My Guppy's tail is SHREDDED!

[Janelle]

I have a 15 gallon tank with a pair of guppies, 2 tetras, and a zebra danio. I am upgrading to a 55 gallon very soon. Today I noticed that my male guppy's beautiful tail has been torn and shredded very badly. Big chunks are missing out and it is no longer round. Is this tail rot, or are my other fish picking on him?
I appreciate any comments! Thanks!

 

[Annastasia]

Zebra danios will nip fins a lot, so that may be the problem.

 

[Janelle]

Oh, really? I never really noticed them nipping, I thought them to be quite peaceful. They are much faster than my guppy, though and could easily do it. Right now my guppy is hiding in a cave (very unusual for him) and not attempting to come out. Is there any way I can reair the damage done to his tail?

 

[Annastasia]

You could try some Melafix. That's what I use when my guppy's tail gets torn or ripped.
Tell your fish to get better soon!!
Hope this helped some!
Annastasia

 

[GetTanked]

Yep, it's one of three things. It's either fin nippers, poor water quality or stress. Fin nippers don't always strike when the light is on or when your watching. Many fish are night hunters. If anyone chases your gup around that you notice, that is more than likely your culprit. Even in a tank of only guppies their tails get frayed a bit if they are stressed out. The good news is, it will take awhile but it will heal up over time. If they are good hardy guppies he will live long enough to heal if left alone. If not left alone he won't make it long. Good luck.

 

[Angel03]

I have noticed with my guppys that if there tails are shredded that they do repair themselves in time .

 

[cometcattle]

The Danios wont nip as much if theyre in a small school. He's bored. I started with 3 and after 2 died, the remaining one would nip other fish.

 

[drobbins27]

Fin-nipping Zebra is the culprit

 

[Olive]

Fin-nipping Zebra is the culprit

I agree.........they do it when you aren't watching.........evil little suckers............

 

[StanTheBetta]

depends what kind of tetras are they?

 

[breezer40]

My blue guppy had a shreaded tail after falling out with the platy but removed him from the tank into one of my others and his tail is now mending nicely. They are vey nice fish but that long tail sure gets them into trouble.

 

[Janelle]

Thank you for all of your help! I isolated my guppies with my betta fish in a 15 gallon tank. His tail is healing nicely!

 

[seabear]

I notice that my guppy's fine is shredded, I thought it was some disease so I searched Google and found this. I also have Danios and saw them sometimes go after the guppy but didn't know they like to nip other fish.
Great info even after almost 8 yrs, thanks TFF

 

[willowstwin]

errm... just a thought... if they are male guppies with long tails, is it a good idea to put them in with a male betta? I know my guppies flare up when they're grumpy with each other (never resulted in a fight that I've seen), and if they do that to a betta wont that spell trouble?