Help Me!!! Sick Guppy??

[Marinebio444]

Hi, I'm a newbie to the aquarium scene. I recently got a 20gal tall tank. Today I bought a number fish from a well-known local seller: 6 guppies
2 Swordtails
1 Pearl Gourami
When I put the fish in my tank, I noticed right away that one of my male guppies wasn't swimming very well. It seems like he couldn't move his caudal (tail) fin at all. The fin is not looking what it is supposed to look like: it's drained of a little color, and it's raggedy on the end as opposed to the flowing semicircular one of my other guppies. Can Someone tell me what is wrong with my fish???

[Lexi_D]

Water parameters? Did you cycle the tank? Is this the only fish looking affected? What is your waterchange schedule? Have you noticed any aggression from the other fish? Sounds like it may be fin rot which is sometimes caused by water quality issues.

[Marinebio444]

If it is fin rot, then it must've been there before i bought it because my water parameters are fine and i've only had it for a say, and it was showing these symptoms right out of the bag.

[Lexi_D]

It could have come from the stock if it's fin rot. but...
Did you cycle the tank?
Is this the only fish looking affected?
Have you noticed any aggression from the other fish?

EDIT:

My parameters are pH=7.2, ammonia=0 to.25, nitrite and nitrate=0

Sounds as if you didn't cycle the tank (no trace of nitrate and slight ammonia). Cycling: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598

[Marinebio444]

I am currently cycling the tank with these fish, that is what was recommended by the fish store and numerous web sites and books that i have looked at.

[Marinebio444]

This is the only fish affected, and it is showing more agression to the other fish than they are to it.

[shawnhu]

Guppies are prone to a baterial disease called Columnaris. This disease resembles symptoms of fin rot, but will eventually kill the fish, and all the occupants in the tank. This disease is highly infectous, and should remove the fish immediately to treat it. Tetracyline works, or anything to combat gram negative bacteria. I've had this before in Guppies, and lost a few to this disease.

Good luck with him, and the other fish. There are other ways to cycle a tank aside from sacrificing the guppies.

[Lexi_D]

There are other ways to cycle a tank aside from sacrificing the guppies.
Yeah, most people just do a fishless cycle with pure ammonia. Much more humane IMO... don't always trust the fish stores.

[Marinebio444]

It wasn't just the fish store that said to cycle the tank with fish, a lot of books i've read say that too. Should I just return the fish to the pet store instead of paying $7 for a $3 fish?

[grannylvsfish]

http://crackedglass.biz/de-sunday-review/2redtailed.gif

sorry just had to do it :lmao:

[Lexi_D]

It wasn't just the fish store that said to cycle the tank with fish, a lot of books i've read say that too. Should I just return the fish to the pet store instead of paying $7 for a $3 fish?
that would probably be your best bet.

[BELLUM]

If it is just this one fish then just take it back. Unless you have grown attached in just one day.

Did you name it?

[Marinebio444]

Lol, no, i didn't name it, and I'm not really very attached to it. It's just boring and the colors are dull, plus it's really territorial and aggressive towards any fish that comes near it.

[BELLUM]

Lol, no, i didn't name it, and I'm not really very attached to it. It's just boring and the colors are dull, plus it's really territorial and aggressive towards any fish that comes near it.

Well if you had named it would be died already. Just return it. It's not worth risking the other fish.

[Marinebio444]

I have some bad news...
When I was trying to get the sick fish into a net for a change of the water in his bag, i made the mistake of doing it over the sink and the fish jumped out of the net and down the drain...

[jpappy789]

Change of water in his bag? Why was it in the bag?

[Marinebio444]

To isolate him just for the time it took to get him back to the store (I didn't have an isolation tank and my parents wouldn't let me get one)

[jpappy789]

Ok.

How is the cycle coming along?

[catnipgal]

Sorry to hear about the guppy going down the drain. :-(

Make sure you get hardy fish to cycle the tank. Guppies are not hardy fish. Danios are hardy and so are some tetras; red tetra, black skirted tetra and a few others.

[Marinebio444]

Well, ammonia is starting to creep up just a little, but I'm not feeding my fish a whole lot to give the bacteria time to grow before they start releasing major amounts

[Marinebio444]

Well, from what I've seen so far the guppies are doing fine, and the guy at the fish store who knew his stuff said that the guppies will be fine as long as i do frequent water changes.

I was thinking of getting something like Stress-Zyme or Cycle so that some of the load would be taken off and the fish would be fine. Is this a practical solution?

[jpappy789]

Nope. Bottled bacteria does not contain any bacteria at all. For the bacteria to survive shipping/stocking it has to be cooled so the colony stays dormant. Only thing that works is Bio Spira although I'm not sure if the current stuff being sold even works...

Test your water frequently and do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite below .25 ppm. The lower, the better.

And a pearl gourami was a horrible suggestion for a cycling fish. Well, I think suggesting fish cycling is bad to begin with...

[Marinebio444]

Do you think I should take the fish back, or just stay with the fish and continue to cycle the tank with them in it?
Keep in mind that the aquarium store is a good bit out of the way...

[jpappy789]

I would take them all back and go with a fishless cycle. If you still want to cycle with fish you could try using just the guppies, although I can't imagine that it would go well. Danios are the staple fish cycler, unfortunately.