Dying Guppy

[9tails]

A few weeks ago one of my female guppies disappeared without a trace. She hadn't looked ill but just vanished.

Tuesday evening I noticed that another female guppy seemed to have ich, two small fuzzy white spots on her body, though no other fish seemed affected. Her fins were also clamped and she wasn't interested in food. I pushed up the temperature and made a note to get salt at the supermarket the next day. By morning, her spots were gone but she was very lethargic, resting on plants and not seeming to have the energy to swim. I haven't dosed with salt yet, though the temperature is at 82 degrees. I don't expect she'll be alive this evening, she also had stringy poop the day before she became ill.

Any suggestions? Should I still dose the salt? Is this ich or another deadly disease? When my fish have had ich in the past, they weren't lethargic or off their food. I have cories and plecos so I don't want to dose salt if there isn't a case of ich in the first place.

 

[Milky]

The F word Fungus

Fungus, Once again the proliferation of fungus, as with many other diseases, more than likely is brought about by poor water quality. Fungus can be identified by the presence of cotton like tufts about the mouth and /or tail region of the fish . The color of the fungus can range from white to a yellowish white to gray. There are many species of fungus that most likely will afflict guppies and tetras in the home aquarium: Saprolegnia
The onset of the Saprolegnia fungus can usually be traced to decay. If youve ever come to find a dead fish covered in a cocoon like slime this is fungus. In addition to enveloping a dead carcass, it will do the same to uneaten food left in the aquarim. It can also make its way to your fish should poor water quality cause a breakdown in your fish's slime coat =defense systems. Unfortunalty, fungus is not as easily cured with natural methods as is ich. However as with ich or any malady for that matter check your water quality first. Correct any abnormalities immediatley , and perfom and 33% water change immediatly. At this point you will want to consult your LFS for a suitable fungus rememdy of which there are several.

While treating
@ Remove any carbon filtration.
@ Suspend all feedings
@ Perform a 33 % water change prior to any subsequent redosing.
@ Dont add any fish during the treatment period
@ If you havent done so allready, add one teaspoon of aquarim salt per gallon of water.
good luck

 

[9tails]

You could be right, though my water is good according to the tests. I did a 50% water change on Saturday vacuuming the gravel well. I change water every week, varying from 20% to 50%. I have recently started using Liquisil after losing a male guppy to dropsy. I do have a fungus remedy, I suppose the ill guppy is beyond saving...