Tail nipping or rot?

[Bridget]

Hiya all.

I have a male guppy who has what looks like tail nipping or rot. I'm not entirely sure.

A little back story. When I first introduced him to the tank he chased my female Mollie everywhere all day long to the point where she's begun to chase him away. I really can't blame her, she looks very annoyed with him. The male Mollie doesn't really have an interest in her however. So I decided why not get the boy guppy a girlfriend and see what happens. Maybe he can shift his "hornyness" elsewhere and leave the girl Mollie alone for a while.. lol

After getting him a female guppy, she now chases him too. To the point where he is constantly hiding and on the bottom of the tank. He swims around once and while as normal but gets chased no matter where he goes unless he hides. He will eat a little but won't go to the surface to feed because he gets chased away and relies on getting the food that has gone to the bottom, which isn't very much since the other fish gobble it up. I've tried sinking pellets near him and while he might get just one, the other fish zoom in a steal it from him and he goes back in to hiding and stays there on the bottom for the most part.

I noticed today his tail is frayed which leads me to believe he's being nipped and bullied by these two girls.

I've put him in an small breeder/isolation tank to see what's going on and to hopefully keep his stress level down from being chased so much.

 

Here are my tank parameters:

10 gallon,  4 fish in total

2 Mollies: 1 male, 1 female

2 Guppies: 1 male, 1 female

Water Temp: 78 degrees

Live plants: Anubias ,Java Fern and Anacharis

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate around 30ish+ ppm 

Ph. 8.0-8.2

His tail looks clear of any gunk or ich as far as I can tell, just ratty and I've tried to get the best pics I can but of course he moves his tail and it's hard to get a perfectly clear pic.

If anyone can offer any advice if this indeed looks like tail nipping or perhaps rot, your help it would be appreciated. 🙂 ♥

 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Bridget

[Guppysnail]

I’m not the med expert like others but I know guppies. Stress will deplete their immune system and open them to a whole host of bacterial issues including fin rot. Hope that helps

[Bridget]

Thank you for the replies.

I unfortunately don't have a hospital tank set up. 😞

Right now I just have him in a Fluval 0.3 gal breeder/isolation box with an air stone and heater.

Could I use this for now as a small hospital tank? If so, how much salt would I use for just 0.3 gallons?

The salt I have on hand is the API aquarium salt.

Edited August 26, 2021 by Bridget

[Guppysnail]

For a day yep.  Buy a 2-3 gal Rubbermaid container at the grocery they work great poke holes in the lid guppies jump you can get a larger tote water will stay better

[Bridget]

Perfect. Thank you.

And I guess my last question thus far is, would I just use fresh treated tap water and Prime for it?

Or, I also have some UV purified dechlorinated/ chloramine ammonia free water from my local fish store. Would that be okay to use as well? Also how much aquarium salt for 2-3 gallons of water? 

[Guppysnail]

On 8/25/2021 at 8:32 PM, Bridget said:

Perfect. Thank you.

And I guess my last question thus far is, would I just use fresh treated tap water and Prime for it?

Or, I also have some UV purified dechlorinated/ chloramine ammonia free water from my local fish store. Would that be okay to use as well? Also how much aquarium salt for 2-3 gallons of water? 

Use what you use in your tank so you do not stress him. Add a plant or two if you have them if not something so it’s not just an empty container. 

[Keeg]

Im pretty sure this is NOT fin rot, looks like nipping in my opinion. Nipping can cause fin rot so I would still do the hospital tank/ tub, and do a dose of antibiotics to help him. 

[Bridget]

I went to my local aquatics store this evening and showed them the pictures of my guppy. Two gentlemen both said it looks like fin nipping to them too and that he should be separated for a little while to help him recover. I'll be setting up a hospital tank for the little guy tomorrow and I have some antibiotic meds on the way. Thank you again for the replies. 🙂 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Bridget

[Guppy Guy]

I also agree that it looks like fin nipping. My angelfish did that to a zebra danio once (don’t ask me how they did it) and It looked very similar, Add some Aquarium salt to help prevent infection

Before you move him back into the main tank, do a few small water changes to get him used to freshwater again. 

Also, 30+ppm nitrates are really high. Do about a 30% water change on that tank to prevent future issues.

[Bridget]

Hiya everyone. I don't have a picture yet, but I'm happy to say that my little boy guppy seems to have made a recovery. His tail looks a lot better and is filling in, no longer hiding at the bottom of the tank and swimming around and eating like normal. When I went to my LFS they also said perhaps get another male guppy to spread out any aggression. I did just that and my girl Mollie has seemed to stop picking on him so much.

I've also been doing 30% water changes and my nitrates have dropped to around 20ppm (might even be 10, its hard to distinguish between those two colors sometimes on the API test kit) Ty again for all the replies. ♥

Edited September 1, 2021 by Bridget