Guppy died; concerned about others and fry

[crusstacean]

Any guesses what this may be? Seen today on a F guppy that has been a little listless the last couple of days.

Parameters are pretty normal for this tank (7.0 ph, 80gh, 40kh, 0 no2, <10 no3, 78 deg). Tankmates are a M guppy and juvie pleco, also plants. Connected to the tank was an external breeding box w about 30 fry (1 wk old) which has now been relocated to the side of a tank housing only plants.

Other details: there was another F in this tank who gave birth to the fry. Pregnancy and mama fish were all normal except for being a bit longer of a gestation period and labor than I expected. I removed her to a recovery tank and she passed in the next 36 hrs. I was surprised by this based on what I saw and have experienced before. Not sure if/how these situations are related.

Now the remaining F seems lethargic and remains mostly stationary unless the male nips at her. The male guppy is also acting weird...staying mostly stationary but at a 35-45 degree angle. It seems like he is using a lot of energy to maintain position. He tail fin is partially split (clean) which I thought happened in a bout w the other guppy...the split seems to be getting better.

When I noticed the guppies we behaving weird and not eating or swimming normally, I stopped actively feeding the tank.

I thought I'd start w salt and then maybe GC/maracyn and paracleanse. But really not sure if that's right.

Also, I'm not sure what I should do about the fry? Do they need to be treated as well? Different dosage?

Russ

 

 

 

 

 

[Scapexghost]

80 gh and 7 ph are both pretty low for guppies, so it could be stress from that. Of course, maybe you've been keeping guppies in those parameters for years and have had no issue, i havent kept guppies ar that level so i cant speak from experience. Hopefully since the fry were born in those parameters they'll fair better. The male guppy sounds like a swim bladder problem, which usually isn't treatable. 

[Colu]

Your kH is on the low side for guppies they like 70-140ppm and your GH is low they like 100-140ppm you could add some crushed coral to help raise your GH kH and pH the red area could be a prolapse caused by her giving birth the recommend treatment for a prolapse is Epsom salt baths 1 table spoon for 1 gallon for no more than 15 minutes for a couple of days as Epsom salt acts as a muscle relaxants to help the fish reabsorb the prolapse

[crusstacean]

Thank you. My tap water is v soft and I use crushed coral to help w the pH and hardness, but will consider increasing that or trying other methods too. I haven't had a problem w guppies before and these particular guppies were locally bred and raised in similar conditions, but will consider alternative options.

I will try the epsom salt bath and see how things go. I will hold off on any other action on the fry for now.

Appreciate the help

[Guppy Guy]

I don’t think ph is the issue, unless the guppies are used to a ph of 8 or above. I have kept guppies as low as 6 without issues, and 4.5 with minimal issues(don’t ask. It’s over 50 guppies in a 10 gallon. what do you expect?) 

To me it sounds like a bacterial infection, but I could be wrong. Is it possible that it is columnaris?

[crusstacean]

I wondered about columnaris too. The condition looked the same this morning and I did an Epsom salt dip which went ok. I saw Calu's pinned post on columnaris treatment (thank you) and had planned to run some meds starting today but was hoping to see if I could narrow down what it might be rather than running a few meds at once or having a prolonged one-at-time treatment plan.

I agree w you, Guppy Guy, I don't think stress from pH is likely the cause here, and appreciate the feedback. Generally have not had issues w guppies in the past but here I am. 

I know overfeeding could cause SBD which I suspect the M might be dealing with. He has been around more food lately due to the pregnant guppies and fry and he's a dominant eater. Wondering if overeating might be a clue on what this F may be dealing with.

[crusstacean]

The red color and spot is lighter in color and slightly size today, but the guppy's behavior is still the same. Pretty mellow. 

The male is behaving the same as well. He is nipping at things in the tank and has plenty of energy but swimming/treading at an angle. 

Decided to remove the plants and add salt to the tank while also still doing the daily Epsom salt dips. 

[Guppy Guy]

When you say bent tail, do you mean like this? (twin cities guppies, from ecosia.com) If so, that is normal. As long as it is a smooth bend and nothing abnormal you should be fine. Can you post a pic for clarification?

[crusstacean]

I don't remember saying he had a bent tail... more like he was just swimming at an angle. But now that you mention it, the M I'm talking about does have a similar shape/sloped tail. I was more concerned about the angled and weird swimming action.

The good news is that the male has improved. Still not the same as before but noticeably better movement and general behavior. Much less "cheast-y" than before. Just kept doing the salt and changed up his diet.

Unfortunately, after a few days of the salt treatments, the female passed. Though the redness and sore looked better, she did not make it. 

All the fry look good, so I'm still not sure what happened to the females but assume it was related to pregnancy and giving birth.