guppy hanging out at the top

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rogersmommy	guppy hanging out at the top	Lead	[-]
Posts: 169 (07/02/09 13:58:52) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	Tags : None Hi Folks, It's Sandra. Some of you are helping me out with my darling betta Valentina in the betta forum. I have a 12gal tank with guppies. There are 5 little guys living there. They are quite cute I must say. This week we experienced a little bit of Ich on 2 of my little ones. It was a very mild case, only evidence of like 2 or 3 "grains" on their tails. Since they reside all together I treated the whole tank with Rid Ich appropriately (I didn't want to miss anyone & thought they may all have something even if only two exhibit little grains). I started this on Monday & the two in question seem to be clear of any "grains" on their tails. Everyone seems to be doing well except I have one out of the five in the tank who is still eating very well like the others, but I notice he has a clamped tail & hangs out at the top mostly. Besides his behavior, I just don't see any evidence of velvet. There is no gold dusting or anything else on his body. He is an older fish as I have had him for about 2 years now & I have noticed these past 9 months he seems to be getting a little more pale, behavior is still normal but he is a paler version of what he was years ago. He is an orange snake skin guppy & now many of his spots are gone from his tail & its clamped now. Is he just getting old? Water params are great since I have to keep doing 25% changes for the Rid Ich. Not sure what else to do for my little baby. Thanks so much in advance! Sandra
ShellyB518		#1	[-]
Posts: 8147 (07/02/09 17:31:44) Administrator Smarty McFarty Pants Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	I haven't kept guppies so I don't know their life span but I was thinking that this would be a little too early for aging. Many fish will change color over time as a part of natural progression of their coloring and to me it seems more apparent with the brightly colored fish. The surroundings, ie decorations, changing the tank lighting, gravel, also seem to change the color tones a bit but this doesn't seem to be the case here. Is there another male that seems more dominant? Stress will change color and also opens them up to illness so maybe this could be the issue here?
rogersmommy		#2	[-]
Posts: 170 (07/02/09 19:22:15) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	Thank you Shelly for your response. Unfortunately I just found my baby Snake (short for snakeskin guppy) at the bottom of the tank.....he passed away. Poor sweet baby! The only comfort for me is that I was able to enjoy him for a couple of years at least & I took care of him the best was I could. He was well taken care of & well fed & loved dearly. He was a wonderful fish, an amazing fish! I will miss my sweetheart & I know he is now with the rest of my aquatic babies who have come & gone....in most recent history includes Chloe (my betta). RIP darling Snake. You will always be remembered & missed by your 4 tank mates: Lemony Snicket, Vanilla Ice, Aquaman & another guppy who I have yet to name. We love you! Thanks Shelly, I'm going to go & cry a little now. ~Sandra
Mattsmommy2		#3	[-]
Posts: 12881 (07/03/09 07:29:30) Administrator Fond of Fins Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	Awe Sandra... I'm so sorry Snake passed away. It's hard to say what exactly caused this... This may or may not be related, but I was wondering if you were doing daily 25% waterchanges just prior to each dose of RidIch+ per the med's instructions? Even though the tank is aerated, I believe this particular antiparasitic depletes the oxygen content of the water, and needs to be replenished. Continue to use the RI+ for 3 days past the last of any symptoms. Again... I'm very sorry to hear about Snake. We know how much you adore your fish (as we all do!) Swim free now little fella... Michele
rogersmommy		#4	[-]
Posts: 171 (07/03/09 08:15:12) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	Thank you Michele! Its so strange because his little body still didn't show much signs of anything like bloating or dropsy or coatings of any kind. Maybe it was stress??? Its a shame that we know all too well the pain of when an aquatic baby leaves us. I keep trying to instill in my head the whole "quality vs quantity of life". Who knows why anything like this happens really. The awful cherry on top of all of this is that I can see Lemony Snicket (my yellow guppy) looks a little bloated right now & he has just a couple of scales sticking out just past his tummy on the right side only towards the back. So it could be if he's constipated or beginning signs of dropsy. My sweet babies, I never want anything to happen to them, I wish I could just keep them forever. Yes, I definitely am religious about changing 25% prior to adding the medication. Unfortunately I've had way too much experience with this Ich stupid thing. I think I can stop medicating on Sunday since they have no more signs of Ich & it didn't last long.......mild case for sure. Such sweeties these little guppies, but I haven't had much luck with them. I think I read somewhere that their life span in the best of conditions is about 2-3 years. Who knows how old they are when I get them! One can only assume. I hate to leave any one out here, but maybe I should just stick to one kind of fish in the future.......like bettas!!! I feel like I could have a better shot if I am worrying about just one fish per tank instead of a school of fish. Once one gets sick, forget, there goes the rest of them even if you do isolate them. We'll see. Now I have to keep an eye on the others......especially Lemony. Thanks Michele! Going to test Valentina's water now as you recommended also. Sandra
pLaurent2007		#5	[-]
Posts: 3674 (07/03/09 16:08:03) Blue Eyed Beauty Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	Sorry about your little fishy. They can live up to 4 years, but that's the maximum, and I doubt they often get that old. An older male like yours could have been stressed if there was a younger male in the tank, but it's impossible to say for sure... I'm sure he had a very happy life with you!
tetralina3		#6	[-]
Posts: 15223 (07/04/09 03:24:37) Mad Scientist Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	R.I.P. lovely Snake. You will be missed. I feel for you as we all understand how each creature has its own personality and touches us. Remember to medicate with the RI for at least 3 days after the last spot is seen. (Others, correct me if that process has been updated.) sending good thoughts t
itsybelle		#7	[-]
Posts: 3778 (07/04/09 13:09:16) Gone Goldfishing! Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	I'm sorry to hear about your little one passing!
rogersmommy		#8	[-]
Posts: 173 (07/14/09 19:31:53) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your kind words. What would I do without you? The 4 inhabitants that are left seem to be doing ok & I completed the Rid Ich treatment successfully. There's just the exception of one. That same Lemony Snicket (my yellow guppy) I mentioned earlier still as some signs of scales sticking out & he's really not that bloated overall & only shows a small amount of bloating on one side. Super weird. He's doing great in the sense of eating & activity. I take him out & give him a little epsom salt bath every 3 to 4 days to help him draw out fluids or if he's constipated & I don't know it. It's hard to keep track of poop in the tank because there's a few of them there. I hope he'll be ok, but I'm preparing myself in case it's dropsy. So far it has not progressed in the last two weeks but we'll see. Such sweet little creatures. Why can't we just have them healthy forever? Thanks all! Sandra
tetralina3		#9	[-]
Posts: 15349 (07/15/09 02:32:38) Mad Scientist Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	Right back at 'ya. t
ShellyB518		#10	[-]
Posts: 8174 (07/15/09 20:53:50) Administrator Smarty McFarty Pants Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Report Post	I wish they would live healthy forever too You may want to start an ER thread to see if there is any insight they can provide.

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