fantail guppy

Question
Hi I have new 10 gallon Tank.  I have 2 black Mollies, 1 silver molly, a placostumus, and two fantail guppies (both male).  All of the fish are doing very well, but the one fantail is loosing its tail.  What can I do?  Can I put him in with my gold fish?

Answer
Hi B long;

Goldfish eat guppies if their mouths are big enough so be careful.  Guppies need very clean water to thrive and especially to heal if injured. You might want to put him in a separate tank all alone and change 25% of the water every day until he heals. Fresh clean water boosts the immunity and helps healing. He only needs a couple of gallons and an air stone hooked to an air pump. Not as a permanent home, but he should be able to recover there. If the other male has been fighting with him, they may not be able to live together at all. Some male guppies are just very intolerant of other males, especially when there are no females in the tank to "distract" them.

Since your tank is new, you might want to know about the break-in period, also known as "Cycling" or "New Tank Syndrome". Here is a link to my article about it to help you through the coming 6 weeks or so;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

Followups welcome. Good Luck...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins