Sick Guppy.....please Help!

[Nickerbokker]

Hi there fish forum people! I come to you in desperate times!

Long story short, i saved three goldfish from a fishie flushing after a movie shoot was over and they didn't have anything to do with the fish.....I hadn't had fish since i was a kid and kept them in small glass bowls, so i bought a book, a tank, and food and did my best. after three years of good fun with those goldfish, they all finally died and i realized how sad I was every morning to not have little fishies wagging their tales at me when I came downstairs.....so I upgraded tanks and got 5 "male" guppies.

now....i have had them for i think about 6 months, and all of the sudden my red guppy looked pregnant to me. thing is, there is not one of those black spots and it is supposed to be a male! i mean, this fish is HUGE, like i'm worried its actually going to explode.

I have no idea what to do.....I have old pictures and I will take a new one and upload it so you can see how big it is.....but responses before i get the pix on here would still help!

i really dont know what to look for or do here.....all help will be appreaciated!!!!!!!!!

thank you

nicki

 

[WILDER]

I would post this thread in the livebeares section of the forum.
Good luck.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Does the guppy look abnormally bloated, like this one in the link below;

http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/foru...ad/0d_1_b_7.jpg

?

 

[Nickerbokker]

Does the guppy look abnormally bloated, like this one in the link below;

[URL="http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/foru...ad/0d_1_b_7.jpg"]http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/foru...ad/0d_1_b_7.jpg[/URL]

?

YES YES YES

i REALLY hope that is not bad

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Does the guppy look abnormally bloated, like this one in the link below;

<a href="http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/foru...ad/0d_1_b_7.jpg" target="_blank">http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/foru...ad/0d_1_b_7.jpg</a>

?

YES YES YES

i REALLY hope that is not bad

Its pretty bad i'm afraid if the fish is like that. The fish basically has dropsy, i.e. general kidney failure- something has caused the fishes osmotic process to go wrong so it is retaining fluids in its body and is causing the fish to swell up. Sometimes this makes the fishes scales stick out on end and/or its eyes pop out, but this doesn't always happen- the main symptom of dropsy is the abnormal swollen appearance of the fish.
Dropsy can be caused by numerous things though, from internal bacterial or viral infections, constipation, tumors/cancer, to water quality problems in aquarium etc. Your best bet would be to treat the fish with a strong all-round or anti internal bacterial antibiotic and some doses of Epsom salts (note that this is different from regular salt or marine salt- the other salts are very bad for fish with dropsy)- i have to warn you though that dropsy can be very difficult to treat successfully, sometimes the damage is too great for the fish to recover when it gets a very bloated appearance, and not all causes of dropsy are cure-able either way. Thankfully though, generally speaking dropsy is not very contagious, but this is not always the case. If the fishes condition worsens despite treatment, sometimes the kindest thing to do is to euthanise the fish in a humane manner.
I'm sorry i have to tell you all this, but i guess its better to be armed with the facts - i've managed to successfully cure dropsy about twice, so it is possible to cure it, none the less though the survival rate of fish with dropsy is pretty low and most of the times i've treated it i have not been able to save the fish in question. I think at best its a 50/50 chance survival rate, often lower though.

 

[5teady_2012]

Agree with above post and the info throughout was very good and useful. my plec was bloated bad beofre but i was lucky aqnd it survived as wilder guided me to the internal bacteria med and salts..

Sorry your fish is this badly ill

 

[Nickerbokker]

Does the guppy look abnormally bloated, like this one in the link below;

<a href="http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/foru...ad/0d_1_b_7.jpg" target="_blank">http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/foru...ad/0d_1_b_7.jpg</a>

?

YES YES YES

i REALLY hope that is not bad

Its pretty bad i'm afraid if the fish is like that. The fish basically has dropsy, i.e. general kidney failure- something has caused the fishes osmotic process to go wrong so it is retaining fluids in its body and is causing the fish to swell up. Sometimes this makes the fishes scales stick out on end and/or its eyes pop out, but this doesn't always happen- the main symptom of dropsy is the abnormal swollen appearance of the fish.
Dropsy can be caused by numerous things though, from internal bacterial or viral infections, constipation, tumors/cancer, to water quality problems in aquarium etc. Your best bet would be to treat the fish with a strong all-round or anti internal bacterial antibiotic and some doses of Epsom salts (note that this is different from regular salt or marine salt- the other salts are very bad for fish with dropsy)- i have to warn you though that dropsy can be very difficult to treat successfully, sometimes the damage is too great for the fish to recover when it gets a very bloated appearance, and not all causes of dropsy are cure-able either way. Thankfully though, generally speaking dropsy is not very contagious, but this is not always the case. If the fishes condition worsens despite treatment, sometimes the kindest thing to do is to euthanise the fish in a humane manner.
I'm sorry i have to tell you all this, but i guess its better to be armed with the facts - i've managed to successfully cure dropsy about twice, so it is possible to cure it, none the less though the survival rate of fish with dropsy is pretty low and most of the times i've treated it i have not been able to save the fish in question. I think at best its a 50/50 chance survival rate, often lower though.

Well ****......

thank you for the useful info, i am on my way to the fish store RIGHT now. hopefully i still have time to help him, wish me luck. thank you for the replies, and thank you soooo much for all the info!

will let you know how he does.

keep your fingers crossed please!

nicki

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Good luck- i hope the fish recovers .