to create that red spot. I thought they were dying due to possible age and/or inbreeding. Those two(and one that died a few months before this that was bloated for a couple of weeks) were from the first batch of guppies I bought. This one that is possibly sick now is the very last one I got. Any other questions just ask.

Volume and Frequency of water changes:
Kinda got a little lazy...my last water change was 50% about 4 weeks ago.

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:
None. I have an aquaclear filter that has two sponges and some of the aquaclear biomax in it.

Tank inhabitants:
4 guppies and 2 nerite snails. 2 pieces of driftwood, 1 anubias nana, 1 anubias coffeefolia, 1 anubias nangi. Other plastic plants. Gravel substrate.

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):
None

Exposure to chemicals:
None

Digital photo (include if possible):
Lighting is kind of bad where the tank is so I don't know if I could get a good photo or not of their tails. (Two do have ragged tails as well but that was due to territorial behavior for me having 7 guppies in a 10 gallon. Their tails don't seem to be growing back at all either.)

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Update-- Smiley seems to be doing better today. He ate good and is still swimming around like he normally does. I think I finally got the heater set right now at 77-78. Could the temp being a bit high have caused this? Made them more susceptible? I'm debating on putting an antibiotic med in there because of their tails but I'm not sure. I will be doing a 50% water change today though. Anybody have any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Blough]

Okay, how much was this tank cycled? The fact that you have ammonia at 0.25 ppm in there could be the problem. I don't know how much ammonia guppies can take, but the fact that you have any means this tank may not be fully cycled. I suggest a water change right now.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

It's been cycled for a year. My well water also tests at 0.25. Most of the time it's between 0-0.25. It's hard to tell sometimes. But they've always been healthy before. Someone told me that as long as the fish are fine that those levels are OK as even the liquid tests aren't completely accurate either. I did just do a nice 50% water change though. Smiley is moving around the tank again today after I got the temp lowered from 80 to 77-78ish. I had the heater up higher when the tank was in the other room and forgot to keep checking it when I moved it in here so it had been up that high for about a month. I haven't quite decided if I want to treat with api triple sulfa yet or not for their tails. I think I'm going to assess them tomorrow morning and see. I'm hoping Smiley's ordeal is over...keeping my fingers crossed. I'll post another update probably tomorrow. I just wish I knew what those other two guppies died from. Thanks for the post.

 

[Blough]

Never mind then, I guess I don't know everything. LOL. Good luck, I hope your fishes survive.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Thanks. My tetras' water in another tank tests the same as this one normally and they are nice and healthy. Lol. When I changed their substrate and cleaned everything to get rid of pond snails they went through a mini-cycle. My glowlights paled out a lot then and I didn't let the level get above 0.5. I know they are pretty sensitive. Anyway I do think I'm going to use the triple sulfa to be on the safe side since their tails are thinning out. I'd rather catch it early than too late!

 

[jag51186]

I honestly have no idea what's going on here. How old are they?? I don't think a couple degrees difference would be that big of a deal for them...and if you have Aquaclear HOBs, then you probably have enough surface agitation to have proper oxygenation, which can be affected by water temps.
 
If it were me, I would go ahead and treat them as well. It could be something internal, who knows. 

not me lol.
 
Ammonia at 0.25 shouldn't be an issue, but there is also the fact that that shouldn't stay there after a water change...the bacteria should process it fairly quickly I would think. I had ammonia at that level every now and then during my silent cycle with plants, and I only ever did a water change if my fish started flashing, which was rare.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

I'm not sure how old they are. I got them from petsmart. I believe they were full grown when I got them as they haven't seemed to grow any since I've had them. I think it's been over a year since I got them. Or at least getting close to a year. I never had any trouble or anything with them until I got a couple new anubias plants and I think those brought in parasites. Back in September I lost my very first guppy to bloat that he had for almost a month. He also had white stringy poo. Tried everything I could for him and I treated the main tank for parasites as well. Nobody has stringy poo now that I've noticed. The other two more recent ones that died didn't have that either. Only one got bloat. Smiley is not bloated. The poo the other day looked really thick and a bit reddish, if it was poo. It hung on him, just a little sticking out, all morning at least and then by the next day it was gone. I attributed that to the daphnia a day or so before that.

Anyway, I don't believe it was parasites this time. I didn't know if it was old age getting to them or not. But since the other's tails are thinning out too that's why I thought maybe bacterial. I'll start treatment in the morning after they eat. I'll keep updating and let you know how it goes!

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Quick update. Put the first dose of API Triple Sulfa in the tank and so far so good. Yesterday he was moving around more than he had been but still not quite right. Today he's much better and is actually moving about and grazing like the rest of them are so that's a good sign! I'll probably get in another update after the full treatment (tomorrow is another dose, day after is 25% water change, the next two days have a dose and then after that is water change and add carbon). I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Wish I would have done this sooner though but I still don't know if those other two deaths were related. Hard to say. Thanks for the help!

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Update-- so far the guppies at doing good! Normal behavior, eating well. Tails are still looking thin though. Hopefully they'll get better. I did the 25% water change today and added the carbon to take out the medicine. I guess I'll just keep an eye on things and hope tails will get better without any other problems! I'll try to remember to update in a week or so to let you guys know how they are.

 

[Far_King]

Cool - fingers crossed

 

[Asteria]

Not sure if I missed it or not. But what gender are your guppies.
These injuries could be from them fighting. As much as they seem peaceful guppies can actually be rather aggressive and will gang up on others.
And when you say bloated. Where their scales sticking out like a pine cone? If so this is called dropsy and as far as I'm aware it's untreatable and just happens.

Oh and something else just hit me.
How are you testing for the nitrates? Are you shaking the bottles up vigorously before hand? As I find this can help with more reliable results.
Also are you taking readings right away or letting it sit for a minute or 2? As you may find your nitrates will take a little to show up. Give it a real good shake and wait for it to colour up and stop getting darker. As guppies are actually very sensitive to nitrates

 

[cowgirluntamed]

They are males. They did use to bite each others tails a bit when I had more of them. I had 7 to start with, now I am down to 4. I didnt realize they were that aggressive without females. 10 gallon tank as well. Of the two that got bloated, neither had the pineconing effect that you are talking about so not dropsy. I think the first one may have been parasites but I didn't get the meds to him fast enough. He was that way for a good month. Fought till the end. The other two more recent ones went within a few days of being listless at the top, not gasping though, just sitting, but only one was bloated.

As for testing, I do shake the bottles up well. The nitrate 2 bottle for 30 seconds as directed and then I wait the 5 minutes that it says to as well before checking.

As for the tails, two of them are jagged from the nipping, the other two don't seem to be. But they are sort of see through though on all of them. Other than that they seem OK now but time will tell. Hopefully if it was anything bacterial that the triple sulfa treatment will work.

 

[Asteria]

Yeach they can be quite aggressive.
Females can make them more aggressive which is why I was asking if you had any females.

Do you shake the vile vigorously though? I shake mine twice. But it seems like nitrates arnt you issue.

Good luck in finding out the problem and hope it doesn't continue

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Yep I shake it vigorously. I hope whatever it was is gone now since I treated it with the antibiotic. I'll keep everybody updated! Let's hope everything is fine now and their fins will start looking better.