Guppies... actually commitment to life-keeping  2/5/07
Hi,
I have mollies and guppies.  I am down to
<Down to?>
3 guppies, two males and one female.  Keeping an aquarium is a lot harder than I thought.
<Really? With "proper" set-up, should be a proverbial breeze... maybe an hour or so a week to maintain...>
  All the mollies given to me have survived so far, and even 4 babies that have grown pretty big.  The guppies keep dying.
<Why?>
Today, one male guppy developed a big round cyst-like thing on his tail.  On one side it looks orange, and on the other white- maybe that is because of
the colors of his tail.  When you see him from the front, this bump sticks out a lot.  What is this?  
<A big cyst-like thing... orangish>
I have searched the site without success.  Is it a disease?
<Likely resultant from an environmental complaint... What is your water chemistry like? What sort of water quality parameters do these poeciliids enjoy/tolerate?>
Also, I wondered why my guppies die down at the bottom of the tank.  Don't dead fish usually float to the top?  
<Not necessarily...>
Mine never do.  They fall to the bottom of the tank when they die.
Thank you.
BLS
<Time to encourage you to take a "few steps back"... Perhaps you're not suited, or ready for aquarium-keeping... Caring enough to involve oneself sufficiently is requisite to being earnest at anything... Do you want to make a/the commitment to caring for this life? If so, please do read... on fishbase.org, WWM re these species care (indeed, all is posted)... If not, perhaps inanimate pursuits are better for you. Bob Fenner>

Hello. Guppy beh., dis.    1/30/07
Hello Mr. Fenner,
<Amanda>
My question isn't very specific... but in my 10 gallon tank I have 2 fancy guppies, 1 male and 1 female... the female had about 30 fry. This event took place about 2 weeks ago. They're coming along quite well. This isn't my problem though. I think it's because of the male but out of all the female guppies I've had (8 in total), the mother of the fry is the only one that has survived. The first 3 that died must have been hiding from the male because I found them in the cave like ornament I have in my tank. The 4th one that died was pregnant and got Finrot or ich which the other 2 females later got. The mother of the fry has it now.. but I think it's because of the male biting her. There's a big white 'blotch?' at the base of her tail fin and her tail, which was once black, is now a horrible white color. Her tail kinda of bends downward from the rest of her body. She kind of resembles a roof?
<Good description>
I think she's going to die like the rest of them. I want to know how to prevent this because she's a really great fish. Unlike most guppies I've seen, she's about 3.5" including her tail.
<Wow!>
I also have 4 happy little Neons and an Otocinclus in this tank. The Otocinclus does absolutely fine and seems content as do the Neons. The guppies (just the adult females) are what I have trouble keeping. I don't want to get more female guppies to reduce the problem, because then my tank will be overcrowded as the fry are growing up. Oh yes, the fry are separated from the rest with a plastic partition. They're all happy and fine. I feed them with flake food and they're doing great. I don't feed them live food. Is that absolutely necessary anyways?
<Is not necessary, no>
For nutritional purposes and enhancing color I believe. I've done a LOT of research but I'm just looking for some advice from an actual person rather than reading stuff.
Anyways.. if you help me with this, I'll really appreciate it. Your website is a great source of info. I've learned a lot from other people's questions alone.  
Thanks again, Amanda.
<I would try separating this rogue male (maybe in a small plastic floating colander in the tank) for a week or so... This often takes the "spit and vinegar" out of a "mean" fish... But do please read on the Net, elsewhere re Columnaris (Chondrococcus) disease... Maybe Google... Images... as I fear this may be at play here as well. Bob Fenner>

Re: hello, guppy beh., hlth.
Hi again,
<Amanda>
Thanks for your help. Unfortunately though, the guppy died. I can't stand losing them. but there's no good pet shops closer than an hour so I don't really have good resources, and we don't travel much. So after I removed her from the tank, I put the fry in with the Neons and the Otocinclus because they're now too big to be eaten by them.
<Good>
They're not big, they're just too big to be eaten. So since the partitioned side was empty and Tiget [male guppy] was chasing the fry around, I put him on that side all by himself.
<Also good>
Putting the fry with the others won't bother the Neons will it?
<Not at all>
They don't seem to be too upset but I just want to make sure so I don't cause unnecessary stress.
Thanks, Amanda
<Life to you my friend. Bob Fenner>

Guppy looking like he has a bad back   1/21/07
Hi!  I have a male guppy, 2.5 gallon aquarium with filter, aquarium salt added, pH normal, temp ~80-82.  He behaves as if he is perfectly healthy, but suddenly he started looking "bent" like he has a bad back or something.  
<Does happen... most often with age, some diseases, nutritional deficiency syndromes...>
About a week after he started looking like that, he started holding his tail tightly, it is now in a point (before that he had a beautiful tail nicely fanned out)  He is behaving like a normal fish, swimming around fine (although he seems to be struggling a little because of his tail), eating normally.  I had female also, but she died of the exact same symptoms.  However, the male fish did not start getting like this until quite a while after the female died, and she died very quickly but he has been hanging for well over a week with his tail like this.  I don't want to euthanize him because I am very attached to him and he doesn't look like he's in pain.
<Is not likely so>
I could not find any information about this on the web, and I am very hesitant to drop some medicine !
in there until I know what's going on and what kind of medicine to drop.
<Mmm, not really a good idea... not likely efficacious>
I am hesitant to even do a partial water change now because I don't want to add any extra stress on him.  Please help!  Thank you. ~Linda
<Not really something that is "catching" to most other fish groups... best to do those water changes, feed regularly, hope for the best here. Bob Fenner>

