Guppy has mysteriously lost a peice of his tail

[TheMilkman]

So I recently posted that my male guppy developed a raised dot on his tail overnight. The parameters of the tank are 0 ammonia, 20ppm nitrate, 0 nitrite. Temp 77. Ph 7.8.

No one has responded to my other post yet and while i was checking on him I noticed that the red raised dot is now gone and there is now a peice of his tail missing where it was. I'm so confused as to what this was and why his tail split where the dot was within hours. Any help?

[Fish Folk]

Fins can rip for a number of reasons. No telling for sure if it was caused by the mark on you noticed before. Sometimes fish "flash" on surfaces if something is irritating their scales or fins. It's possible the guppy scraped the tail apart trying to sort of scratch and itch. But that's all wild speculation.

Your issue now is that the damaged tail runs the risk of getting infected, and your fish is at some risk of getting stressed, growing lethargic, swimming improperly, etc. Lower causes of stress. Take care not to overfeed. Watch it carefully. Change out some water, and consider using something like Stress Coat for your water treatment.

Many times, guppies recover and all is well. I've had a few go downhill though too. Just kind of part of the cycle of life. 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Fish Folk

[TheMilkman]

On 6/30/2023 at 9:19 PM, Fish Folk said:

Fins can rip for an umber of reasons. No telling for sure if it was caused by the mark on you noticed before. Sometimes fish "flash" on surfaces if something is irritating their scales or fins. It's possible the guppy scraped the tail apart trying to sort of scratch and itch. But that's all wild speculation.

Your issue now is that the damaged tail runs the risk of getting infected, and your fish is at some risk of getting stressed, growing lethargic, swimming improperly, etc. Lower causes of stress. Take care not to overfeed. Watch it carefully. Change out some water, and consider using something like Stress Coat for your water treatment.

Many times, guppies recover and all is well. I've had a few go downhill though too. Just kind of part of the cycle of life. 

Okay, thank you so much. I have some maracyn as well. Do you think I should dose that if I start seeing any type of infection starting?

[Fish Folk]

On 6/30/2023 at 11:34 PM, TheMilkman said:

Okay, thank you so much. I have some maracyn as well. Do you think I should dose that if I start seeing any type of infection starting?

Everyone needs to make that decision for themself. Personally, I do not typically spend much more on a fish in medicinal cost than I bought them for. That certainly will sound cruel to some aquarists . . . and I do not judge them for holding a different view. I try to think how things unfold in nature, where predators threaten the life of a fish daily. I try to set up my aquariums so that fish will thrive. If I fail, and fish get ill and die, instead of trying to solve diseases in every single fish, I try to figure out what is wrong with their environment under my care. I try to resolve that, give them a predator-free life, and typically try to let them "make more." Breeding fish is my thing. I'm no master, but I have enjoyed some successes.