Sticky Finned Guppy!

[Fluffie]

I have a 57L (Not sure in gallons) tank and just recently I have lost a lot of fish, including 4 platys (my first attempt at keeping them), 3 guppies, 2 threadfin rainbow fish and 1 otto! So now my tank is pretty empty, but one of my remaining guppies has a really sticky tail, its all stuck together and looks like a rather brightly coloured horn sticking out of his rear end! He seems ok in himself, he is eating and swimming (well waddling) around the tank.

I did my water readings a few days ago, I had no ammonia and no nitrite, but my nitrate readings were rather high, so I have done water changes nearly every day. The strange thing is one of my female guppies gave birth and i have babies in that tank, so surely if the water conditions are that bad, she wouldn't have given birth and my one remaining otto seems fine too and I know they are sensitive to poor water,!

I do water changes weekly as well as vacuming and wiping the tank sides down, I have been adding a nitrate reducing chemical this week to reduce the nitrate, but I am worried about this one guppy, I have removed him and put him in my smaller tank with the baby guppies, but what I can I do to help his poor tail, if anything because he looks like he's having hard work swimming. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[WILDER]

Do you mean a red worm prutruding from his anus.

 

[WILDER]

Has the fish bloated up or gone skinny, there is a parasite called Acanthocephalus (Thorny headed worm)

 

[Fluffie]

No he isn't bloated and no it isn't a worm, his scales aren't protruding, its like his tail has rolled up and its like a long rolled up tube. He has no other symptoms, he is eating and swimming (kinda) I really don't know what to do for the best!

 

[WILDER]

I would issolate him dosn't sound to good, sorry, don't know what to advise you to do.

What colour is the sticky stuff does it look like greyish mucas on it.

Is the fish fins clamped, feel the glass inside the tank to see if it feels more slimey than normal.

Does the tail look like it rotting away.

Iv'e heard of betta fins sticking, i think it bacterial i would try a bacterial med for now.

Any red steaking there or red edging or patches of red.

http/www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/finrot.htm

 

[Fluffie]

Thanks for your help wilder, I really appreciate it, I really don't think it is fin rot as there is no mucus or sticky stuff and he is red in colour, so hard to tell if there is any red streaking, which I don't think there is. It is hard to explain what his symptoms are, so I have taken a picture, it isn't brilliant as he wouldn't stop moving. Here is a picture of him:

http/i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/GothicGoat/guppy.jpg

I just hate to see him suffer, but I don't think there is much that can be done now

 

[WILDER]

I can see what you mean by a rolled up tail, never seen that before, bless him, issolate him and try a bacterial med.