# Guppy's tail is shrinking



## Alin10123

Hey guys,
Starting a couple of months ago my guppy's tail started to get smaller. I figured that it might have been the larger fish that are nibbling on the guppy's tail. So i moved him to the "breeding net" with some of the fry for better observation. For some reason his tail is still sort of shrinking. It's kind of wierd. I will host a pic so that you guys can see. 

What do you guys think it is? All of my other fish are fine. I can't see anything wrong with the others. 










Any suggestions appreciated.

thanks
Aaron


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## cucci67

Looks bit up to me, but it dosen't make sense since he was removed fromt the regular tank?


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## Damon

Its fin rot. Probably started from another guppy biting it but usually continues due to poor water conditions.


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## TheOldSalt

Guppies are especially sensitive to bacteria, and their tails are hard to keep under normal tank conditions sometimes, especially black ones which are prone to rot anyway. That's why most show guppy keepers keep their fish with simple sponge filters and do lots of water changes.
In this case, though, it looks like something took a bite out of it and now it's infected. Treat for fin rot.


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## Alin10123

How do i treat for fin rot? If i treat for it, will it affect the others in the tank? Also... what are the chances of it growing back?


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## TheOldSalt

Growing back to full size-> none. Growing back to acceptable size-> good.
Yes, if you put finrot antibiotics ( like Furan, furanase ) in your tank, it would treat all the fish in the tank. To avoid this, you could put the guppy into a smaller container by itself, which would also require less medicine, therby saving you money.
A little Melafix might also stop the progression of the disease, but not as reliably as real drugs.


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## Alin10123

TheOldSalt said:


> Growing back to full size-> none. Growing back to acceptable size-> good.
> Yes, if you put finrot antibiotics ( like Furan, furanase ) in your tank, it would treat all the fish in the tank. To avoid this, you could put the guppy into a smaller container by itself, which would also require less medicine, therby saving you money.
> A little Melafix might also stop the progression of the disease, but not as reliably as real drugs.


Thanks, how long do i run the drug treatment for?


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## Alin10123

OK... also... 
I've read some of the packaging and it says that it recommends that i treat in side a quarantine tank. Since this stuff supposidely kills nitrating bacteria as well, shoud I cycle my quarantine tank before i use this stuff? Or can i just get a new quarantine tank and do it?

thanks


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## TheOldSalt

Does it make much sense to cycle a tank just before killing it?
I'm of the opinion that cycling quarantine tanks is a colossal waste of time for that very reason. Just follow the directions on the label, which should probably mention doing a water change every so often. Feed lightly, by the way, to lessen the need for water changes.


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## Alin10123

TheOldSalt said:


> Does it make much sense to cycle a tank just before killing it?
> I'm of the opinion that cycling quarantine tanks is a colossal waste of time for that very reason. Just follow the directions on the label, which should probably mention doing a water change every so often. Feed lightly, by the way, to lessen the need for water changes.


Sorry, i'm just new at this. 
Is it ok to use sand in the smalelr quarantine tank? Or do you recommend rocks so that i can dump it out easier and rinse it out.

thanks


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## Ownager2004

how did you guys diagnose fin rot from that picture? Although i think you guys are probably right...


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## Alin10123

TheOldSalt said:


> Guppies are especially sensitive to bacteria, and their tails are hard to keep under normal tank conditions sometimes, especially black ones which are prone to rot anyway. That's why most show guppy keepers keep their fish with simple sponge filters and do lots of water changes.
> In this case, though, it looks like something took a bite out of it and now it's infected. Treat for fin rot.


Do black fish in general have weaker immune systems than the other colors? After a couple of days in the breeding net, all of my previously ok black fish seem to have died. The black fish were big bellied molly fry. 

Also update, i have put the guppy into a seperate container and i have purchased some "mardel maracyn". Supposidely that treats for finrot. These things come in tablets and it says to treat for 5 days. We shall see where this gets me.

thanks for eveyrone's help.


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## TheOldSalt

Maracyn is great. Keep it that way by NOT pouring the treated water down the drain. Diluted in the sewers, bacteria can survive it down there, and new strains of nasty germs immune to Maracyn will be born.

The genes which make the black color also cause weakened immunity and sometimes cancer. It took a long time to develop the all-black molly which lived, and the blacktailed platies & swords almost always got tail cancer for several years before it was fixed. The all-black guppy continues to elude us to this day, for anything over 3/4 black tends to either get cancer and/or be infertile. They'll get it someday, though.

Ownager, the picture alone didn't do it; it also took the descriptive text.


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## Alin10123

TheOldSalt said:


> Maracyn is great. Keep it that way by NOT pouring the treated water down the drain. Diluted in the sewers, bacteria can survive it down there, and new strains of nasty germs immune to Maracyn will be born.
> 
> The genes which make the black color also cause weakened immunity and sometimes cancer. It took a long time to develop the all-black molly which lived, and the blacktailed platies & swords almost always got tail cancer for several years before it was fixed. The all-black guppy continues to elude us to this day, for anything over 3/4 black tends to either get cancer and/or be infertile. They'll get it someday, though.
> 
> Ownager, the picture alone didn't do it; it also took the descriptive text.


So dont pour it down the drain, where do i pour it?


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## Lexus

Throw it outside in the grass or flowers.


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## Cichlid Man

I sterilize my wate and re-use it by fitering it, but this isn't recomended for beginners, you can always boil the water.


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