Dying guppies, over-mis-stocked 1/20/07
Hi,
<Hello, Tony, JustinN with you today.>
I've read most of the FAQ's that you have on guppies, but can't find what I'm looking for, hence a question that I would be grateful if you can answer.  
<I will try, my friend.>
I have a 90L tank that has been setup for at least 18 months.  
<Ok>
It has Plecos, sucking loaches, harlequins, cardinals, glow light tetras, shrimps, swordtails, platys & guppies in it.  
<You don't mention how many of each of these fishes are placed in your aquarium, but regardless, you are incredibly over and mis stocked, my friend. Unless your Plecostomus are dwarf species, they will likely outgrow your tank in short order. This could also be a potential problem with the loaches. This doesn't even begin to outline the incompatibilities in water types you have...>
Up to around 6 months ago everything was working fine, the guppies were breading <breeding> so
much that we were giving a load of the babies away to friends on a regular basis.  However, now things have changed.  They are still
breading <breeding>, but the babies are dying quickly afterwards; not only that, but the adults are also dying, in fact we have lost about 30 in the past 6 months (not all at the same time, as they were dying we were replacing them).
<It is my personal belief that your fish are dying due to the overstocked conditions in your tank. There is not likely enough room for all of the fish to happily coexist, and there is likely some sort of outward aggression taking place that you are not seeing. Likewise, it is possible that the nitrogenous waste buildup from so many fish is just overwhelming.>
The strange thing is that apart from a couple of platys, nothing else seems to be having any issues.  I've tested the water, the Nitrites are
high and I'm trying to sort that out with some stuff in a tea-bag looking thing.  
<Not a real solution here, my friend. Your nitrates are high because you are so overstocked. The chemical additive you have running is at best a stop-gap solution -- you need to lower the stocking level of your aquarium, and execute 25-30% water changes weekly at minimum.>
Ammonia is very low from the test, hardness, PH, etc are looking ok....any thoughts?   
<If there is any detectable ammonia in the water, this is a problem as well. Both the presence of high nitrates and ammonia would be deadly to your newborn fry (what the babies are referred to), and likewise be eventually toxic to your existing livestock.>
The only thing that I did notice, today in fact is that one of the guppies had a small cotton-wool like lump on it, so I isolated it into another tank, added some Medicare...and it died.
<Not sure what 'Medicare' would be, but most the time, cottony appearing growth is fungal. This is not a disease, it is a sign of a bad environment. Improve the conditions in your aquarium by reducing stocking levels and improving water quality, and such issues will go away.>
Help please, it seems I can't find the answer anywhere on what may be harming / killing the guppies (could it actually be the other fish was one thought I had?)
Kind regards
Tony
<Many possibilities here, Tony. With as many fishes as you have stocked, outward aggression could be coming from any inhabitant. I am fairly certain that most your problems are environmental though, stemming purely from poor water quality. Improve this, and things will look up, my friend. -JustinN>

Re: Please help! Guppy losses   1/19/07
Thank you very much for your response. There are a few errors in my letter that I should explain, or things I neglected to say. Sorry, it doesn't help you for me to have left them out.
  First my count of 70 females is not quiet right, I had forgotten the 10 who had died over the last few days, some males also died. It is possibly more like 55 females ranging from just a month or two old to fully grown females. But I take your advice on over crowding, I thought I was about right for tank size.
<Mmm... not indefinitely... with growth... further reproduction...>
  The other thing I should have mentioned is I did keep my new fish in a floating container about 8 inches across for a day. During that time I removed some of the water and added some. I normally would have quarantined them for longer  but I had my plans of cleaning the aquarium they were meant to go in halted from unforeseen events.
They also show no signs of ill health, not that they need to I suppose.
  I also didn't mention how a plant that was in my pond had been in the  aquarium  previously but since being in the pond it has grown above the surface and has flowers. Those flowers were never on it when in the  aquarium and I wonder if they may be toxic.
<Not likely, no>
I am sorry I can't tell you the name of it. It has small leaves and the flower is a tiny mauve flower that has what looks like a long seed head. I have now cut them off.
<Mmm, Eichornia crassipes likely...>
  I dosed my tank with Aqua Safe and  Betta Fix an antibacterial remedy.
  I thank you again for your excellent advice, your web site is a great help.
  No deaths since I last wrote.
  Anne.
<Ahh, thank you for this update. Bob Fenner>

Please help! Guppy dis.    1/17/06
Hi,
   <Hello>
  I need your advice please. I have about 70 female guppies and around 15 males in a 240 litre tank. Or 3'x18" and depth front to back 13".
<Mmm... crowded...>
I did  purchase 2 new males about 10 days ago, they seem to have caused no obvious aggressive problems since placing them in my tank.
<No quarantine? You'll learn>
For some reason over the last 3 days some of my fish have been dying. 3 days ago, one died, then yesterday 4 died. Then this morning 5 and it still isn't lunch time. My pH is fine and it has been since I set up this tank almost 6 weeks ago. Can you tell me please if it is possible to have a problem with my tap water and it still show when in my tank a normal at 7.4, pH range?
<The pH is fine... you've very likely introduced a pathogen...>
We live in the hills and our water storage comes from a huge 600,000 gallons attached to the golf course that serves the estate of about 100 homes. What they do is fill that tank from the towns water supply. But they had a problem about a month ago when the automatic system that fills the tank didn't work. It caused the tank to be
empty and us to run out of water. I presume there was a concentration of minerals in the last amounts of water.
<Mmm, maybe...>
I have another aquarium 4 feet long, both are given about a 10% fresh out of the hose  water change every 2 days. The aquarium in question was an outside aqua rime and had an excessive  algae problem. I cleaned it completely after removing all of the fish, then bought it inside. I had no deaths at all for the first 4 weeks it was in the house.
  Over the last 5 days or so the fish seem to be spending more time on the surface than usual, other than an occasional drop to the bottom then they come back up.
<Yes... so far sounds like either Columnaris/Chondrococcus... or Octomita... both very real possibilities... imported from S.E. Asian breeders...>
Mind you they don't do that 100% of the time, but possibly most of it. I am trying to keep my lights off more so they are not directly under light for too long. I use this tank for a breeding tank, it has a dish drainer that I have up one tank, I cut down 2 drainers with small holes and wired them together with fishing line. It works well as the dividers normally used for the cutlery act like shelving and the females sit in them and have their babies and most of the babies swim through the holes into a section of about 6 inches wide and 18inches  depth and 13 inches  back to front, in other words just sectioning off a small part of the full tank. I have been doing this for over a year and have had no problems. I do have some new plants that were in my pond outside that I potted and placed near the dividing
section. The pond has had no fish in it for at least 6 months. I washed the plants, removed any snails and put them straight in. I hope I didn't bring any problems with them. But that also was when I set it up 6 weeks ago. I repeat there have been no problems until about 3 days ago. Deaths that is.   
  I am sorry this letter is so long and I hope not confusing. I am worried my fish may continue to die, they seem to have no injuries and other than one of the males who had blood showing in his body there are no obvious marks on them. I have not seen any fish being aggressive toward them.
  I appreciate any help you can give.   
  Regards, and thank you.
  Anne Yates.
<Yes.... Read here (and soon) re Guppy Dis: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/guppydisfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Guppy loss, NNS?
hi I bought some guppies we had 5 but now am down to two can u help me I don't know why they are dying ?
<Hey Louie, JustinN with you today. We'd love to help you (and all) members of this hobbyist community, but we need a minimum of information to go on to do so. Its beneficial for you to provide us with information such as tank size, current water test parameters, information on existing tankmates, duration the tank has been active, your maintenance regimen and so forth. Furthermore, the cost of our services, or as Bob likes to say 'the coin of our realm', is properly capitalized, punctuated, and grammatical sentences. See here for some base information on our conventions: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm and http://www.wetwebmedia.com/faqstips.htm After reviewing these pages, as well as browsing through our Freshwater subweb on information relating to guppies (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/guppyfaqs.htm and the links in blue above), feel free to shoot back your question with a bit more definitive information, and we'll gladly try to help you out! -JustinN>

