Major Guppy issue

Chickieepooh2u

Chickieepooh2u

Ooo, Ooo! Pick me pick me!!
Jan 12, 2006
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Norfolk, NE
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OK I have an issue with my guppies, and one white cloud minnow. I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 zebra danios, 2 long fin danios, 3 white cloud minnows, (had 4 one just died), 2 fancy male guppies and 3 female guppies (had 6, three died and another will probably not make it). For a few days I also had two 1/2 inch ghost shrimp in the tank too, but I removed them. Tank temp is 74° F. I have 3 live plants in the tank. Apogen (no idea how to spell them) plants.

I've had these guppies for about a week now, and the white clouds, danios and shrimp for 6 months. I got 2 male guppies, then added 2 females. Not a good ratio so I got 4 more females a few days later. I added my ghost shrimp to the tank the same time as the guppies.

The very next day after getting the initial guppies I had one female that looked...chewed on. Found her on the bottom of the tank being eaten my the Shrimp. Ok...I did some research, found out I could have aggressive shrimp so I put them in another tank. Next day the surviving female was swimming around the tank with what looked like a 'skinned' spot on her side. Thats the best I can describe it, it looked like someone took a veggie peeler to her side. She is still swimming and for the most part ok. The day after that one of my bigger White cloud females ended up the same way. Except she was nearly completely "skinned" from the dorsal fin all the way to the tail fin. She did not make it.

I thought maybe the male guppies were getting aggresive because of not enough females so I got 4 more girls. (day after the white cloud died). These girls were pregnant so I also got a breeding net for the tank. Next morning same thing, one new girl guppy "skinned" and dead. I'm kind of freaking out here, I've seen no aggression first hand, and the male guppies are fine, at the moment so are the danios and remaining whites. Got up this morning to find yet another girl guppy nearly completely shaved, so much so that you can't even tell she was yellow. Shes not dead yet but she will be soon.

What on earth is going on? This doesn't look like a disease, it looks more like a wound. Also for the most part all of the guppies are hanging at the top of the tank in one spot. Oh, I have one female guppy in the "nursery mesh cage" and shes fine, which leads me to believe this isn't a disease but some type of aggressive fish. My next step (today) is moving the male guppies to my 10 gallon tank that has an apple snail and the 2 ghost shrimps in it. Just to see if they are the problem.

Any other suggestions would be awesome. I haven't been able to find any helpful info anywhere so I'm just grasping at straws at the moment.

Thanks you
 
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The danios are known fin nippers, so they could be part of the problem. The 'shaving' symptoms could be caused by either something from the dealer you purchased them from, or could be resulted from something in your tank. I'm thinking maybe in tryng to ivade the males, the female guppy may have severely scraped herself on a sharp or rough edged object in your tank maybe. I really can't say what it is exactly, but it almost sounds like a flesh eating disease. I would suggest maybe doing some searches on fish, or specifically guppy diseases and ailments, and possibly emailing a guppy hobbyist to ask what you may be seeing with these fish. I'm sorry that your fish aren't doing so well, and I hope you are able to find a solution for your finned friends.~Angela
 
Update. The male is now showing signs of the scraped sides. You are right about the Danios, I caught one at it today. Sooo, they are going to the naughty tank now. This is showing up way too fast to be a disease, and the tank had never had any problems with sharp objects before. It never occured to me that it could be the danios.
 
that is kinda creepy, hope everything works out. i have 2 zebra danios and don't have any problems with them. (2 white clouds, 2 neons, 1 glass fish) back when i had adult guppies they died in a week but i have 15 fry that are doin well. post all updates as i'd like to know if you've fixed the problem
 
Well. Last night I went out and got 3 more female guppies to replace my lost ones. When I got home my beautiful male guppy that had been getting attacked by the Danios was getting attacked by my yellow male guppy. He didn't make it. Well I kinda snapped and stuck the yellow male in the little breeding net that sits in my tank. Guppy jail. He was not a happy camper. Tough! This morning the only loss I had was one of the new females and she had no bites on her so I'm thinking she was too stressed. She was almost ready to pop and I think the move was too much for her.
I know the danio was attacking, but I had suspicions about the yellow male and those proved true too.
My 20 gallon is now a happy blissful tank. Its got 3 female white clouds and 3 female guppies, and the yellow male is jailed in the corner for now. I'm going to get my little one gallon tank up for him ths afternoon.
The females are really fat. I have alot of cover and hiding places, so I might just let them have their fry in the main tank and hope for the best.
 
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