Sinking Guppies

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nitrogen15

AC Members
Oct 21, 2011
28
0
0
Saskatchewan, Canada
I've been medicating two new guppies for gill flukes for about two weeks, and it seems to be working. I added 2 tsp salt to my 10 gallon tank and a normal dose of Coppersafe.

Over the time of treatment, though, they've both developed failing swim bladders. One spends all her time on the bottom, and the other swims at an upward angle to stay afloat.

The one that's worse off developed stringy poo over the past few days. She's also looked heavily pregnant for two weeks, which seems too long. The other one doesn't look pregnant at all. A lone fry did appear a week ago and seems totally healthy, but I'm wondering who the mother would be, as one guppy never looked pregnant, and the other is still a balloon.

I'm hoping someone can say whether this seems like tapeworms, bacteria and/or a retained pregnancy.
 

excuzzzeme

Stroke Survivor '05
Stringy poop is usually an internal parasite. Treat with fenbendazole or any other internal treatment. Unless you have actually seen the gill flukes you are medicating needlessly.

Gestation period is about 28 days.

I would stop the copper and do several water changes to remove it along with using a carbon pad or similar to remove all traces of it. Fenbendazole is the active ingredient used in dog de-wormer. I believe it is 2g per 10 gallon. Will not harm plants and since you are using copper I would assume no invertebrates (snails, shrimp, etc). there are many treatments out there but you will need to purchase the medications. Maracyn I, Maracyn II, maracyn-plus all can be used together read box as one specifically says gill flukes. Also API General Cure is outstanding for your problems.

Prazaquil and metronidazole will work together for parasites and bacteria.
 

nitrogen15

AC Members
Oct 21, 2011
28
0
0
Saskatchewan, Canada
Thanks for your help!

I'm treating for gill flukes due to gill flaring, surface breathing and flashing. I have no practical way of verifying flukes, but their gill symptoms drastically improved after a few days of treatment so I'm hesitant to back off of it. Are you suggesting I use a fluke med other than copper?

My LPS only sells dog de-wormer, and no fish anti-parasite meds. Would it work to crush 2g of that and dissolve it in the tank? I haven't seen prazi and metro available either, but I can get Maracyn I and II.
 

excuzzzeme

Stroke Survivor '05
Gill flaring and surface breathing can be indicative of ammonia burns. What are your water parameters? The easiest way to verify gill flukes is to net the fish and look at the gills. Many medication can be bought online.

Seachem Para-Guard and Poly-Guard are very effective broad spectrum medications. Poly-guard comes in a very small container (with measuring 'spoon') and a little bit goes a long way. It will kill just about everything but a fungus, because it contains malachite green, it will turn the water blue but there is nothing to be alarmed over. I have used it with great success. Copper-anything is very hard on fish and can be just as deadly as the ailment so it needs to be used very carefully.

I have added the fenbendazole by measuring out 2g and adding a pinch in each hour until all 2 grams are in. Prazaquantel is another medication that comes under many different names usually as a prefix of "Prazi-xxxxx". Does the same thing as fenbendazole. If the copper is working you might as well continue it according to directions.

If the fish have a swim bladder ailment, there is little you can do to help but may rebound after treatment. Make sure you read all packages and become familiar with what the say as to what is treated and how long to treat for. Any medications MUST run for a full treatment and do not stop just because you see an improvement unless directions say to. Stopping early can make a bug resistant to any further treatment. If you use test strips for water testing, switch to a liquid test kit as soon as possible. API Master Freshwater Kit is the preferred kit. Usually runs about $30. If you can't afford it see if your LFS will test the water for you. Since you live in Canada, Bigalsonline.com should be available to you for online supplies. I don't know how much difference in price there is and not sure which meds are allowed.


Good Luck
 

nitrogen15

AC Members
Oct 21, 2011
28
0
0
Saskatchewan, Canada
My water's still got undetectable ammonia levels with liquid kits, and I've tried at different times to rule out short-term spikes. I did a jump-start with cycled filter media three weeks ago.

The guppy that was worse off passed away this morning :( I gave it a visual inspection, and the spine was more bent than it had been the day before. The belly was also bloated beyond pregnancy size. There was a red area at the base of one pectoral fin, but no other blemishes. The tail and dorsal fin also got ragged yesterday, but I'm treating it with other tankmates, so they could've been the culprits.

At this point I've added TB to the list of possible infections, but I've never contended with TB, flukes, tapeworms or bacterial infections before, so it's hard to tell. I ordered some Prazi from Al's and have some medicated flakes on the way from the US to give me more treatment options. Does anyone know a Canadian source of medicated fish foods?
 

nitrogen15

AC Members
Oct 21, 2011
28
0
0
Saskatchewan, Canada
I think it's finally under control. I didn't lose any more fish after the adult female guppy. I left the coppersafe in and applied liquid Praziquantel in two 7-day treatments, with a water change in between. My medicated fish food arrived the second week, so I fed them Praziquantel medicated food along with Prazi in the water. Their poo is brown and healthy-looking now, and I'm doing changes to remove the copper and Prazi. The other adult female has permanent swim bladder damage but holds her own. The two baby guppies are normal and came out of this pretty much unharmed. I may try antibiotic food in case there's a secondary infection in the gills, because the gills look better but are recovering really slowly.
 
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