Guppies With Fungus
Okay, different address, same person. With the 37 gal guppies, Neons, ADFs and angelica Botia loaches.  The clamped fin guppies?  Now they have fungus.
(White, fuzzy, stringy stuff)  They're all female from our newest batch that was apparently not quarantined long enough.  This presents us with a two-fold problem.  One, hospitalizing the guppies and two, we'll have a bad ratio of females: males in the 37 gallon when we pull out the infected.
We're going to pull out about 6-8 females.  My husband is out buying a 10-gallon tank.  We're going to put one of our heaters in, one that's "stuck" at 77.8 degrees.  We're going to wrap it in towels and put one of our space heaters on low near it to try to kick it up a bit.  We're going to fill it half with water from our established tank and with the rest of the water, add salt (1-2 t. per gallon).  (Is a filter absolutely necessary in a hospital tank?)
<No>
Then in our 10-gallon quarantine tank, we're going to put the males until the females are well enough to go back into the big tank.
Then watch all three tanks.  Is there anything else we should do or not do?
< Treat the infected fish with Nitrofurazone. The white stringy things are the result of a bacterial infection and the fungus is a secondary infection. The Nitro will take care of both.>
Oh, and about the pH in my last e-mail. we tested our quarantine tank, our filtered tap water, and our non-filtered tap water.  They all now have the 7.2 pH, so our water must have shifted.  It wasn't the CO2 like we thought. Celeste
< In a well planted tank the CO@ may be quickly absorbed by the plants. Check the pH in the morning before turning on the lights and then once again before turning the lights off. Any difference is due to the plants absorbing the CO2.-Chuck>

Guppy Disease ... and capitalizing every word...   1/12/06
Hi!
My Concerned With 2 Of My Male Guppy And A Pregnant Guppy 1. Colour: Half Black Half White. He Is The Biggest Male Guppy In Tank, But He Seems To Have Some Red/Pink Dots On His Skin Between The Dorsal Fins And The Eyes (On The Top Part Of His Body. He Seems To Be Acting Normal And Chasing The Females To Mate And Im Just Wandering If This Could Be Of Any disease? Or What I Could Do To Get Rid Of Those.
<Are these spots symmetrical? If so, I would not be concerned... likely part of this fish's coloration/pattern>
2. Colour: Red Tail. He Is One Of The Youngest Guppies In The Tank, Not Including The Fry. The Problem Is That At Some-Times A Black Dot Appears On His Stomach, It Doesn't Seem To Be A Gravid Spot Because I Am Sure He Is A Male. It Is On Both Sides Of His Body, But Sometimes Only On One Side. It Also Gets Smaller And Seems To Fade Away On Some Stages. He Acts Normal, Chasing The Females Around. Is This A Some Kind Of Disease Or Its Normal To Fishes? If Its A Disease, What Can I Do To Get Rid Of This?
<Mmm, not likely really a disease... there are "melanization" marks on some species, including guppies, that come and go>
3. Pregnant Guppy. She Just Gave Birth 5 Days Ago, But Only 5 Survived, She Seemed To Have Eaten The Rest. A Few Hours After Giving Birth And After Eating Most Of The Fry, She Seemed Pretty Thin. But Now (5 Days After Giving Birth) She Had Gotten Bigger Again With A Gravid Spot. She Seemed To Be As Big As She Was Before She gave Birth. Do You Know If She Would Give Birth
Again Very Soon, Like In A Few Days?
<Mmm, no... about a month... six weeks...>
Or They Just Get Bigger On Their Second Batch?
<Yes>
Hope You Could Help Me.
Thanks For The Help!
<Bob Fenner>

Another livebearer question  12/30/06
Hi Tom,
<<Hello, Linda.>>
Another question if I may?  
<<Certainly.>>
What do you recommend for preventing gill flukes?  I haven't had this problem for some time but since I plan to get guppies I want to be prepared.  I had quite a problem at one time after purchasing guppies.  I have tried CopperSafe before but I wonder if there is something better to ward off a potential problem.  I understand if the fish are in good shape and remain un-stressed they can keep many parasites at bay themselves.  What about salt on a regular basis?  I don't keep snails but I may get a stray or two since I plan to have living plants in my new 55gal tank.  Is that a potential source of gill fluke infestation?
<<As you’re likely aware, Linda, maintaining top-notch water and tank conditions is the best preventative. As to water conditions, these speak to themselves in terms of regular changes, substrate/filter cleaning, etc. As for the tank conditions, be wary of over-crowding and provide hiding places particularly for the expectant females. You’re quite correct that stress-free, healthy fish are – virtually – immune to parasitic infestation. I’ve mentioned this in other posts but it bears repeating: in cases of disease, medications merely “control” the spread. The immune systems of the fish are what ultimately eradicate the problem. In short, there’s nothing better that you can do for your pets than provide the best conditions possible. The Guppies, more so than the Swordtails and Platys, will actually appreciate the addition of aquarium salt to the water. Even fish that don’t have a high tolerance for salt will do fine with a modest amount in the tank. Pests, on the other hand, have little tolerance for any. The one admonition I would have for you here is that plants may not do well with salt in the water. Typically, however, this would be at what might be described as “treatment levels” which would be several times greater than you would normally maintain in your aquarium. In your case, I would cut the common ratio of one tablespoon per five gallons in half and see how both the plants and fish fare at this level. (Sometimes some good, old experimentation is needed to find a happy compromise.) Finally, since gill flukes don’t require an intermediate host, I don’t think a stray snail or two will pose a problem. Look into treating your plants in a solution of potassium permanganate if you want to avoid introducing even a stray snail. In fact, it’s really not a bad practice to quarantine plants as well as fish before adding them to the display tank. Goes a long way in avoiding “undesireables” that may be trying to hitchhike their way into a new home.>>
Thanks,
Linda Ritchie
<<Happy again to be of service, Linda. Tom>>

Female Guppies  - 11/02/06
Hi, my name is Jamie and I am very new to this hobby. After finally getting my aquarium stabilized and the ammonia/nitrites to 0 I put 2 guppies (one male one female in the tank) The male died (I think he may have already been sick)
<Likely so>
and then I added a new male and another female.  This was 2.5 weeks ago and last Wednesday I added another male and female (total now is 3 females 2 males.)  So, the newest female I bought was very large with her belly looking very full.  The LFS told me she was very pregnant and should have fry in around a week.  When I got her home, she has been laying around the bottom under plants and not even going to the top for food (just waiting for it to fall down to her.)  The thing I don't know is if she really is pregnant or just big (her gravid spot has gotten lighter but no babies and her belly if very large still).
<Good question, observation>
one of my other females started acting funny today.  She is very skittish (when normally the first to go for food or nip my finger).  
She either stays at the very top or very bottom (laying on her side against a plant).  She also will swim quickly up and down up and down or just lay on the bubbles to lift her up or swim in circles all around the tank very quickly. I don't know if this is normal or if she is sick?
<This behavior may be natural...>
Her color hasn't changed (except her eye seems slightly darker)  She is still very young and no other fish are acting this way.  Any ideas?
<Please take a read through the Guppy FAQs area on WWM: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/guppydisfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. I would limit the addition of new guppies here for fear of the very real possibility/potential for disease introduction. I do hope that your present stock reproduces and that you can build a community from there. Bob Fenner>
  Thanks for your time,
  Jamie

