Guppy Illness Recurring

[seachubbs]

(please ignore my member title!)

I have a 60l tank of 15 male Guppies - water parameters fine (tested with liquid kit, ph7.2, NH3 nil, NO2 nil, NO3 15, temp74). Tank 7 months old. Water change every 1-2 weeks 20-30%, but more when i am losing fish in case there is something i can't test for in the water.

2 months ago i lost one guppy a week for 3 weeks and couldn't come up with any reasons, water fine, no change in feeding, no new fish etc. Eventually i treated with Myxazin (i know, don't blanket treat but i didnt have any other ideas) and the guppy that had started ailing that week got better and all was well for 3-4 weeks. But last week i noticed another guppy with the same symptoms as before - swimming in one place, slightly curved spine, still feeding but becoming less interested in moving around the tank, eventually corkscrewing when swimming downwards a little. He died over the weekend and now i have another heading the same way, only ever seems to be one at a time. no other visible signs of ailments. here is link to photos - the red one died last weekend and the blue one is currently feeling very sorry for itself http/s1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj574/seanderson73/. One of the others in the tank suddenly developed a very frayed tail over a couple of days but they are quite boisterous. The blue one in the photos has this afternoon got a new black singed looking bit on its tail so i don't if that is anything or if he just snoozed next to the heater! There is also a movie posted but i don't know if that will work.

Anyone any ideas - i don't seem to be having much luck with Guppies ...... but they are such fun and pretty fish to keep I'd like to stick with them.

thanks

 

[Fishy friend2]

I can think of two possible diseases, the one that best fits that description is fish teberculosis, the second one that fits is swim bladder disease,, but I've never heard of it causing deformities like bent spines.

Since curing fish is virtually impossible once the disease begins to manifest, preventative measures are highly important.

Keeping your fish healthy, happy and well-fed will boost their immune system and make it possible for them to handle limited exposure to Mycobacterium marinum.

Wounded or otherwise weakened fish should be moved to quarantine tanks where they can be treated and given time to recuperate, since weak fish that is left in the main aquarium can serve as a breeding ground for all sorts of malicious microorganisms that may eventually grow numerous enough to attack even the healthy fishes.

New fish should ideally be quarantined before you allow it into you main aquarium. Plants, substrate, equipment etcetera should be sterilized to kill of potentially harmful bacteria before being introduced to the aquarium. See the plant section for more info about how to sterilize plants without causing injury to them.  

An aquarium that has had an outbreak of fish tuberculosis should be meticulously cleaned out with bleach and left to dry before you restock it.  

http/www.aquaticcommunity.com/disease/tbc.php

Cause

There can be different causes, and different causes require different treatment.

Bacteria – A bacteria attack could cause inflammation at the epithelium of the sac, making the sac walls too thick for proper gas diffusion. Thus, the fish is now stuck at certain buoyancy, making swimming very difficult.

Diet – Feeding low-quality food that soaks up water and expand inside the fish can cause food impactions.

Shape of fish – Globoid-shaped fishes such as the Pearlscale Goldfish are especially prone to the swim bladder disorder due to their guts being all squashed up in their abdomen.
Treatment

First, tend to your water’s quality. Making sure the water quality is top-notch allows us to assume that it is not a bacteria attack. But if you strongly suspect it to be the cause, then do visit your local pet shop for an appropriate medication. For treatment towards the other forms of cause, first stop feeding the sick fishes for a few days. Fishes can go without food for up to 10 days, so stopping a few days is really all right. After the few days, if the fishes do not get better, try feeding peas. Yes, peas that we eat. This treatment is being recommended by many and is well worth a try. The peas will supposedly encourage the destruction of impactions.
Conclusion

Remember, always keep your water condition good and feed sparingly. This will keep the occurrences of swim bladder diseases to a minimum.

http/www.fishfriend.com/articles/the_swim_bladder_disease.html

 

[seachubbs]

thanks - or maybe not! the only symptom that doesn't fit is that there are never any tumours and the fish carry on eating up to 1-2 days before they die. it only seems to take 7-10 days from first looking slightly odd to death. So clutching at straws i hope it's not fish TB. None of the photos on a google search for fish TB really looked like my fish. Think i'll have to try internal parasite treatment next.

 

[squeeky_jane]

Could it be an age thing with the guppies, did you by them fully grown? they only live for a couple of years! Just a thought!