New guppy fin rot?

[Alexter]

Hello,

Four days ago I added 7 guppies to my tank after a 2 week quarantine. During the quarantine I used some aquarium salt and Pimafix/Melafix, but no other treatments.

All the guppies seemed fine in the quarantine, although I wasn't sure if one had slightly clamped fins. After adding him to the main tank, his fins do seem a bit more clamped, and he definitely stays away from the rest of the guppies a lot of the time. He still eats fine though.

Yesterday I noticed that the top part of his tail fin seems quite ragged. Do you think this could be the start of fin rot or tail nipping? If fin rot, would it be best to treat the entire tank (which also has cherry shrimp) or take him out?

Thanks in advance!

Tank details:

• Size: 55 litres (Aqua One Aqua Nano 40)
• Temperature: 26C
• Inhabitants: 8 male guppies and some cherry shrimp
• Tank is ~3 months old
• Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate ~20ppm, PH7.2-7.6
• Before adding the fish, I tested GH (125ppm) and KH (89.5ppm), but I haven't tested them since.
• Water change schedule - 25% weekly

 

[Ellie Potts]

Hi Alexter! I can't be sure if your fish has fin rot or not. Do you have any before pictures? Right now, I would say it doesn't.

Try not to be over-eager with medication. Companies and chain stores will sell this idea that every fish can benefit from rounds of medication, but unless they 100% have the ailment, meds do more harm then good. Usually, the best remedy is going to be consistent water changes, a low stress environment, and an otherwise well-cared for aquarium. Are the other guppies bullying this one?

 

[Alexter]

Thanks Ellie! Unfortunately I don't have any earlier photos, but I'll keep an eye on him over the next few days and upload some more photos if I think it's getting worse.

He doesn't seem to be getting bullied by the others (at least not that I've noticed). I'll hold off on any medication, closely monitor the water quality (which seems good at the moment) and see what happens. He's only been in the new tank for a few days, so maybe the transitions from the shop to the quarantine tank, then to the current tank were too stressful.

 

[emeraldking]

I don't see any signs of fin rot either in these pics.

 

[Alexter]

The fin doesn't seem to have gotten worse, so it seems that it isn't fin rot. However, the guppy still doesn't look well, and I've had some other issues with the tank.

• A lot of the time the ill fish kind of floats around with the tail angled downwards. He still eats, but has less energy than the others when there's no food around.
• I also noticed yesterday that the ill fish had a long, white poop coming out (photo attached.)
• During the last week, I've also seen some of the other guppies flash on the bottom or on leaves. They don't do this all the time, but if I watch for 5-10 minutes there's a decent chance that I'll see one do it. It often seems to be different ones rather than the same guppy each time.
• Unfortunately I've also had two of the cherry shrimp die during the last week. Both times I just found them on their sides on the substrate - no sign of stuck moult or anything else, although they did look a bit whiter than normal.

I haven't tried treating the guppy with anything, as there's no other symptoms. The white poop was the first thing I've noticed aside from the flashing, so potentially that's a clue.

I've tested water parameters a few times and ammonia/nitrite are both 0. Nitrate around 20. Temperature in the tank is a bit higher than normal - around 80F rather than 78ish, due to it being very hot here in the UK.

Any ideas what could be going on? I'd really appreciate any help you could give. Thanks!

 

[emeraldking]

You could be dealing with internal worms.
About those shrimps... they can not handle too high temperatures.

 

[Alexter]

You could be dealing with internal worms.
About those shrimps... they can not handle too high temperatures.

Thanks for your response. Yes, it does seem like it could be internal worms. He's much thinner than the other guppies, but still has a strong appetite, which would make sense. I guess that the others might have less severe worms, which could be causing the occasional flashing I'm seeing?

Do you have any recommendations for medication I could use to treat it in the same tank as the shrimp?

Regarding the cherry shrimp, I was under the impression that they are fine up to around 82F, so I wasn't too worried about the tank getting to 80F in the warm weather. Is that not correct?

Edit: I forgot to say I already have some eSHa -NDX and FlukeSolve. I don't think the FlukeSolve would be helpful, but if it's roundworms then would the eSHa one be worth trying?

 

[emeraldking]

Regarding the cherry shrimp, I was under the impression that they are fine up to around 82F

Depends on how fast that temperature raise has happened...

Do you have any recommendations for medication I could use to treat it in the same tank as the shrimp?

Esha should have a med that fights internal parasites and worms. But don't overdo it...

 

[Alexter]

Thank you. I've got the following two medications already at home:

1. Fluke-Solve - Treats gill flukes, skin flukes, and tapeworms.
2. eSHa NDX - Treats parasitic roundworms

I looked up Esha's other parasite medication (gdex) and it mirrors the Fluke Solve.

I know it's very hard to give advice like this over the internet, but which do you think I should try first? I don't know how to tell whether giving the Fluke Solve for tapeworms would be the better option than treating for parasitic roundworms...or if these are not the right medications at all.

My gut feeling is to go for the Esha NDX first, mainly because the treatment cycle is only 2 weeks, compared with 3 weeks for the Fluke Solve.

 

[Alexter]

Also, I've noticed over the last couple of hours that the fish now has a long, thin white poo hanging down. It has been stuck there for a while, which I haven't seen before.

 

[emeraldking]

Also, I've noticed over the last couple of hours that the fish now has a long, thin white poo hanging down. It has been stuck there for a while, which I haven't seen before.

Try the NDX first. Don't use those two at the same time.

 

[Alexter]

Try the NDX first. Don't use those two at the same time.

Thanks for your help. I've dosed with the NDX this morning and switched the light off for the next 24 hours.

I'll update this thread after a few days. Fingers crossed it helps!