Sick guppy & molly

[Caper]

My guppy is pretty much staying on the bottom & breathing heavily. I've checked my water & it is ok, plus I did a water change. But now, I'm scared I may have done this to him/her. For the first time yesterday, I put peas in their tank (I thought it could be a good thing ), not one of the fish seemed to eat them so I didn't put much in. Now, I'm wondering if my guppy could possibly have gotten a piece got in his throat :-? ?

I've tried looking with a magnifying glass but I can't see anything. Any suggestions?

The molly is doing alot of standing on his tail swimming. Any suggestions???

[Caryl]

I doubt the peas are to blame unless you did not remove the uneaten remains.

No other ideas at the moment sorry caper.

[Peter McLeod]

Is your water supply treated with anything, eg chlorine or chloromine. Chlorine will evapourate but it is my understanding cloromine dosn't.

Does your water have any disolved minerals,desolved metals like coper. Your local water supplier should be able to tell you the exact chemistry without you having to do it. It can change at different times. Ph can be high then low. The city I lived in before I shifted to Wellington was bad for that for that.

Was the water you added the same or as close to temperature as the tank water.

If nothing else is working I found putting green water in a tank with stressed fish seemed to help.

[Caper]

Thanks Caryl & Peter

:oops: No, I didn't remove the uneaten peas I thought I could leave them. I can't say for sure if there were any left when I changed the water. When I give them to my goldfish, I always "smosh" :roll: them up & I did the same here, but honestly I can't say for sure if I would have missed breaking one up

Peter, what was happening started before the water change. Yes, our water contains chlorine & chloramine. I have copper pipes but I emailed the company that makes the, uh :-? stuff, that I add to the water for the chlorine/chloramine and asked them about the copper pipes and they claim it makes the water safe.

The pH test kit only goes as high as 7.6. I do find it hard to tell the exact measurement, that is why I usually say between 7.4 & 7.6. But, it never varies, I might be a bit off with my judgement :-?

I am at a loss as what to do. They're behavior is still the same

[Peter McLeod]

Can you have a look at their gills and see if there is any unusual redening or red splotches anywhere. If it is chemical or nitrate the dammage could have been done a while ago and now the evidence could be gone.

I never worried too much about the water Chemistry for my guppies as long as it was in the green area, sort of in between acid and alkaline 6.8-7.2.

7.4-7.6 would seem to me to me to be a bit high. The guppies should be able to handle it, but the higher ph does make nitrates more of a problem.

[Caper]

I tried to get a good pic...but...anyway, I don't know if you can see in the pic but around his dorsal fin, looks like the scales are protuding, could this be dropsy. I tried to get a good look at him and a better pic, but everytime I did he moved.

This section was always a darker color.

A) As I type this question, it is Friday 8:41 p.m. here: Poor guppy is not improving. He remains on the bottom 99% of the time and his breathing is really laboured. I still can't tell if all his scales are protruding or not.

I was thinking of trying a salt bath, but I'm wondering if this itself would be too stressful because I believe he still has the engery "to run" if you know what I mean :-?

[Caper]

I just euthanized my guppy, I managed to get a good look at him tonight and his scales were definetely protruding. It was the worst, the worst thing I ever had to do. I had to do this before but the fish were in such bad shape they never even moved, but when I took him out he was I have to go pick something up at the vet tomorrow for my pussycat & am asking them if they have something because this was just awful. I sat in front of the tank & cried, cried while I was doing it, and am still crying He was one of my first guppies and he was beautiful and funny to watch, my dear little Slim will be missed.

[ljtan55]

Im very sorry to hear about your loss Caper, its hard to do but you did the best for him and the other fish in your tank by stopping his suffering, and to stop the spread of any bugs. It sucks when you lose a beloved fish, and nothing ever makes it easier. He was a beautiful fish btw how long had you had him for?

[Caper]

Over a year and up until this he never appeared to be ill in any way even survived a couple of outbreaks of Ich without getting a single spot on him .

He was really pretty (I know, a pretty guy :-? ).

While I was at the vet's today, the lady that I spoke to (not a vet, but fishy owner ) said they had nothing there and she couldn't think of anything else.

[Caper]

Okay, the molly is no longer doing the tail standing thing instead he is, ah...swimming really strange, he can swim normal at times but lots of times its like he's sideways, upside down. He's eating fine and nothing that I can see as being abnormal with his looks.