Bent Guppy And Now An X Ray Tetra

[gothikhaz]

Have been sent here by Spishkey(Spish) .I am new to keeping tropicals and have had a lot of lessons to learn.
Now tho,my tank has settled and my water is testing good throughout.
However,my guppy over the last few days has started to bend her body,not swim very much,just hang around the gravel bottom. Yesterday I noticed one of my x ray`s doing the same,quite shocked because they seemed the hardiest of my whole tank.I had lost one of each species since I started but not one of them.
What could be causing this bending,and should I get them out to euthanase now?

 

[helterskelter]

Firstly we need to know about the tank.

What size is it?
How long as it been set up?
Water have u tested for and want are the levels?
What fish u keeping?
What are you feeding?

 

[gothikhaz]

Firstly we need to know about the tank.

What size is it?
How long as it been set up?
Water have u tested for and want are the levels?
What fish u keeping?
What are you feeding?

Right,I have a 4ft tank which holds 127 litres.
It has been set up for 3 weeks,tested for Ammonnia which was on 0.5 with an API strip test,nitrites have finally dropped to zero,ph is 7.5
I have in the tank 8 green Tiger Barbs,3 black mollys ,3 white. 8 neon tetras,8 x ray tetras,2 platties,3 corys and the one guppy.
They are fed on Aquarian Tropical flakes and a veg and algae pellet.

 

[Colin_T]

Bent backs can be caused by intestinal problems or bacterial infections. Due to the rapid onset in the x-ray tetra it is most likely a bacterial infection. A picture would help to provide a positive id but check the fish for cloudy eyes, red inflamed areas on their body, and scales that are sticking out.
A broad spectrum medication like "Waterlife Protozin or Myxazin" or "Wardley's Promethyasul" should help but check the water quality first.

To work out the volume of water in the tank
measure Length x Width x Height in cm
divide by 1000
equals volume in litres

When measuring the height, measure from the top of the gravel to the top of the water level. If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove them before measuring the height.

Before you treat the tank do a 50% water change and complete gravel clean. This will reduce the gunk in the tank and allow the medication to work more effectively. It will also lower the pathogen count in the water and mean there are less nasties around to infect the fish.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating otherwise it will absorb the medication out of the water.

 

[gothikhaz]

Bent backs can be caused by intestinal problems or bacterial infections. Due to the rapid onset in the x-ray tetra it is most likely a bacterial infection. A picture would help to provide a positive id but check the fish for cloudy eyes, red inflamed areas on their body, and scales that are sticking out.
A broad spectrum medication like "Waterlife Protozin or Myxazin" or "Wardley's Promethyasul" should help but check the water quality first.

To work out the volume of water in the tank
measure Length x Width x Height in cm
divide by 1000
equals volume in litres

When measuring the height, measure from the top of the gravel to the top of the water level. If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove them before measuring the height.

Before you treat the tank do a 50% water change and complete gravel clean. This will reduce the gunk in the tank and allow the medication to work more effectively. It will also lower the pathogen count in the water and mean there are less nasties around to infect the fish.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating otherwise it will absorb the medication out of the water.

Will the meds affect any of the other fish?

 

[helterskelter]

Ammonia could also be a factor as you have alot of fish for a tank thats only been running for 3 weeks.

Ammonia is toxic at very low levels and can cause many problems even at 0.5mg/l

I would be doing 2-3 water changes at 25-30% a week. You should never do over 30% at a time unless you have a major problem.

Treating may not help if it's caused via the ammonia but it will help in stopping any other infections setting in as well.

Going back to the numbers of fish you should idearly have no fish for the first 3-4 week's but i know how difficult that can be. Then once ammonia is at 0 add 4-6 small fish every 7-10 days to allow the good bacteria to grow with the numbers of fish.

 

[Colin_T]

Will the meds affect any of the other fish?

Waterlife Myxazin will be fine with everything. Wardley's Promethyasul should be used at half strength because of the cories. For any other medication check the directions and if is states use at half strength for scaleless fish, then do that because of the catfish.