2 guppies are missing parts of their tails.

[pettygil]

2 of my guppies are missing parts of their tails? is it ok to treat with primefix and Melifix? Cause I put some in the tank. Betta is own tank now. will tetras go after the guppies? My tetras do fin nip the other tetras. Do I need a separate tank for the guppies? I hope the melifix and primeafix work. I read to turn off my filter while medicating the tank, is that ok to do

 

[kiko]

I wouldn't turn off the filtration unless you have carbon or other things that will interfere with medication itself...
or use a sponge filter....
as for when asking for advice it's always best to bring pictures with the questions as it makes it easier for others to answer without having to ask for them...
fin rot/fungus can be caused by bad water quality...
also a common disease on guppies which you're likely to get at some point would be protozoa which is parasitical in nature
and most of the times is actually caused by us sticking our hands inside the tanks to do things...
it's easily cured with salt and a heater or a hospital tank with a dye medicine like malachite green or methylene blue
how often do you change the water? how long has this tank been cycled?
I haven't used those specifically...but when I looked it up it showed it has better effect when both pimafix and melafix are used which to me is a red flag right there as a pocket grab
paraguard seems a better option to me to keep on your shelf in the future

 

[GaryE]

From your post, there was a Betta in the tank, and he is now out, taking guppy tail chunks with him. So now you keep the tank water clean with regular changes, and observe., Will the tetras attack the fins? What tetras? What species is important to say. Some nip, some don't.
There should be no need for meds unless there is something you haven't told us.

 

[pettygil]

just lost 2 more guppy fish. From what I know, Melifix and primefix is safe to use. I'm down to 3 guppies. The rest are live bearer's. Endlers, I have about 2 of those.
I'm not going to buy guppies anymore, cause they keep on dying. I had a total of 8 guppies die on me. I am left with 3 guppies.

 

[kiko]

do you have a dechlorinator like prime?
if so I would do a very big water change right now as in 80%
make sure the water temperature is nearly identical to the temperature right now in the tank...use a thermometer...

 

[pettygil]

From your post, there was a Betta in the tank, and he is now out, taking guppy tail chunks with him. So now you keep the tank water clean with regular changes, and observe., Will the tetras attack the fins? What tetras? What species is important to say. Some nip, some don't.
There should be no need for meds unless there is something you haven't told us.

lol I am going to have a talk with Betta and tell him to give back the guppy chunks he has stolen. The tetras could also be nipping at the guppies, not that I seen this. I am just assuming. I am keeping an eye out for such behavior. The guppies are missing half their tails, that is why I started medicating the fish tank.

 

[GaryE]

You are unhappy, but the guppies probably feel like they were swimming dragging a wedding dress, and now, it's gone. They are probably delighted.

Bettas will often attack guppy tails because in Betta language, large open fins are a challenge to fight. It's how Betta males try to intimidate each other. The poor guppies don't know what is going on. They can't retract their tails, and the tails make them too slow to escape.

 

[pettygil]

about my fishes

 

[pettygil]

do you have a dechlorinator like prime?
if so I would do a very big water change right now as in 80%
make sure the water temperature is nearly identical to the temperature right now in the tank...use a thermometer...

My guppies are moving now. I've been tricked lol. I thought they were dying, but they seem to be moving now. I'm going to be buying a 6.5 gallon for my Guppies. I have 5 guppies.

 

[pettygil]

Is it safe to turn off my filter, while using primefix and melfix, for about week?
what is carbon media from your filter? I have what looks like white sponge, is there carbon media inside? I gotta know cause I'm treating my tank with meds, thank you.

 

[kiko]

well after researching a bit...
"anti-fungal Pimafix comes with a mixture that has 1% Pimenta Racemasa"
where pimenta in portuguese is the term used for spice (pimenta malagueta was one of the first introduced in europe by the portuguese from india)
the same goes with our neighbors and descendants latin-america/caribbean where the extracts of the pimenta racemosa leafs have methanol/lupeol which acts only as an anti-inflammatory. not actual healing properties
would you use spices on your fish? sure if you're cooking them, but I don't think this is the case...
as for melafix and their mix with melaleuca oil, I'm pretty sure you've heard of herbal treatments of better living and so on when it comes to melaleuca products...
and somewhat a "dark company" which keeps many of its ingredients a secret..would i trust a "healing ointment" from a dark company on a fish?
maybe...if it was my neighbors fish and I didn't like him...
now I wouldn't use either product myself...
and even though methanol is quite often used in fish medicines...it's somewhat like "alcohol" and not an actual medicine
and with this case I probably wouldn't even use any product as more than likely the betta did the damage himself...
if you want to help them heal...water changes...maybe some salt...
most things that happen in aquariums can be solved by simply keeping up with water changes...
as long as the fish isn't stressed their immune system doesn't become compromised and maybe affected by already lurking parasites
clean tank = happy fish
and always research the "active ingredients" in any product you intend on buying to use on your fish
and product that's named megaFIX and says: best used together with superFIX don't waste your money xD

 

[pettygil]

I just lost 2 more guppy fish. From what I know, Melifix and primefix is safe to use. I'm down to 3 guppies. The rest are live bearer's. Endlers, I have about 2 of those.
I'm not going to buy guppies anymore, cause they keep on dying. I had a total of 8 guppies die on me. I am left with 3 guppies.



Edited to remove link to rival forum

 

[kiko]

"I have a Betta and my ph is 8.5. Do bettas do well in high ph? My KH is 240(13.44) - Gh is 180(10)"
I had to go back to a previous post from you for this one...

using those products might be safe...but as far as their medicinal value...there isn't much
as for your water parameters...have you lowered this or is it still the same?

 

[pettygil]

I did a wc yesterday and I still have a ph at 8.5. My betta is in his new home.

 

[kiko]

do you have an rodi system?
if not then check out for how to make distilled water at home...
and buy discus minerals on amazon
and start pre-mixing your water before you change it...
ideally you should aim for around 7.4ph
best way to find out is to mark your bucket put 10 lines....one for 10% one for 20%, 30% etc...
then start with something like 80% tap and the other 20% distilled...this should give you the target you're looking for as 8.5*.8 is 7.2 as you're diluting it with 20% distilled
as you have a 20gallon I would go slow with this method probably only changing 2gals at a time...maybe water change every 2 days?
don't just change the water from 8.5ph to 7.2..that alone can kill your fish
change it maybe every couple of days 2 gals (10%) (1.6gal tap + .4gal distilled)
after 10 water changes and achieving the target you're aiming let's go with the 7.2 as it'll probably go up a bit to 7.5-6
then you can go back to doing your regular 20% weekly water changes using the same method...but for 20% (4gals) (3.2gals from tap + .8 distilled)
when/if you do get an rodi which is way cheaper than making distilled at home overtime....
thats when discus minerals come into play
lets say you want to do 20% weekly...
fill a bucket with 4gals and add tea-spoon...wait 24h then test the water in this bucket depending on what you get you'll have a ball park of how much or not to add
once you figure out the magic tea-spoon number you just redo the same for future water changes...4gals + whatever many spoons it took to achieve the target
and because you already know the values...you don't need to retest or wait 24h..you can just change the water