Guppies going black...help!

[janele]

We have had a 40 litre tank running for 8 weeks now. We have 0 readings on nitrite and ammonia. Today we noticed white spots all over our clown loach, AND one of our guppies died and turned dark grey, and now another guppy has started turning dark grey at the base of the tail. We have other fish which appear to be healthy - 4 tetras, 2 platys, 1 guppy & a dwarf gourami.

Are all these symptoms ich, or what is happening to the guppies?

What do we do? I cannot get to the lfs until Friday morning. I have read the notes on ich and am thinking of adding aquarium salt and upping the temperature from 24 to 25C. Is it ok for my fish? Is Friday too late for other medication?

Your advice needed! Thanks.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Isolate the fish w/ spots (if you can). Definitely raise the temp. Adding saltwater might be detrimental for the tetras, you'd have to do research to see if they can handle it. A salt bath (deiodized or aquarium salt) would work as well.

You might want to try pottasium permanganate, but I'm not sure if it works. You'd need expert instructions on how to use that b/c it kills fish if it isn't neutralized after a 1/2 hour.

Not sure about the fish turning gray... that might be natural for guppies, but I'm not sure.

I say get a small tank if you don't have one and put a bubble stone in for aeration. Water changes daily and don't feed too much. Warming the temp makes the parasites active, and that's the best time to treat.

Good luck!

 

[dixaisy930]

I think the salt might burn the loach...I don't know though...Are the considered scaleless?

If the loach isn't scaleless though, the salt (I would think) shouldn't hurt.

As for the guppies...I have no idea...sorry.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Where did you read "loach?" Also, please tell us the size in gallons-- some of us don't use liters for anything but coke... You can add the fish and tank sizes in your sig under my controls at the top right of the screen (if you want). This would help people see what fish you have...

 

[dixaisy930]

Today we noticed white spots all over our clown loach

Right there. It's the one with the white spots all over it...

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Wow! Sorry, speed reading doesn't help if you have horrible comprehension...

 

[janele]

It's a 10 gallon tank, the guppies are males and the tetras are neon tetras. I am new to this so any advice is welcome! We don't have another tank, and like with the medication, I won't be able to get one for at least 36 hours. Is it best to 'remove' the loach for the benefit of the tank, or is it too late now?

 

[Auratus]

Ich is usually caused by stress and if you have all of these fish in a ten gallon, that will cause a lot of stress. Clown loaches get really big; way too big for a ten gallon. And how many guppies and neons do you have? If you cannot get to the lfs then go to wal-mart they have ich treatements and aquarium salt. If you can not get to the lfs to take care of the fish maybe you shouldn't have them. If your dog was having sesures would you wait 3 days to take it to the vet?

 

[dixaisy930]

I can sympathize with janel...I live twenty minutes from even a Wal-Mart, but I don't think that means I shouldn't have fish. Don't "remove" the clown loach just yet. Do you know the lfs return policy? It probably be in the best interest of you and the fish to return him.

For now, just raise the temp a little and that should help somewhat. Then when you are able to get to the lfs, take the clown loach back and (if you can afford it) get a few different medications (and aquarium salt) for things like fungus, and bacteria infections. That way, if you happen to have a problem with another disease, you won't have to wait.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

I don't agree w/ the "maybe you shouldn't have fish" comment. I killed 14 fish the first time I got my tank! Now my fish are fine, healthy, and happy! Should I stop being an aquarist b/c I screwed up once? People are liable to have misconceptions about fish and are therefore susceptible to mistake!

But I see things your way, too. People should do research b/f getting fish and not treat them like hardy animals.

As for Walmart, it's a wonderful place to get medicines and foods and even equipment. (They're cheaper, too)

 

[Debo]

I have used salt in my tanks for Ich and I have 3 Clown Loaches and it has never bothered them. My local fish store has salt in all their tanks and it keeps the Ich Breakouts down to a minimum.
I would add salt at half the amount recommened and then add some Ich med. It is cheap enough. Also, raise your water temp tp 82-84 and you should see results in a week or so. Also, make sure you use the meds for at least 14 days after the spots are gone to make sure you've gotten it all. This is what I did the last time on the advice of a friend and it worked without any re-occurances.
Good Luck.
Deb

 

[Tempestuousfury]

I know this is off the topic, and I'm sorry if this pisses you off, but you should have at least a group of 5-6 neons.

As for the salt, is it just deiodized, or does it have extra ingredients in it?

 

[boa4ever]

I think ur guppies have fin/tail rot. the tail starts rotting. change the water first, and try to get some fungus/bacterical medicine for tail rots. It's horrible to see the beautiful tail rot away. I lost my guppies this way.

 

[janele]

Thanks very much for your replies. I will take the useful advice on board. As to finding out about fish before I got them, I did think my lfs knew enough (although this is obviously wrong according to the experts here) and I was advised to get THREE clown loaches in my 10 gallon tank to ensure the gravel was kept clean. I also asked the lfs and a friend what I needed to buy upfront and although they both mentioned the salt (which we have) neither mentioned the medication. I also read a book on this cover to cover. I am really trying to do my best and was hoping to get advice without the belittling which some of you seem good at.

Thanks for the info on minimum numbers of tetras - I did have 7 but unfortunately 3 died. I hope to replace these when no more fish in my tank are dying.

For your information we don't all live in America and my nearest Wal-Mart is therefore the other side of an ocean.