There's Something In My Qt!

[thisguyek]

i was checking out my 10 gal QT today which contains two fancy guppies with badly damaged tails. I have been treating one with melafix for over a week, and i added the other one 2 days ago.

Anyway, like i said i was checking it out today when i noticed several large patches of very small white 'things' on the front glass of the tank. they were moving about. is this some type of 'worm' parasite or what??? I tried to get a picture of them, but the camera wouldnt pick them up.

I need ideas on what this is and what to do about it! trying desperately to bring my two guppies back, and id like for my work not to go in vein due to ANOTHER ailment!

 

[fluttermoth]

Sounds like planaria; harmelss but a sign that you're overfeeding

 

[thisguyek]

k couple questions then.

do i do a thorough cleaning of the tank... or just change water and wipe the glass down?

also... the guppy that i just put in there a few days ago looks to be in really rough shape. its tail seems almost swollen with scales almost 'pine-coning'.

just completely at a loss right now...

 

[fluttermoth]

A good few 'deep cleans' of your gravel and cut down on the feeding and they'll disappear in time.

Your guppy doesn't sound to good; once they start pineconing, it's usually the end, I'm afraid.

What were you treating the guppies with the Melafix for? Fin rot?

 

[thisguyek]

yes, fin rot.

so should i take that guy out and put him down? i really hate to do it. It all happened today. this morning he still looked decent, good color and everything just a frayed tail. then he turned to this

is there anything else i can do for fin rot? any better treatments (other than melafix)?

what about water changes? daily, every other day, every week (as the bottle suggests)

sorry for the questions... really trying to wrap my head around what is going on here

 

[fluttermoth]

Melafix isn't really a treatment, i's only tea tree oil; very helpful for preventing the fin rot taking hold, but won't do much to cure it once it has, IME.

I'd do daily 80% water changes for a few days, certainly over the weekend, and see how things look then. If you have aquarium or 'tonic' salt, you could try that; it is sometimes effective in cases of bloat or dropsy.

Both those things are often related to poor water quality, so you might want to check up on that and do more water changes, up your filtration or filter maintanence etc.

Edit: I do hope that's the right advice as I can see Tolak looking over my shoulder

 

[thisguyek]

when you say water quality... youre referencing stats from water tests... are you not? they're where they're supposed to be. have been for quite some time...

well i do have salt... start dosing with that then? So I will be doing more large/frequent water changes, starting tonight. Should I continue with the melafix?

would you recommend that i go bare bottom in the QT? certainly that should help keep everything to a min, right?

if i continue with the melafix... I should keep the carbon out, correct? i just have an empty fiber cartridge and the bio sponge in it currently...

i know, questions galore! but i need all the help i can get!

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd stop the Melafix; it's not doing any good, is it? Keep the carbon out and treat with salt; one or two teaspoons to a gallon if you're leaving it in, or you can do 1 tablespoon per gallon, but only as a bath for half an hour or so.

I wasn't casting aspersions on your water quality (yes, ammonia, nitrite etc)! I was just mentioning that it might be a good idea to check up on it, make sure all is well.

Bare bottom is a bit of a bone of contention; I know lots of people do it, and swear by it, but I prefer to leave a very thin layer; I feel it makes the fish more secure and less stressed.

Don't worry about the questions, I'm glad to help; I must warn you that most dropsied fish don't make it though

 

[thisguyek]

No, it doesnt seem that the one guppy thats been in there longest is making much progress. I have noticed that it appears his tail is trying to make a comeback, but it doesnt look like it progressed hardly in the last few days.

how would you go about the salt? probably to leave it in there for a day, huh? or should i give it a good bath tonight before i do the water change?

I wasnt getting defensive about the water quality comment! just wanted to make sure we were on the same page I have been testing every other day or so, and all has been well.

I have had two platies that died that way (i think it was dropsy... had the real bad pine cone scales) so should I try to save him, or help him on to a better place? see how he does after a salt bath?

would raising the temp help? Im not able to right now (just have a heater with a constant thermostat) but if it would help i could run out and get an adjustable one...

 

[fluttermoth]

It's always worth giving thigns a chance; try him in a salt bath tonight if you can and do a water change and see how things look tomorrow, that's what I'd do.

 

[thisguyek]

ok. thats what i will do then. I'll let you know how theyre doing tomorrow. thanks for the help!

 

[thisguyek]

well the poor guy died... :'( saw it coming i suppose. The other one is still hanging in there, but looks like he's going down hill as well. it looks like his spine is starting to curve... but i'm not sure. will continue with salt and daily w/c until i can get some proper meds. hopefully it wont be too late