Overripe Guppy? - 04/27/2006
Hi Friends,
<Hi, Paige>
I spent several hours today online, looking for an answer, but alas, none to be found. So I turn to you.
<I hope we can help.>
2 days ago I noticed that my pregnant guppy had given birth. I only found 1 baby, so I assumed she wasn't done.  Since then, it has been 2 days and I have seen no more fry. She continues to grow. She is so huge I think she will burst before too long. I have never seen a pregnant guppy so big.  Since delivering the 1 baby 2 days ago, she has had a thin white thread hanging from her,
<Uh-oh>
and her anal area is protruding so much, so swollen, and bright pink.
<Oh dear....>
It is huge and looks almost like it is ready to turn inside out, it is so distended.  Even though her belly is so huge, her anal area protrudes out from that even.
<Very disconcerting....>
I will be amazed if she lives till morning, with how huge she is. I added aquarium salt to her tank today. She isn't eating and isn't swimming around. She is in the tank with one other pregnant guppy. My husband said tonight, "maybe she will just burst and will come a bunch of babies" Oh dear. Can you give me any advice?
<Some, yes....  I would urgently (like, NOW) add some Epsom salt (Magnesium sulfate) to the tank at a tablespoon per five gallons.  This may help her pass the fry; I fear she may have gotten a blockage....  I doubt the remaining fry are still alive....  but hopefully you can help her out.  Make sure your water quality is pristine (zero ammonia and nitrite, less than 20ppm nitrate), well aerated, and keep your fingers crossed.>
Thank you so much for your time,  -Paige
<Am glad to be of service; I hope for the best for her.  Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Guppy Harem    4/20/06
To begin, thanks for you help.  Since Hurricane Rita I have "inherited" a new hobby - aquariums.  In a 55gal I have 4 Cory Cats, 5 GloLite Tetras, 5 Female Guppies, & 1 Male Guppy.  
   Two things I have notice and am concerned about:  All bright tailed guppies have been murdered, and all other male guppies soon follow.     
  The remaining male did not seem the biggest, I've tried replacing with little success.  The newest addition was a female with a black fantail, no problems.  Could that one male be so greedy/aggressive?
<Possibly, but not likely>
For the time being I have him in a net breeder, and named him Sheik.  Just a few days ago I inherited two more male guppies, they had been put in a tank with killifish by a young girl.  I have kept them separate so they can heal, they are doing well by themselves.  Both are non-bright tails, but I am afraid to put them in with the rest of the community.  (Just in case - by bright tails I mean any orange or red markings, pale yellow seems to be ok.)  Oh and on a cheerful note - though I have yet to get a female into a breed trap at the right moment, due to the amount of hiding places I've provided I have saved 9 fry from a couple of females.  Yeah babies!
     Thanks again, Mara
<I suspect the males that were lost were impugned health-wise from the start... Placing the new ones in quarantine for a few weeks will likely solve this anomalous loss issue. Bob Fenner>

Dying female guppies
I am a beginner and have a very small tropical tank - about 2  gallons -
<Very hard to keep such small volumes stable, optimized>
which has been running for about 6-8 weeks. I have 5 neon tetras,  2 Corydoras, 1 Bristlenose catfish, 1 male guppy and usually 3 female guppies.  Today I found
a lot of fry in the tank and was delighted but I think they are  gradually being eaten as they are dwindling it seems.
I had not realized that  any of the female guppies were pregnant but having read some of your other  queries I now know what to look for. My main concern is that 2 of the female  guppies suddenly died although they looked fine and has been acting normally.  The male guppy had been pursuing them a lot. I plan to replace them. They died  within
about 1 week of each other. Strangely, the
<End of message... not atypical guppy behavior (the male chasing, females dying) in such crowded circumstances... You need a larger system. Bob Fenner>

Older Poecilia reticulata   3/27/06
Hi Bob,
<Rosie>
I urgently need your advice. My female guppy has been hanging upside down these last two days. She is vertical during the day, and struggles but to little avail. Her tail is right up there. She still eats any food she can catch hold of. She's going on 14 months old, has given birth eight times, but has ceased since last Christmas.
During the night, she rights herself and floats up there wobbly but fine.
She sometimes dashes around the bowl like she's trying to prove she can swim normally then, but this happens only at night. During the day, she gets excited when she sees the food coming and in her frenzy, turns upside down and stays that way the whole day, what can I do??? Please reply quickly.
Thanks.
Rosie
<Sorry to state Rosie, but this fish is likely "just getting old"... near the end of its lifespan. I would not make extraordinary efforts to "treat" this fish. Bob Fenner>

Re: Older Guppy   3/28/06  
Thank you for your reply Bob. She's the only surviving daughter of my very first female guppy, and has since produced more than almost 300 fry for me. She's special, I will take care of her till the end. She's floating nicely now day and night, occasionally upside down, but eating, and still very wobbly.
Thank you once again.
Rosie
<Thank you my friend. Bob Fenner>

Birthday Present Gone Wrong, Mysterious death of guppies   3/14/06
Hello, My name is Chi, and I am a beginner. About 2 weeks ago, it was my friend's birthday and I have decided to give her a small 10 gal aquarium - 6 guppies, 6 panda Corys, and 2 apple snails, and a lot of plants.  Because my friend is also a beginner, I have tried to learn as much as possible so that the fish won't die.  I have followed the procedures when preparing the aquarium, e.g. pre-treat the water 72 hours ahead, get a box filter (with biofilter, activated carbon, and sponge layers), test the water.  So, water levels should be fine:  NH4+ level was highest at 0.25ppm, pH 7.6, a little aquarium salt was added, some cycle bacteria was added to it before and after the fish were introduced.  
The fish were purchased at different locations, mainly because panda Cory were hard to find (I'll never buy fish at so many different stores again).  3 panda Corys have passed away one after and other, but the 3 left look strong.  Out of the 6 guppies, all have died except one male left.  Before one of the females died, she gave birth, giving ~20 fry, and they successfully survive by hiding among the plants.  These all happened almost within a week. Since the aquarium is not at my house, I can have only limited observations in limited time intervals. The panda Corys are quite inactive most of the time by nature, but if one of them become really really really inactive, then I'd know that they were sick and will eventually died.  Before one of them died, I saw rapid gill movements and inactivity.  
I saw a female guppy with a strange feces dropping (with identical description from one of the posts): the feces looks "like intestinal wall hanging from its anus with feces inside...but it comes out bulgy and twisted and is very thick and hangs on the fish for a long time."  I want to add to this description: this bulgy feces was pink.  However, the post did not give a clear reason for cause. One of the sick (soon died) male guppies had swollen lips, deteriorating fins, lost of appetite, inactivity before death.  So, I thought the cause was bacterial infection, and I treated the tank with TriSulfa, but 2 days later, 1 female fish died before I had a look, and another one gets really sick.  So, we thought that it could be something other than bacterial infection.  The swollen lips and rotten fins could be secondary infections.  Although I really doubt that is a fungal infection, another friend suggested it, so we are currently treating the tank with an antifungal treatment.  The treatment dyes the whole tank neon green.  The very last thing that I want to try is the antiparasitic treatment because the antiparasitic treatments will harm the snails. This really sick fish (mentioned above) soon died within 12 hours of the antifungal treatment, and it was the most recent death.  It was a female guppy that also had the strange feces dropping the night before it died (I don't know if all the dead fish had this kind of feces before death).  It also had somewhat swollen slips, inactivity, lost of appetite, lost of mobility before death. Do you know the cause of this strange feces?  Do you know if this strange feces is related to the deaths?  The antifungal treatment require one more dosage, and then a 75% water change.  Other than that, can you give me some pointers? Thank you, Chi
< When fish are ill or in poor shape their food may not have been totally digested prior to eliminating it. Your friend's tank is a mess. You do not have a fungal infection. Fungus does not attack living tissue. It can live off of tissue that has been damaged or killed by bacteria. I recommend a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. Add Good quality carbon to remove any medication. Then add Bio-Spira to get the biological filtration going and reduce the stress on the fish.-Chuck>

