Very Ill Guppy Please Help!

[Lalah]

Hello,
I have a very ill male guppy, he has been ill for a while now and has held on and been very strong but hes getting worse. I feel like im wasting a lot of time trying to find out what is wrong with him and i dont want his time to run out.

At first i started to see tiny red spots on his head and then very soon after he got really fat and bloated. I notice that he hides behind plants and stays at the bottom of the tank, he does not socialise with the others much at all. Today he is even worse, the red spots have turned into lines along the tip of his fin and i have also noticed some black bruse-like spots on the top of his head.

I have bought some medication for 'swimbladder' but after coming home and looking at him again, i had second thoughts about adding this medication as i am still unsure of what is wrong.

 

[LauraFrog]

Guppies are delicate fish. Wild guppies are tough as nails and colourful. Fish breeders took wild guppies, inbred them crazily, and ended up with even more colourful fish with fins so huge they can't swim and no immune system to speak of.

The best thing to do is isolate him, even if you put a large tupperware container at the top of the tank and float him in that to keep him warm. I would suggest treating with antibiotics - that's maracyn 1 and 2 in the USA. In other places, look for anything with active ingredient tetracycline, oxytetracycline (sometimes just called oxytet) or chloramphenicol.

Feed a pea to try and get rid of the bloating.

MOre information would help with a more accurate diagnosis - tank stats in ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, how big is the tank, what else is in it, how long has it been set up and did you cycle it.