HELP! Sick Endler!

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank? 10 Gallons
How long has the tank been running? 8 Months, just stocked last week.
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 78 degrees
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 13-15 small endlers and 5 cherry shrimp

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? weekly
How much of the water do you change? 10%
What do you use to treat your water? API Stress Coat
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Just the water

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes definitely.
What do you use to test the water? API Master Test Kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia: 0.020 mg/:
Nitrite: .20 mg/L
Nitrate: 7 ppm
pH: 7.0

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 1-2 Times a Day
How much do you feed your fish? As much as they can eat in about 30 seconds.
What brand of food do you feed your fish? New Life Spectrum Optimum Flakes
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? About a Week
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? Just tonight.
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Half of his body looks pale, almost white, and he can't seem to move the lower half of his body at all.
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No, because I don't even know what it is.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No, he seemed normal.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? He just can't swim and won't eat.

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
This is just a feeder guppy but I still want him to live c). I don't know how he even got this and what it is. He lived with around 8 other females and 2 other male Endlers in a 10 Gallon tank with some cherry shrimp. He's the only one like this, all the other fish are doing fine. I keep the tank at around 78 degrees and 7.0 p.h. Here are some pictures of what his lower body looks like. Please help!

 

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank? 10 Gallons
How long has the tank been running? 8 Months, just stocked last week.
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 78 degrees
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 13-15 small endlers and 5 cherry shrimp

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? weekly
How much of the water do you change? 10%
What do you use to treat your water? API Stress Coat
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Just the water

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes definitely.
What do you use to test the water? API Master Test Kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia: 0.020 mg/:
Nitrite: .20 mg/L
Nitrate: 7 ppm
pH: 7.0

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 1-2 Times a Day
How much do you feed your fish? As much as they can eat in about 30 seconds.
What brand of food do you feed your fish? New Life Spectrum Optimum Flakes
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? About a Week
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? Just tonight.
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Half of his body looks pale, almost white, and he can't seem to move the lower half of his body at all.
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No, because I don't even know what it is.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No, he seemed normal.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? He just can't swim and won't eat.

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
This is just a feeder guppy but I still want him to live c). I don't know how he even got this and what it is. He lived with around 8 other females and 2 other male Endlers in a 10 Gallon tank with some cherry shrimp. He's the only one like this, all the other fish are doing fine. I keep the tank at around 78 degrees and 7.0 p.h. Here are some pictures of what his lower body looks like. Please help!

I think the problem could be stress from the high levels of ammonia and nitrite. I would do a 50% wc to get those levels down and do at least a 50% wc per week as this tank is heavily stocked and therefore water changes are vital.

 

Is the tank 8 months old and this is a new stocking?
What was in the tank for the last month?

The water test showing any nitrites or ammonia indicates an uncycled tank.
You write 7 ppm nitrates is that a spelling mistake?

Before answering any questions I also recommend a partial temperature matched conditioned water change.

 

I was once going to buy feeder guppies to cycle a tank and the store told me not to since feed fishes are often unhealthy and could leave undesirable residue in the new tank. I didn't quite fully understand since they were going to feed these unhealthy fishes to other fishes but didn't quiz him on the details.

 

I was once going to buy feeder guppies to cycle a tank and the store told me not to since feed fishes are often unhealthy and could leave undesirable residue in the new tank. I didn't quite fully understand since they were going to feed these unhealthy fishes to other fishes but didn't quiz him on the details.

Fish stores often sell feeder guppies, but IMO you should never feed them to your fish. These guppies are treated horribly as they are essentially considered to be disposable. If you want to feed live guppies to larger fish, you should be raising these guppies yourself so you know the conditions in which they are kept.
Commercial feeder guppies live in overcrowded conditions in what is typically polluted water, so they are often unhealthy, including diseases such as internal parasites. If you feed them to your fish, your fish can become infected with whatever disease your feeder fish is carrying.

For these same reasons, it is best not to use them for cycling a tank. Common guppies (but not feeder fish) and platys are inexpensive options for cycling a new tank as they are usually hardy, but even they can carry disease. Livebearers are frequently infected with internal parasites so many people treat them with preventative medications.

 

My only point in describing what the store said with regards to feeder guppies (and this is reinforced by your comment) for the op to consider how much effort he wants to put into this sick endler esp if it was a feeder endler.

 

Let's not get off topic guys. The OP is looking for advice for his sicj fish not the pros and cons of using feeder fish.

Thanks!

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
This is just a feeder guppy but I still want him to live c). I don't know how he even got this and what it is. He lived with around 8 other females and 2 other male Endlers in a 10 Gallon tank with some cherry shrimp. He's the only one like this, all the other fish are doing fine. I keep the tank at around 78 degrees and 7.0 p.h. Here are some pictures of what his lower body looks like. Please help!

 

Did you quarantine the new endler before adding it to your tank?

Since you have only had the fish a week and it is showing signs of disease already, it should be in a quarantine tank, not in the primary tank.

As I said in my earlier post, livebearers like endlers often harbor internal parasites. This is especially true if it was kept in a crowded tank with other feeder fish. That could account for the symptoms you are seeing.

If you want to go to the trouble and expense of treating the fish, you can try using something like PraziPro, or API General Cure. Both contain Praziquantel which is effective against many, but not all internal parasites. The medication will cost several times the price of the sick endler. However, you might want to have the medication on hand, anyway.