Guppy with Ich, no QT - 2/26/2006
Hello,
<<Hi Lala>>
I am a very new aquarist (aquariumist??).
<<Aquarist was right :)>>
I have a 29-gallon aquarium with 6 white clouds, 4 dwarf rainbows, 2 algae eating shrimp and a limpet.
<<No plants in the tank/left then I assume.>>
Added three guppies a week ago - one of them developed ich two days later.
<<Quarantine is the best way to exclude problems like this.>>
I immediately consulted the LFS, started AquariSol treatment and raised temperature to 80. Only one fish has ich. The ich started on the top of the back, then two days later, it looked like the skin was perforated.  The fish was eating, and showed no visible distress, then the fish disappeared!! Have not seen her in three days now. The aquarium is lightly planted and has some driftwood and stone but I think it should have been visible.  Could she be dead and eaten??? Or buried in the gravel?
<<Any of the above, yes.  Likely consumed quickly by the limpet.>>
Another concern is that the other female guppy seemed to be pregnant. What should I do with the fry - should I place them in breeder tank? Will it be infected?
<<Search on WWM for guppy reproduction and breeding.>>
Thanks
<<You are welcome.  Lisa.>>
Lala

Guppy gray color ... Columnaris?   2/23/06
Good morning,
<Ah, yes>
Sorry to bother you, however I can not find the answer to my guppy question.  I read about it a while back on your site and am unable to
find it again.  In our 10 gallon tank we have 3 female guppies, 2 male guppies, and 1 neon tetra.  All the fish are doing well except for 1
female guppy.  The water is perfect on ammonia and nitrate levels-0 and the tank has been established for a year.  Last night all the fish were
swimming normally but we had to search for the 1 guppy.  She was lying at the bottom in the rocks.  We fed them a pinch of food to see if she
would stir and she did.  She ate heavily and then was semi-aggressive to the other guppies (uncommon for her).  We have had her 5 months and she
never acted this way.  Also she was swimming clumsy, had a gray cloudy appearance in her mid section, and her top fin was closed close to her body.  
<... good description, bad condition... Likely "Columnaris"...>
We dropped at tablet of Metxly (?) to hopefully cure her.  My questions....What do these symptoms appear to indicate?
<Put the above term in the Google search tool on WWM>
  Can we save her?  Will it spread to the other fish?
<Possibly and possibly>
Will the medication harm the other fish?  
<... depending on what it really is... Maracyn? This antibiotic (Erythromycin) will not hurt the other fishes, Melafix neither... but these won't cure this problem either... Again, see WWM re... folks generally use "Neomycin" here>
I forgot to mention (may not be important) but the guppy in question had fry last week.  
Thanks in advance for your help!!  Your website has been invaluable for both our fresh and salt water concerns.
Carrie
<This "problem" is very likely related to age, the stress of reproduction... Bob Fenner<

Worrisome color loss, please advise... uncycled FW  - 2/21/2006
One of my female guppies just lost a lot of the green in her color today. My 29 gallon tank is fairly new (about 3 weeks). I have a 50g capacity mechanical filter, I keep the temp at 78 degrees, and I have a bubble maker. My nitrite test read about .5.
<Should be zero... w/o fish present>
No ammonia was detected. pH was about 7.8, and has been 7.8 for the entire time I've had the tank. I didn't want to throw my tank backwards in its cycle, but I also didn't want to lose my fish, so I did a 10% water change hoping to ease the stress a little.
My tank currently houses 3 swordtails, 3 molly adults (and two new molly babies as of Friday night), and 3 guppies. I only feed them what they
eat up in the first minute or two, and I feed them twice a day. The 2 babies are in a breeder net right now in the 29g tank. Yesterday I got
two small 5 gallon tanks from a friend for the current and future fry. Should I take some of the other fish out of the 29g and put them in one of the 5gs?
<If these tanks can be cycled, yes... look here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm>
I know this is very small of a tank for adult fish, but I also don't want to lose everyone. Please help, I don't want to wake up tomorrow to 11 dead fish.
<Your system/s is/are not cycled... this is the root cause of your problems... Read. Bob Fenner>

Female Guppy With White Stringy Poop   2/13/06
Hi!
<Howdy>
I have a question and tried to read through the articles to get an answer, but there are so many. and I have a 1 & 2yr. old tugging at me constantly! So
please help! Today I lost a female guppy. She was fine in my established 10 gal. tank for 2 months. then all of a sudden she had about and inch and a
half of white & clear slimy poop. I wouldn't come off. Then within hours she developed a large raised red sore on her head. She died within 24 hours.
What caused this? Is it contagious (I have fry in a breeder net)? If contagious, what meds will cure without harming fry?
Thanks for the help!
<Likely environmental and/or nutritional... you don't provide information re these... Please see WWM re the needs of this species. Bob Fenner>

