Male Guppy Not Doing So Well

[MusicalDeity]

I have a male guppy who has been in my tank for about a month with no problems. The tank is 5 gallons and has only a few other guppies, also male, all doing fine. I first noticed last night that he was laying on a rock on the bottom, but when I fed them he swam up to eat. This morning he was swimming at an angle, with his head up and tail downward. Not an unusual angle, but it seemed that was all he could manage. He would stop swimming to sink back down, rather than change directions. A few hours ago he appeared to be swimming normally, but now he's back to laying down. Either on his side or upright, he occasionally moves. He certainly isn't stuck, but choosing to lie there. Right now he's on top of the heater bracket. From what I can tell, all his fins seem to be intact. The water appeared to be in good shape on Saturday, when I did my last partial change and test. I am going to the store tonight because the filter is due to be changed in about a week and I need a new one, I'm also out of some testing supplies. I can pick up anything else that is recommended then. I has another tank set up, until I moved. But right now I don't, so no official hospital tank yet, though I'm going to try and set something up for him now (I do have the supplies, heater, air pump etc). It's not that he's irreplaceable, but I hate to see him suffering, and I don't want anything to happen to my other fish either. Any ideas?

 

[afremont]

I have a male guppy who has been in my tank for about a month with no problems. The tank is 5 gallons and has only a few other guppies, also male, all doing fine. I first noticed last night that he was laying on a rock on the bottom, but when I fed them he swam up to eat. This morning he was swimming at an angle, with his head up and tail downward. Not an unusual angle, but it seemed that was all he could manage. He would stop swimming to sink back down, rather than change directions. A few hours ago he appeared to be swimming normally, but now he's back to laying down. Either on his side or upright, he occasionally moves. He certainly isn't stuck, but choosing to lie there. Right now he's on top of the heater bracket. From what I can tell, all his fins seem to be intact. The water appeared to be in good shape on Saturday, when I did my last partial change and test. I am going to the store tonight because the filter is due to be changed in about a week and I need a new one, I'm also out of some testing supplies. I can pick up anything else that is recommended then. I has another tank set up, until I moved. But right now I don't, so no official hospital tank yet, though I'm going to try and set something up for him now (I do have the supplies, heater, air pump etc). It's not that he's irreplaceable, but I hate to see him suffering, and I don't want anything to happen to my other fish either. Any ideas?

What kind of test results do you have, especially ammonia and nitrItes? How much water are you changing and how often? Be careful "cleaning" your filter. You shouldn't replace them as often as the manufacturer suggests, in fact you should just rinse them out in treated water. I suggest doing daily water changes of %20 - 50% until you know exactly what the parameters are. Does the fish look bloated or have any bumps? How does it's poop look? In case it's from constipation, you could feed him a cooked deshelled pea.