Hi all, I seem to have a problem with my male guppy. Since we got him 8 months ago he has been fighting fin rot. I have been using melafix to try and get rid of it and once it looks healed I stop treatment. Usually I treat for 2-3 weeks But with in a week or two of stoping his tail is red at the edge again and it looks ragged and torn. I have sat and watched him and I don't see any of the other guppies or our one platty bothering him. He is the only fish bothered by it. The others never show signs of fin rot at all so I don't know what is going on. I have a 10g, nitrates nitrites and ammonia are all 0 and I do weekly PWC so I am at a loss. I have isolated "Boss" in a separate tank as of today But I am at a loss as to what is going on. Any input would be great.
Chronic Fin Rot
- Thread starter Ourfirsttank
- Start date
nitrAtes are at 0.0? Planted tank? What do you use to test?
As for the guppy's tailfin, is he a fancy, or does he have an unusually long tail for a normal guppy?
In your 10G tank, what is the stock?
As for the fin rot -- Many long-finned fish develop fin rot as a secondary infection initiated from nipped fins. In a 10G tank with only 1 guppy, 1 platy and 1 molly, this would be nearly stocked, and any more could easily casue some aggression from over-crowding IME.
In my own experience, I have never seen aggression in the Long-Fin Skirt Tetras that I have, but he chronically has redness around the ends of his fins. I have not seen aggression per se, but on occassion I do see a tiny 'piece' removed from time to time.
Like you, I have tried treatments, but to be honest nothing works like really clean water. In my 30G I do heavy gravel vacs every 5-7 days with 50-60% WCs. When I get lazy on this routine the redness returns. If I keep it up, he never shows any signs of fin issues.
Just my experience, but I would say that in a 10G (and assuming from your Sig) that you ahve all 3 species in this tank (and more than 1 each) that you are seeing aggression due to the confined space, to say nothing that Mollies in particular tend to be quite aggressive towards their smaller cousins (the Guppies) I wouldn't be suprised that you are seeing Fin Rot as a sign of a secondary infection from minor nipping and poor water conditions b/c with the tank and fish stock you would really need to do heavy WCs IMO to keep up w/ the heavy bioloads.
As for the guppy's tailfin, is he a fancy, or does he have an unusually long tail for a normal guppy?
In your 10G tank, what is the stock?
As for the fin rot -- Many long-finned fish develop fin rot as a secondary infection initiated from nipped fins. In a 10G tank with only 1 guppy, 1 platy and 1 molly, this would be nearly stocked, and any more could easily casue some aggression from over-crowding IME.
In my own experience, I have never seen aggression in the Long-Fin Skirt Tetras that I have, but he chronically has redness around the ends of his fins. I have not seen aggression per se, but on occassion I do see a tiny 'piece' removed from time to time.
Like you, I have tried treatments, but to be honest nothing works like really clean water. In my 30G I do heavy gravel vacs every 5-7 days with 50-60% WCs. When I get lazy on this routine the redness returns. If I keep it up, he never shows any signs of fin issues.
Just my experience, but I would say that in a 10G (and assuming from your Sig) that you ahve all 3 species in this tank (and more than 1 each) that you are seeing aggression due to the confined space, to say nothing that Mollies in particular tend to be quite aggressive towards their smaller cousins (the Guppies) I wouldn't be suprised that you are seeing Fin Rot as a sign of a secondary infection from minor nipping and poor water conditions b/c with the tank and fish stock you would really need to do heavy WCs IMO to keep up w/ the heavy bioloads.
agreed..fin rot is usually not chronic unless the water parameters are off(which yours seems is not the case) or there is bacterial issue where fin rot is a Sx.
I would lean towards aggression as an issue(possible) unfortunately we cannot monitor our tanks 24/7 and may not witness agression.
I would lean towards aggression as an issue(possible) unfortunately we cannot monitor our tanks 24/7 and may not witness agression.
Actaully we have only 1 Platy and 1 male guppy and about 14 guppy fry and 1 mature female guppy. We had two other female guppies but they have both died shortly after having fry. The platy ignores the male. Our male is not a fancy.
No plants, yes nitrates are 0 and I use the API tests for all levels and I test daily. The only one that fluctuates only minimally is the ammonia. As soon as I notice it I do a water change. I do between 25 and 50% water changes each week and a gravel vac every 2nd water change. I use Prime for water change conditioners.
We are moving and will be setting up a 30g once we get to the new house but for the time being I am stuck with the 10g. My concern is he has had fin rot on and off since about 2 weeks after we got him. He is a fighter though as he has out lived all our other fish. He is the only fish we have had that has had fin rot. He is generally the more aggressive fish in our tank. The others leave him alone.
As for my Sig, we have had platies, mollies and guppies. We currently only have guppies and one female Platy.
