i do not know what is wrong with my guppy

Question
QUESTION: hey i am really new to all the guppies, i was just wondering if someone could help me figure out how to treat one of my fish. a couple of days ago i looked at her and her right gill looked like it was separated a little at the top and it was a little red. But today when i looked at her its still a little red but now it is like all filmy and the film cover is up to her eye, and she also is loosing the coloring in her tail. I was wondering if you knew how to treat it?

ANSWER: Hi Kayla,

Sounds like fungus, hopefully not one of the harder to treat kinds like Columnaris - do a Google image search for that and see if that looks like what your fish has. A safe and effective medicine is Mardel lab's Maracyn, which can be found at most any chain pet store such as Petsmart. The active ingredient is Erythromycin.

Guppies benefit from the addition of salt, try adding 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons. Aquarium salt is the same thing as kosher salt or sea salt from the grocery store. (Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) is entirely different, what you are looking for is sodium chloride.) Dissolve it in warm water and then add it to the aquarium, avoid adding directly.

Guppies can live in 10 gallon tanks for a while, which is the size most people normally keep them in, but a 15 or even better a 20 gallon tank, is ideal for them. They can be territorial - and since they multiply, it's best to have a more spacious tank to deal with the fry.

Two things guppies absolutely need are hard and alkaline water (water with a pH of 7 or higher and alkalinity that is at least moderate, preferably high) - get a test kit such as a "5-in-1 strip" kit so you can know your values. If this is a newish tank it may well still be cycling. Ammonia and nitrite with an I, are always 0 ppm in a healthy, established tank. Nitrates with an A ought to be kept below 20 ppm.

Here's an article that explains how to care for livebearers:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/poeciliids.htm

I hope your guppy gets better. Best of luck!
Nicole

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey i just wanted to thank you and i did googled it and it is that columnaris.  I have taken her out of the tank that she was in, and i was just wondering if it is a good idea and safe to treat the rest of them for it. but i am scared because the other female is finishing up having her fry and i read that the others can catch it. so i was wondering if you had a suggestion about what i should do. thanks so much for that answer before i would have never found that on my own.

Answer
Hi again Kayla,

You're welcome! I'm happy to help.

I wouldn't separate the female. You can if you want to, but you are going to end up having to treat the tank - this disease is caused by a bacteria (Flexibacter) so you need to dose the tank also. If you feel more comfortable keeping her separate, that's fine, just make sure to treat her and the others also. Maracyn shouldn't harm fry.

You will need to remove the carbon cartridge from your filter, if that's the kind of filter you have, since carbon absorbs medication. While Erythromycin is relatively safe, an overdose can still be toxic, so make sure to follow the directions exactly. I would recommend adding the salt, as well, since it will help with the slime coat.

As I said, Columnaris can be hard to treat. It makes most fish lose their appetite, and you may see some secondary symptoms like popeye, which can make swollen or cloudy eyes appear. Cross that bridge when you get there, but one medicine you can use to treat any of these secondary symptoms is Maracyn Two, Minocycline is the active ingredient. It is designed to be used with Maracyn, when necessary. In fact, all Mardel meds can be used in conjunction with each other - the one I would stay away from is CopperSafe. In spite of the name, copper is not very safe, it's actually really toxic! The dosage needed to kill the "bad bugs" is just slightly less than that which will kill the fish. Formalin is another very harsh medication, so avoid this one too. Both of these are primarily used to treat ich (and crypt in marine systems) however I would never recommend these.

Hope that helps, take care!
Nicole