Yet another cry of "dying guppy!" for you (but it is urgent)   2/10/06
I just came home from school today and I find my almost 2 week pregnant guppy hiding in the top corner of my 10gal behind some plants and reluctant
to move. I tapped the glass a little bit and she started swimming around the perimeter of the tank and looked like she was trying to jump out of the
water (but apparently too weak or something). Then I saw what looks like internal bleeding or something just past her
gills (not coming from her gills) on the other side of her body when she started dragging herself around the bottom of the tank very soon afterward.
She also has a small, slightly reddish spot on her lower belly (not as far as the gravid spot--still on her silver-ish belly (ulcer or something??)).
Her gravid spot still looks pretty normal colored (not dark yet). She has always been fat (like all my other fish-especially girls) and has
little color except for her red-orange tail fin, so it is definitely not coloration. Oh-she was acting a little more antisocial (slightly lethargic) around the
three other boys that have been constantly harassing her the whole 2 weeks I had them put together, so I took the boys out yesterday so the girl could
have breathing room, but she didn't have the bleeding streak on her it really does look like blood).
I had some Fungus Clear which says it works on hemorrhagic septicemia, so I put a tablet in (since it says the symptoms are: "red streaks on fins or
body w/ no signs of skin damage" since that was the closest thing to what it looks like she has. as for the spot, the Fungus Clear says it helps with
furunculosis, which it says is "open red sores", but it's hard to tell if it's open).
The boy seem to be fine so far....
OK REAL EMERGENCY NOW!!!!! I JUST CHECKED ON HER AND SHE'S ALL BENT OUT OF SHAPE! I WAS ABOUT TO TAKE HER OUT TO FLUSH HER BUT I SAW HER FINS BARELY MOVING! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
<... what re the water quality, make-up of your system? What do you feed? In future, please peruse WWM... re "Guppy Disease", Systems... I would have added Aquarium Salt here... but if you had this fish for only two weeks... your system is likely not cycled... Bob Fenner>

Guppy with Popeye   2/1/06
Dear wet web media,
<Leslie>  
  I have a Guppy that has had Popeye for approximately 2 weeks. We had some aggressive Serpae tetras at the time, and I assumed it was due to the nipping they were doing.
<Maybe>
Immediately upon noticing the condition, I moved him to a fish bowl I have. It was the best I could do for a QT tank.  I treated him with Epsom salts per your instruction in the FAQ section of your website.  The eye has improved some, and he has started to eat (he wouldn't eat at first).  There was a red ring under his eye for about a week, which has gone away, but  I have still left him in QT because the LFS told me that Popeye is sometimes caused by a parasite,
<Mmm, very rare actually. If one sided, a trauma or aggression almost always... if bilateral, typically environmental in cause>
which eventually comes out from behind the eye.  If it was a parasite, I did not want that released into my main tank.
     Basically, it has been two weeks and his eye is still bulging.  The swelling has not gone down much.  Should I treat him with something else, or should I just let him be.      
  Thanks,   
  Leslie
<Mmm, some expense involved, but antibiotics can be attempted... Covered on WWM... search under Popeye, Freshwater. Bob Fenner>

Guppy problem... uncycled system   1/17/06
Hi,
<Hello>
Yesterday evening I added three male guppies and a Snowball pleco to my 60 litre tank (they are the only fish in the tank). The tank is new but I left
it to settle for a week to condition the water and bring it to a stable temperature (79 F). I checked the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels and
they are all fine,
<Mmm, unless you did more than you list, this system is not likely "fine"... is yet uncycled...>
and the pH is approximately 7. Last night when I switched the light off all fish seemed lively and healthy but this morning when I
looked in two of the guppies tails had almost disappeared. I don't know if it's fin rot because its not really ragged at the end of the tail, it's
working up vertically and its not completely removing the tail fibres, just the pigment in the tail and whatever holds the fibres together. I haven't
added salt to the aquarium, will this help repair their tails without affecting the pleco?
<To a useful degree, yes>
The problem seems to be affecting their appetite and working quickly so I don't know what I can do to help them. One of the fish
just got stuck to the filter and now some of his scales have gone white (he is a black fish).
Thanks for any help you can give,
Lucy
<Lucy, your tank was not ready to have the fishes placed in it... You now need to seek means to "biologically cycle, condition" it. Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
and the linked files above... till you understand your options. Act quickly. Bob Fenner>

Re: Guppy problem, feeding Pleco   1/21/06
That was something I did forget to mention, during the week I left the tank to settle I added AquaPlus and cycle to get rid of chlorine and add bacteria
to the water. I isolated the two ill fish in a smaller tank, added some salt and went out and bought MelaFix to treat both tanks but unfortunately the
two fish died overnight. I'm continuing to treat the water and haven't added any more fish to give it time to fully cycle.
<Good>
I have one other problem: my Snowball Pleco. I had a look about the internet to try and find what to feed him and most sources say they're not picky
eaters but I can't seem to get mine to eat. I left a cucumber
<Would not use this... try blanched Zucchini instead... with the skin if small>
for him, which I'm told they like and I bought special bottom-feeder food but he doesn't seem to have touched any of it. When I got him the lady said he needed wood
in his tank, which he seems to be permanently stuck to, is he eating that?
<The wood sort of helps with digestion... like gravel, sand and a chickens crop>
They're fond of algae and plants I think, but I'm too scared to add anything else to the tank until everything has settled. Can you advise me on what I
should be doing?
<Try the Zucchini and algae wafer (sinking) food here... if not eating still, raise temperature, consider lowering pH and hardness. Bob Fenner>

Female fancy guppy question   1/14/06
Hi,
<Hello>
I hope that you can answer my question or lead me to the proper place to get the information I need.  We have a 46 gallon tank, after we set up the tank
and had it ready for fish (the pet store tested the water quality as did we), we decided that we only wanted fancy guppies.  We purchased 10 males and 10 females,
<A bad ratio... too many males... and too many fish to put in a new tank at once>
which the store said was a good combination to start with. We were told that they were strictly kept separated until we purchased them and mixed them in our tank.
<...?>
We noticed that a couple of our females were losing their color, first in their tale fin and then in their bodies.  We
had them die 24 hours after being placed in the tank.
<Something about the tank, water quality...>
The next day we had another die.  All three were found dead about 20-25 minutes after a feeding.
About 12 hours later, my hubby came home and he was holding the kids to
watch the fish and realized that we had fry swimming around.  We could count 7.
<Stress induced repro...>
  We put a breeder box in the tank to separate out the fry because that was the only thing we had available.  We were able to catch 5, one was eaten
and one got crushed in the gravel trying to get away from the net.  Then we noticed that there are at least 3 more females that are visibly pregnant.
<Common condition>
We have no idea which one had these fry and if it was a now deceased one. Today, I have noticed that the females which are now greatly outnumbered are
being chased constantly around the tank.  I also noticed that 4 of the remaining 6 females have either lost all color or are starting to lose their
color.  The one that is the largest in her pregnancy is still looking good. The water is testing fine for everything.
<Ammonia, nitrite?>
I just don't know what to do at this point.  One of the males has lightened in color, I believe, and has
gotten 2 dark spots on his belly.  I am new to this whole fish thing.  We
have had platys since Christmas, Swordtails a few days later, bamboo shrimp and neon tetras in a 30 gallon tank...
<Ahh! Good>
they seem to be doing fine.  We had guppies in that tank that were a replacement for some swordtails that
couldn't handle the stress of being moved and the only thing they could do was replace them with guppies which all died very quickly for us to find out
that the entire shipment was sick - but we were able to treat the tank like the store said and saved everything else in there.  That is why we have a
second tank for just guppies because the kids love them so much.  We also got this batch of guppies from a different store because of guppy quality
issues at the store where we were getting everything else.  In addition to losing color two of them are staying really close to the heater and not
really swimming, one I believe is pregnant but I can't really tell.  The water temp is 76 which is where the store had it for them.  
I just can't believe that I bought a whole batch of pregnant fish!!  That is absolutely not what a beginner needs!
Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge!
Kimberly
<It may well be that these guppies you bought were also "a bad batch"... the imported (majority) ones these years are often bunk... hormone treated, very easily lost. In the event the tank is just not completely cycled, I encourage you to add stability, by taking a good volume (like a quarter) of the water from the 30 and placing it in the newer 46. I would get/use your own test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, and learn what these tests indicate. Bob Fenner>