Thanks for your help though
No plants, yes nitrates are 0 and I use the API tests for all levels and I test daily. The only one that fluctuates only minimally is the ammonia. As soon as I notice it I do a water change. I do between 25 and 50% water changes each week and a gravel vac every 2nd water change. I use Prime for water change conditioners.
We are moving and will be setting up a 30g once we get to the new house but for the time being I am stuck with the 10g. My concern is he has had fin rot on and off since about 2 weeks after we got him. He is a fighter though as he has out lived all our other fish. He is the only fish we have had that has had fin rot. He is generally the more aggressive fish in our tank. The others leave him alone.
As for my Sig, we have had platies, mollies and guppies. We currently only have guppies and one female Platy.
Thanks for your help though
how long has the tank been set up?
it is not normal for 0 nitrates in an unplanted tank..even with 50% water changes you will slowly build up nitrate levels.
what is a 'minimal' fluctation with ammonia?/typically ammonia should remain 0 in some cases it may see a slight climb after a water change in arreas where chloramines are used. but an hour or two (or day) you should see 0. fluctuations should not occur between water changes.
it is not normal for 0 nitrates in an unplanted tank..even with 50% water changes you will slowly build up nitrate levels.
what is a 'minimal' fluctation with ammonia?/typically ammonia should remain 0 in some cases it may see a slight climb after a water change in arreas where chloramines are used. but an hour or two (or day) you should see 0. fluctuations should not occur between water changes.
Good detail, thanks!
Sorry if my 1st post was a bit edgy, but it was only an attempt to cover the bases from what info I could gather.
...But I do have a couple of concerns:
First, a non-planted tank will (in almost every single case short of a newly setup tank) have nitrAtes, I am a bit concerned that the API kit may be out-dated.
Secondly, periodic Ammonia levels is a bad sign and should never occur in a cycled tank unless a huge bio-load was recently introduced (14 guppy fry would not do this, but 14 adults would) and/or there was a large die-off in the bacterial colonies. Is the Prime out-dated?
Last, and especially with a fish with fin-rot, I would strongly encourage you to do a gravel vac with each weekly WC. It can only help.
Sorry if my 1st post was a bit edgy, but it was only an attempt to cover the bases from what info I could gather.
...But I do have a couple of concerns:
First, a non-planted tank will (in almost every single case short of a newly setup tank) have nitrAtes, I am a bit concerned that the API kit may be out-dated.
Secondly, periodic Ammonia levels is a bad sign and should never occur in a cycled tank unless a huge bio-load was recently introduced (14 guppy fry would not do this, but 14 adults would) and/or there was a large die-off in the bacterial colonies. Is the Prime out-dated?
Last, and especially with a fish with fin-rot, I would strongly encourage you to do a gravel vac with each weekly WC. It can only help.
Thanks for everyones help. I may have to get new tests, that may be part of the problem. How often should they be replaced? Or is it more that it may have been on the shelf too long. I think I bout them in January. The tank was set up last August, so it is established. My levels according to the API cards are 0 Nitrates and Nitrites. They are almost always in the 0 color level after 10 minutes. I have only once or twice seen in slightly darker but I have not seen that for a long time. Nitrites are always the bright blue the card says it should be. The Ammonia is my biggest concern but then I am thinking one of my tests must be out of date becasuse it is almost always the top yellow color the card says it should be if I read it after the 5 minutes but on occasion it creeps into the .25 level if I leave it for a few minutes longer. I will have to get some new tests I think. As for the prime, It would very well be out of date but I couldn't find an expiry date on it. IS it supposed to have a smell to it? I used to use Cycle but then was told that Prime was the better choice. My Nitrates drops also have a bit of a smell to them. I will have to wait to payday to get some more kits.
CT, no problem, I knew you were just trying to get more info.
I am by no means an expert when it comes to fish so I will take all the help I can get.
CT, no problem, I knew you were just trying to get more info.
I am by no means an expert when it comes to fish so I will take all the help I can get.
Melafix is not antibacterial. It does not kill the bacteria but boosts the fishes ability to fight the infection. So now here is one possibility of whats going on. The fish has fin rot and with the use of Melafix it is able to fight off the infection but the causative bacteria is still in the tank. You stop treating the fish thinking he is healed and the bacteria starts to grow again causing fin rot again. You can see how this can go on and on.
Treat the finrot with an antibiotic to wipe out the causitive bacteria from your tank. Maracyn, tetracycline, or Ampicillin will all work.
Treat the finrot with an antibiotic to wipe out the causitive bacteria from your tank. Maracyn, tetracycline, or Ampicillin will all work.
I know nothing about platies, but mollies and guppies do very well with salt added to their water. I know there is a lot of debate about this, but I also know that my baloon mollies and my guppies are going on 3 yrs now with zero problems. In any case, you could give it a shot short term to see if it solves the problem before resorting to stronger meds. It is less stressful than most meds, and certainly helps in healing wounds. Plain old Kosher or table salt, added gradually, will do.
