Guppy attacking a platy

[jonatheber]

I have a pair of Mickey Mouse Platys. One of them has some back tail missing, and the other basically has lost its Dorsal fin (on the top). I just watched for the second time a male guppy attacking the spot where the fin was.... Is this usual behavior? Is the guppy going to have to go? Is this something that will stop happening, or will it pick at the platy until it is dead?

I am very frustrated - I already had to get rid of another male guppy that was attacking other community fish.

 

[Aspen35]

I have a pair of Mickey Mouse Platys. One of them has some back tail missing, and the other basically has lost its Dorsal fin (on the top). I just watched for the second time a male guppy attacking the spot where the fin was.... Is this usual behavior? Is the guppy going to have to go? Is this something that will stop happening, or will it pick at the platy until it is dead?

I am very frustrated - I already had to get rid of another male guppy that was attacking other community fish.

Sounds like the platys may have fin rot. Fish sometimes attack or nip at fish that are injured.

 

[jonatheber]

Do I need to do anything to treat fin rot just in case that is the cause? Or let it run its course? The rest of the fins/tails in the tank look fine (with one exception - another Mickey Mouse Platy seems to have a bite taken out of its tail.)

I'm pretty sure the water isn't the issue. The tank is basically new (2 weeks with fish), and there is zero ammonia, zero nitrites. The pH is around 7.2 or 7.4 and the temperature is 78. At the very beginning some neons died and I couldn't find them to remove them, so the nitrates spiked a bit. I've done a few water changes to get that down again, but it was definitely over 50 or so for a few days).

 

[Aspen35]

Tnk

Do I need to do anything to treat fin rot just in case that is the cause? Or let it run its course? The rest of the fins/tails in the tank look fine (with one exception - another Mickey Mouse Platy seems to have a bite taken out of its tail.)

I'm pretty sure the water isn't the issue. The tank is basically new (2 weeks with fish), and there is zero ammonia, zero nitrites. The pH is around 7.2 or 7.4 and the temperature is 78. At the very beginning some neons died and I couldn't find them to remove them, so the nitrates spiked a bit. I've done a few water changes to get that down again, but it was definitely over 50 or so for a few days).

"The tank is basically new, 2 weeks with fish." Did you cycle it before adding them? Just checking. Yes, I would treat the fin rot. I certainly wouldn't continue letting it get worse. Definitely keep up with the water changes, you want the water clean when the fish are healing. Livebearers do well with salt, so you can use that for treatment. start with adding 1 tbsp per 3 gallons. Keep the fish in that concentration of salt for 4 to 5 days, then up the dose to 1 tbsp per 2 gallons. I don't know much about meds, because normally the salt fixes the problem for me. Better to start with the salt rather than meds, it's less hard on the fish.

 

[jonatheber]

Tnk

"The tank is basically new, 2 weeks with fish." Did you cycle it before adding them? Just checking. Yes, I would treat the fin rot. I certainly wouldn't continue letting it get worse. Definitely keep up with the water changes, you want the water clean when the fish are healing. Livebearers do well with salt, so you can use that for treatment. start with adding 1 tbsp per 3 gallons. Keep the fish in that concentration of salt for 4 to 5 days, then up the dose to 1 tbsp per 2 gallons. I don't know much about meds, because normally the salt fixes the problem for me. Better to start with the salt rather than meds, it's less hard on the fish.

I did a full cycle. Took me about 6 weeks.

I can use Kosher salt, right?

 

[Essjay]

Any common salt, sodium chloride, that has no iodine or anticaking agents will be good. According to google, kosher salt won't contain iodine but can contain anticaking agents so read the label before using.