Deformed Guppy tail and fin  01/01/2006
Hello, thank you for providing such a great informative site.
<Welcome>
I breed guppies with the intention of trying to attract some of our beautiful water  birds in the area that I live in among the hills and bushland of Perth Western Australia.
<Interesting>
I have only been breeding them for 3 months, starting with 4 males and 14 females I know have over 500 fry and dozens being born each day. Among my fry I notice some of them when around 3 weeks old seem to have narrow tails and what seems to be no dorsal or anal fins, they may be there and too small to see, however the tail is narrow and seems to effect their swimming.
<Yes... good description... these are "throw backs"... more wild-type characteristics... what guppy breeders for the ornamental trade would treat as culls>
I have also noticed among my dead guppies they mostly if not all seem to be the ones with the deformed tails. It is very hard to see what sex they are, they seem if they get a little older to be trying to be a male but when they approach a female they seem to swim backward when near her as if trying to manoeuvre closer. My first fry were born around 6 weeks ago, the eldest of them seem well formed and no problems, as yet my oldest fry with the problem I describe is around 3-4 weeks. I would appreciate any suggestions of help.
Is this an American based web site?
<Is more American than not, the responders being in (most of the time) and of American citizenry... but we are "human" oriented... respond to, seek to help all... irregardless of country of origin/nationality, any other "other" quality>
Thank you,
Anne
<Well, you might well be able to reduce the incidence of deformity... mostly by breeding, culling in more controlled circumstances (aquariums) and releasing the "better-shaped" young into your grow out pond... Your water quality might well play a role here as well as nutrition... Guppies prefer hard, alkaline water for instance. Lastly, a note to encourage your care in not allowing these livebearers to "get loose" to the wild. This species is problematical in several parts of the world as an exotic contaminant. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Deformed Guppy tail and fin  01/01/2006 now 1/10/06
Thanks Bob for your reply to my questions.
So far the fish born with the deformed tails all seem to die at around 3-4 weeks, yesterday I started to try to separate some of the young males and found for the first time one deformed fish that looked like a male, it is the first time I had been able to tell the sex of a deformed fish. I notice today he was dead, they do seem to have problems in swimming in the same fashion as a normal fish. I will make sure they don't breed. Thank you also for the warning about letting the Guppies loose in the wild, I won't do that as I know they can be a pest.
<Ah, good>
Do you have any hints or suggestions on sexing fish.  I have no problem in seeing male or female it is the amount I need to separate and it seems to stress them out when I take them out of their tank and keep them in a small glass long enough to get a good look at them, they seem to want to stay close to the bottom of the glass. It is very time consuming and unless I can remove all of my adult males I can see there is no other way to stop fry from being born.
<Mmm, really just a matter of practice... perhaps catching them one at a time, placing in a clear trap/container, using a magnifying glass will help>
My large tank  is around 4 feet long by 2 feet deep and with only 12 females and 3 adult males with at least 6 males near maturity or close to fully mature. I have over 600 fry in other tanks and all sizes from new born up to adult in the large tank,
<Wowzah... most breeders use ten, fifteen, maybe twenty gallon tanks... hard to catch in larger... to put this mildly>
I only catch newborn fry when they are at the top of the tank, below there seem to be several hundred among the plants.  I feel a need to stop them breeding and catching the males is about all I can think of
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..
Regards, and thank you.
Anne.
<You could be single-handedly, the principal reason for a "renaissance" in pet-fish keeping in your area... by spreading the wealth, giving some guppies to neighbors! Bob Fenner>

Re: Deformed Guppy tail and fin   1/11/06
Hi Bob.
<Anne>
"<Mmm, really just a matter of practice... perhaps catching them one at a
time, placing in a clear trap/container, using a magnifying glass will help>"
Thanks that is what I have been doing, I just knew I was asking an
impossible question. One at a time is very time consuming, I will just have
to keep on plugging along, I thank you again for your help.
Regards,
Anne.
<Life to you my friend. Bob Fenner>

Guppy Problems  - 01/03/2006
Hey crew! It's been a while since I've written, a good  sign... But unfortunately two of my guppies have taken a turn... To start from  the beginning, I have a 10
gallon tank with 3 adult guppies (1 male, 2 female),  1 ram, and 3 Cory Cats (2 bronze, 1 pepper). Just yesterday I noticed that one  of my guppies had a hard
time swimming... I could consider it more like  wobbling, and today he just rests on the suction cups of my heater. Do you know  what could possibly be
wrong with him? He also seems to have a large upper  'chest' that I'm worried about also, which I don't believe is  from over feeding him.
< Might be a case of dropsy or an internal bacterial infection. Check the water for nitrates. For guppies you water should be hard and alkaline with a some salt added. They also like it warm around 80 F. You catfish will not like the salt and your ram actually prefers soft acidic water. Metronidazole will treat the internal bacterial infection if the water is clean.>    
Now for my other guppy. I  did a water change about two days ago, maybe 40-50%, and now my poor guppy  has a HUGE case of ich!!! I raised the temp. yesterday a couple of degrees,  and the ich is starting to disappear. I'm just running this by you. Do you  think she will be able to get over this? She has stopped eating, or at least tries to eat but can't seem to see where the food is...  What  should I do????!!Christine
< You water temp should be up around 80 F. Treat with Rid-Ich plus by Kordon. Is supposed to be safer than other medications with catfish. Follow the directions on the bottle.-Chuck>

Guppy Illness/Distress?
Hi
<Hello there>
I recently purchased two standard male guppies for my 1 gallon tank.
<Hard to keep such small volumes of water stable...>
The other night I noticed the smaller guppy swimming very fast and rather
erratically up & down the sides of the tank - he might have been rubbing,
I'm not sure - but he seemed very distressed.  The other fish was fine.  It
is a new tank (1 week).  I am wondering if he was just stressed out because
I had just used the net to scoop out some uneaten food?  
<Maybe>
Or might he be sick?  He seemed to calm down after 30 minutes or so & I haven't noticed any
blemishes on his body.  Also, I haven't noticed the larger fish harassing
him, although he sometimes follows him a little.  Any suggestions?
<... likely this bowl/system is uncycled... Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
and the linked files above where you lead yourself. Bob Fenner>
Thanks, Jill.

