Thin Guppy

NolanCL

Hello All!

I have a bit of a problem with my Guppies. I lost a female guppy early this week and didn't think much of it as this girl was always thin and rather "shy", I figured she was always weak and eventually just gave out. But now I have noticed that Mama Blu, an older female who was pregnant about 3 weeks ago, is getting very thin and starting to look just genearlly poor. Previously she was fine and happy. The other guppies and fish look well and without any signs of problems. Does this sound like a parasite? If so how do I treat?

Tank levels -- tested weekly by the fish store and were all within normal limits as of Wednesday.
Also in the tank - Cory's, Black Skirt Tetra and Baby Blue Ram

Thank you!!

MollyPlatySwordtailfish

I have had problems with similar things occasionally. It happens to my livebearers. I usually just keep my eye on it for a while and see what happens. I also wonder if there is a treatment or what causes it.

jr.masterbreeder

Its only happened to me on occasion with my Guppies and to me it seems uncurable... the fish just stops eating then gets shy then just dies... I dont think there are any cures for this.

NolanCL

Ahhh, boo. I feel bad for the little girl. As of right now she seems ok, but I really believe her days are numbered. I check every morning to see if she is ok... So sad.

iamntbatman

Have you noticed white, stringy feces? That's also a telltale sign of internal parasites. You could try feeding food medicated with anti-parasitic medication or using Jungle Parasite Clear.

NolanCL

I cannot say i have seen her poop recently and I don't know that I have even noticed poop of a different sort on the gravel.
You know .... its funny, I'm in medicine, and whenever I ask a patient about their poop they always seem to wonder why I find their bowel movements so important to health. And now I am here talking about my fish poop. I guess poop really is important to health!!

NolanCL

Well .... Mama Blu has just disappeared. I Have a feeling she passed in the night and was quickly made into a snack for the tetra's and blue ram. There was not even a trace of her left. Poor little girl.

Little-Fizz

Sorry to hear about your loss. Search the tank high and low because shes prolly still in there. Just stuck somewhere, I lost a swordtail once and found him weeks later in a shell.

iamntbatman

Well, I know my ram certainly wouldn't turn his nose up at the chance to make a snack of a sick and dying guppy, but it's also a really good idea to search the tank thoroughly because a decaying fish can cause a huge ammonia spike.