Minnow

Hey, I'm Minnow. I'm 14, and new to the site. I've had my tank for around two years, but for the first year, I didn't know much about fish, and I made a lot of stupid mistakes. After a while, when my last fish died, I unplugged the tank and just left it there.

Two weeks ago, I did a water change (almost all of the water) and started up the filter again. I threw away all the old decorations. Then, 5 or 6 hours later, I went to my LFS and bought 5 neon tetras, 5 glowlight tetras, and 4 male guppies, along with some new decorations. To acclimate them (or not) I floated the bags for 20 minutes before putting them in the tank. Within one night, 1 neon died. The next day, 1 neon and 1 guppy died. I did some online research to see if I'd done anything wrong, and I found Fish Lore.

Now I know that I should have cycled the tank and gotten way less fish to start with, but I can't go back now. I've done the best I can, and I've done two water changes since then, and I've checked the water chemistry with test strips, and I've gotten good readings. I now have 2 neons, 5 glowlights, and 2 guppies, but one guppy has a large v-shaped chunk out of his tail, and he doesn't eat very much. He stays at the very surface in a back corner, and won't swim around. I assumed it's fin rot, and started dosing the tank with Melafix (I don't have a quarantine tank, so I can't seperate him from the rest. I've taken the carbon out of the filter, and I did a 50% water change before starting him on the Melafix. Today is the second day of treatment.

I don't know if my tank has cycled yet, and I'm worried I'll lose more fish before I figure things out. Do you have any advice on my sick fish? Also, I've been feeding them TetraColor flakes. Is this good? Is there anything else I can do? Thank you so much.

Minnow

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to update on the sick guppy. I observed it for a while, and I saw my other guppy bothering it and nipping at it's tail. Is this the cause of the missing chunk? Should I stick to the medication? I've put the bully in one of those breeding nets you hang on the side of the tank to seperate it, was that right?

Butterfly

Hi Minnow! Welcome to FishLore When fish aren't feeling well other fish will pick on them. The best thing in that case is to isolate the hurt one if you can. Maybe he would be better off in the net
Most of the members here recommend Aquarium Pharmaceuticals(API) liquid test kits for reliability. The test strips aren't real reliable.
I would keep up the water changes as the tank isn't cycled yet and there are fish in the tank.
Carol

Alessa

Until the tank is cycled you should do daily 50% water changes with prime water conditioner. It helps the fish with the ammonia poisoning.

good luck!

Minnow

Thank you! I put the hurt guppy in the net instead of the nipper. As for the water changes, I've been using Stress Coat as a water conditioner. Is this suitable?

livetowin

yea like Alessa said 50% water changes also don't get any fish until the cycle has completed

P.S. Sorry to hear about ur fish dieing

Kashim

I'm not sure what Stress Coat is, but if it's Stress Coat by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, then it's the right stuff. It should say on the label that it removes chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals from new water. Make sure you add it during every water change (follow the instructions on the label) because chlorine and chloramine are found in tap water and they're harmful to your fish.

Minnow

Thanks for the advice. Yes, it's Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Stress Coat.

Should I keep using Melafix now that I know about the fin nipping? And how frequently should I test the water once I get the API liquid test kit?

EDIT: One more question... will my guppy's tail grow back eventually, or will it always be missing a chunk? If it regrows, how long can that take?

Alessa

I would just focus on the cycle now and the water changes, if it does not get any better after it is cycled then Id keep medicating... and yes, the guppy tail will eventually grow back.

jdhef

I think Alessa suggested Prime because it also makes the ammonia non toxic to fish for 24 hours (until the next water change). Stress Coat does not do this, but the newer version of Stress Coat is supposed to. The new Version is called Stress Coat+.

Minnow

I used the regular Stress Coat for the water change today, but I found a bottle of Stress Coat+ with my dad's fish supplies, so I can use that next time. The guppy seems like it's doing a little better, but it's still not eating.

GouramiGirl1221

As far as the tail, the melafix will help the tail regenerate itself more quickly. My gourami's tail got nipped because of bad tank mates when I first got him, and about a week of the melafix had his back to normal. Granted, his was just a tear, not a chunk, but that will definitely help. If you can find it and afford it, Tetra SafeStart will help jump start your cycle. Definitely keep up the daily water changes...that will save your fish. Best of luck!

Minnow

Okay, I've been doing 50% water changes every day using Stress Coat+. I bought freeze dried bloodworms and fed them to my fish last night, but I'm only giving it to them once every one or two weeks as a treat. My injured guppy is feeling better (although he hasn't eaten anything yet), but he's still in the breeding net because every time I try to let him out, the other guppy nips at him. Overall, the tank is doing better than it was before.

I want to order an API liquid testing kit online, and I was wondering if there are any other supplies I should get? Any specific medicine or food? Advice would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Alessa

To reduce the aggression... (when the tank is cycled) add like 3 more guppies! (Males!).
A suplement called "vitachem" is very good for healing nipped fins...

Minnow

I had two other guppies, but they died when I moved them to the tank. I'll get more once it's cycled.

I'll get vitachem, but I'm worried the tail won't grow back- the tip of the v-shaped missing piece is at the base of the tail, so I don't know if it will be able to regrow. If it doesn't, will this affect my fish once he's otherwise healthy?

Edit: Here's a picture of the guppy

Minnow

My guppy is a lot worse now. I don't think he'll live much longer

His tail is a lot shorter, and his fins look shredded. He's still eating, but his scales are sticking out a little and he went into a spasming fit yesterday. I was surprised he was still alive this morning.

Is there anything I can do to save him, or is he too far gone?

mitch

cut back on feeding and do lite cleaning until the readings become norm

Minnow

Thank you all for your help. I'm sad to say that my guppy died while I was at school today.

I'll miss him.

GouramiGirl1221

I'm so sorry about your fish! I haven't lost a fish (yet), but I've lost other pets and it's terrible.