Problem With My Guppy  12/15/05
Hello WWM,
Let me give you some background information about my setup.  I have a ten gallon planted (Java fern, Bacopa, hornwort, Rotala, red Ludwigia) tank occupied by 4 adult female guppies, 1 adolescent female guppy, 2 guppy fry ~6 days old, 1 flying fox,
<Too large, rambunctious for this size setting, tankmates>
1 Otocinclus, and a dwarf African frog.  My tank has been running for about 4 years but I just recently switched to the guppies about 2 months ago.  About 6 days ago, two maybe three of the females dropped over 60 fry. I have removed the majority to a separate tank except for the fastest/smartest 2 which eluded me.  About two days ago one of the guppies started showing poor behaviour.  She rolls over on her side a lot and occasionally upside down or vertical with her nose pointed down.  She does not show any visible signs of disease on her exterior.  The other fish are not showing any problems, which made me think it was not a water quality issue.  I tested the water anyway and was surprised to find NH3-0.6, NO2-0.2, NO3-40ppm,
<Yikes... need to "get rid" of the ammonia, nitrite, reduce the nitrate by at least half>
and pH 7.8.  I did a 50% water change.  
<Good>
My pH is normally about 7.3 and I would expect my plants to remove the majority of the nitrate from the system, what is going on there?  
<Mmm, crowding, possibly over-feeding>
What causes pH to rise like that? (I have noticed a slight rise in my other two tanks also)
<Unusual... possibly just photosynthetic effect, low buffering capacity (works both ways... up and down the pH scale)... You might check the pH early AM... likely a very/too large fluctuation diurnally (more than 1.0 should be avoided)>
  Could the birth of those guppies have flooded the system with ammonia, leading to high nitrates?
<A small contributor>
  As for the guppy,  I tried treating her with Epsom salt and NaCl to no effect.
<Ahh, these salt additions will/would forestall nitrification... slow down to bump off nitrifying micro-organisms>
My best guess from reading other FAQ entries is that she may have a swim bladder infection or a genetic/developmental disorder.  Does this seem probable to you?
<Mmm, yes... but these are simply descriptive terms... like idiot presidents calling people "terrorists"... Does not give insight as to cause, probable treatment/s. Very likely your root problem (largest causative factor) is environmental...>
  Should I try some antibiotic? I have Maracyn -Two on hand which I could use.
<I would not>
  I would like to try help her as she is trying hard to hang on.  She is capable of swimming upright when you try to catch her, but then she just stops and rolls over on her side.  I can't imagine she will last too much longer without assistance.
Thank you for any advice you can offer.
Chris
<Keep changing about a quarter of the water per day... with stored, pre-treated... feed sparingly. This is about the best course of action here... get the water quality right and all should be fine. Bob Fenner>

Girthy Guppy - Pregnant or Problematic? - 12/06/2005
Hello. 
<Hi again!>
Thanks for replying so quickly! 
<Ah, sure - and my apologies for the delay in this reply.... things have gotten pretty backed for us!>
She had her babies yesterday. 
<Congrats!>
I bought a water tester kit and my nitrate is insanely high. It's the highest it could be, so my fish are pretty stressed. I guess she was holding them until she could hold them no longer.
<Yikes! Do some water changes to get the nitrate down.... you're aiming for 20ppm or below, ultimately.>
I have another problem now. One of my female guppies has ich.
<Oh, not fun.>
Since she is in a 55 gallon tank, should I take her and put her in a different tank and treat her or treat the whole tank? Would the ich treatment kill my other fish that don't have ich?
<You'll need to read about ich and treating ich; much you need to know about this. Start here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm .>
Thanks.
<Glad to be of service. All the best to you, -Sabrina>

Guppies Wasting Away  12/7/05
I need help identifying the problem. All ages- except young fry- male and female alike -get thin like a long tube- the females lose their whole tummy- all up into a same diameter rod, their color fades and they up and die. The problem is this happens over the course of only two days. I did a complete water change after I lost 7-10 of them - treated them with the yellow antibiotic normally used to travel fish - with no improvement.
<<What yellow antibiotic "normally" used to travel fish?  Have not seen such a thing in my years of shipping.  Marina>>
I then tried gel-Tek Ultra Cure PX- which they would not eat at all. Did one more complete water change - things looked good for about 3 weeks and as of today...it's back- with 3 fish going tubular almost so fast I can watch it happen! I have them in a 70 gal tank- at this time about 300-400 of them- most are young- not yet showing color- as most the adults were killed off in the first  round of this. 
I did introduce 2 new males a few weeks prior to this outbreak- but they have remained very healthy this whole time. It first killed off all the older mamas, who I thought had just reached the end of the baby making phase- next it took out the young "just colored" males- the older males all were fine. 
This time I'm down 3 mid aged females and have 2f and 1 male on the way out.  I regularly trade young adult pairs for fish food and supplies at my friends store. Take in like 20-30 pairs at a time- I normally don't have 300 at once- they are all still too young to sell.
<Add a tablespoon of salt for every 5 gallons of water. Quarantine new fish before adding them to an established tank. This wasting away disease comes from guppies kept too close together for too long. Watch the nitrates when they get over 20 ppm then you need to do a water change to reduce them. Treat them with Metronidazole and Nitrofuranace when you first see this again.>
On another note- the batches born 2-3 months ago have "glass" bodies and tails with just a hint of color on the tail or no color- is this rare? Glass Guppies? the only picture I found on the net had a semi glass tail and a colored top fin.
< They probably had clear guppies many years ago but were not as marketable as the fancy colored ones.>
TIP- when feeding fry brine shrimp- to collect the shrimp out of the shrimp tank- pour shrimp water thru a coffee filter to separate out from the water. 
< A brine shrimp net works too and can be reused over and over again.>
TIP- guppy fry LOVE thawed frozen peas - shell and crush using a (very clean or new) garlic press. Grown guppies and fighting fish fry and adults all LOVE frozen (plain thawed) peas. Janna
< In the book "Enjoying Cichlids" there is a recipe for a DIY fish food using frozen peas, shrimp and gelatin as a binder. I have made this many times and all fish love it.-Chuck> 

Guppies Wasting Away  12/8/05
This wasting away disease comes from guppies being kept too close together for too long. I'm confused- these guys have tons of room- lots of plants to hide in and stacked up flat stones to hide under also. again- most the tank is youngsters. I thought it might be a parasite?
< Usually it is some sort of stress that enables the parasite to take hold and attack the fish. The cause is usually the stress of shipping, poor water quality, lighting, over crowding, poor diet, water temperature, etc... You will need to find the cause. Start by doing a nitrate test.-Chuck>