Guppy Clamping Tailfin?

I didn't put this in the disease forum because I don't think it's a disease.

I messed up a few days ago, and fed my fish freeze-dried brine shrimp, without soaking it.

My fish gobbled them up, but I noticed a few minutes later one of my guppies was swimming funny. I looked closer, and he looked bloated.

I realized he probably ate more brine shrimp than the rest, and he bloated up once the brine shrimp had soaked water up.

I kept an eye on him, and fasted him for awhile. He slowly went back down, and he had a big poop a couple of days later (the biggest poop I have ever seen a livebearer do.) But during this, he clamped his tailfin.

No other fins are clamped. He isn't pine-coning, he isn't showing any other signs of disease. His color is bright and healthy. He's still eating. I figured the stress from the bloating made him clamp his tail.

I have pulled him out twice, and looked at him. Other than the clamped tail, he looks fine.

He's having trouble swimming because of the clamped tailfin, but other than that, he's showing no signs of any illness or distress.

It's been about 5 days since that, and his tailfin is still clamped.

No water parameters at the moment, because I haven't tested them this morning, but will today.

Any ideas?

 

If he's constipated, part of a shelled pea should help. Water parameters will help

 

I thought he was constipated, and I didn't have any frozen peas, but brine shrimp is supposed to be a laxative, too. Which would be ironic, considering that's what would have constipated him if he was. So after a couple of days, I gave them freeze-dried brine shrimp again, but soaked this time. They ate it up.

He did poop at some point, it was giant (diameter-wise) for a livebearer, at least as far as I have seen. And he's been eating normally since.

I will get the water parameters up in a little bit.

EDIT: Water parameters are,

pH 7.2

Ammonia 0.25 (this is troublesome, but I think I have an answer. I have currently 11 fry (last time I looked) from an unexpected platy pregnancy that are just waiting to get big enough, then 10 of them are going to a LFS. They are overstocking the tank. This is the second time I have seen an ammonia spike.)

Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20

I will get some more Prime (ran out) and dose to remove the ammonia, and do a water change.

I don't think this has any bearing on the guppy. It was a direct cause -> effect thing. Guppy ate, freeze-dried brine shrimp seemed to bloat in his stomach, he bloated, clamped his fin, upon fasting him, he shrunk back down, but now remains with a clamped tailfin.

EDIT 2: Think I found the cause of the ammonia spike. I did some maintenance today, vacuumed the gravel, rearranged some plants, and did a water change.

Found a dead RCS. It's probably one of the ones I ordered and the bag came nearly empty. I made a post about it. It probably didn't make it.

 

Yes, I think you answered your own question. On a side note, did you drip acclimate your RCS? They can be sensitive to water chemistry changes.

 

Yes, I think you answered your own question. On a side note, did you drip acclimate your RCS? They can be sensitive to water chemistry changes.

Couldn't.

 

Just a complete guess here but maybe he has something similar to my platy, like a internal parasite flare up? My platy had vague symptoms too.

Does you guppy look a bit skinny? Maybe the poop is kind of light colored?

 

Just a complete guess here but maybe he has something similar to my platy, like a internal parasite flare up? My platy had vague symptoms too.

Does you guppy look a bit skinny? Maybe the poop is kind of light colored?

Looks completely normal, except the tail clamp. Poop looks normal.

If you don't soak freeze-dried food before feeding it, it can swell up in the stomach and kill the fish. The guppy was fine, I fed the food, he poofed up. Following a fasting, he had a really big poop, and slowly went back down.

I was lucky it didn't kill him. I don't think it's internal parasites.

If I had a QT tank, I would move him over anyway just to be sure, and keep an eye on him.

Also, as someone who keeps platies, and dealt with some with clamping fins last year, I noticed the difference in your two pics immediately.

 

The guppy passed away.

I didn't see him this morning. And when I fed the fish, he didn't come up to eat.

I looked for him in the tank a little bit later, searching around and behind plants, and found him in the corner.

I think the bloating did some internal damage.

He looked really weak last night. He was at the bottom of the tank, with his tail resting on the bottom. He hadn't done this before. I had turned the filter output down, because he seemed to be having trouble swimming with his tail clamped.

He was a spade tail, his tail was clamped so hard, his tail was now a point.

I had seen some people say soaking freeze-dried food was unnecessary. I had seen some say it was necessary. I forgot, and fed them with it unsoaked. I guess he got more than the others.