My Guppy Is Sick

[GGss6]

My guppy is sick and there is no doubt about it.

   I'm pretty sure he is a male.  His back is hunched over slightly and his tail is very thin.  I have two other guppies in the tank with him and their tails are a lot fuller and they seem to be fine.  My sick guppy looks very bloated and he just sits there at the surface of the take swimming.  When I feed him he does eat.  I am 99% sure he will die or he won't recover.  His fecal matter is clear and stringy.  I just don't know what to do!  Should I get rid of him before it spreads to my other guppies or should I see how long he lasts?
 
GGss6 

 

[glolite]

Hi
How big is your tank, how long has it been set up and have you checked your tank water for ammonia and nitrites?
Sorry to bombard you with questions but I need a bit mor information.

 

[GGss6]

My tank is a 5 gallon and I've had it for a few months.  Ammonia levels are safe, but I'm not sure about nitrite.  I started my tank with 2 guppies.  1 later died but the other one is still going strong.  So I decided to try again with another guppy.  He is fine also.  After that,  I decided to get my tank's final guppy a few weeks ago.  He has been doing perfectly fine until now.
 
Thanks,
GGss6

 

[glolite]

It could be a poor quality water problem but I don't know how often you do water changes. 5 gallon tanks are quite difficult to keep stable unless you can do stringent weekly water changes of 25%. Do you use a water dechlorinator?

 

[GGss6]

I use a well, so my water contains no chlorine.  I do monthly 25% water changes.  Should I do this more often?

 

[glolite]

Yes I would do it weekly because the smaller the tank the higher the concentration is of fish waste dissolved in the water. This means that your fish are constantly swimming around in waste products from their wee and poo and could explain the problems you are having. Doing weekly 25% changes should keep them in tip top condition. Do you have a filter in the tank?

 

[GGss6]

Yes I have a filter and I change the filter pad every other month.

 

[glolite]

Fine, I'd just increase the water changes

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yes I have a filter and I change the filter pad every other month.

 
If you completely change the filter pad, you're tossing all the good bacteria in the bin whenever you do this. Your goal is to cycle your filter media so that the bacteria can "eat" any ammonia and nitrite found in the water. What you should be doing during your weekly water change is just swishing the filter pad in the old tank water just to get rid of the mulm that accumulates. 
 
Consider yourself in a "fish-in" cycle, which, especially with a tiny tank, requires daily water changes so the fish aren't swimming around in their own waste. This is why they get sick and die.
 
Click on the "HERE" below in my sig to take you to the Beginner's Resource Center.

 

[GGss6]

So should I put my suffering guppy out of his misery or watch and see what happens?

 

[This Old Spouse]

Try the big water change and see if it seems to recover at all. And by big I'm talking about a 80-90% water change, refilled with temperature matched dechlorinated water. Then another 50% tomorrow and the day after. Do you have a liquid test kit to test your water stats?

 

[GGss6]

I don't have a test kit but I have this....thing that constantly shows the level of ammonia in the water.  I'm pretty sure it's reliable but I'm not sure.  Thanks for all the great advice but I don't think he is going to make it.  His tail is so shrunken that he can barely swim and he looks HORRIBLE.  Sorry I can't post any pics atm.  I have this small glimmer of hope if I keep doing water changes and such.  I will keep you updated if anything happens.
 
GGss6

 

[GGss6]

UPDATE:
He is suprisingly hanging in there, but still looking horrible.  I am doing daily 25% water changes and I hope my others stay healthy!

 

[GGss6]

Bad news....

 

 

 

 

[This Old Spouse]

Oh, no. So, so sorry.