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Re: sick fish thanks

Thanks Chris and everyone else who wrote me off list
to help me with my sick guppy.  Sorry for the slow
response, but right after reading my mail I ended up
offline for a few days.  

Here's what I did.  I tried to find a few of the
recommended medications but could find not one in four
local stores.  Since time was of the essence, I bought
what I found that was for treating fungus.  It's a
product called Melafix by Aquarium Pharm and is
essentially tea tree oil, which is an antiseptic.  It
claims to be safe for fresh and salt, plants and
invertebrates.  Smells just like vaporub.  You add one
tsp per 10 gal per day for 7 days and then do a water
change.  I started this treatment on Friday.

Today, Wed, my guppy still has some fungus spots, but
a little smaller, and his fins seem less ragged.  All
other creatures seem unaffected.  I will report back
with the final results of this product.

Although the guppy has/had severe fin damage, I'm not
100% convinced that something attacked him.  All my
fish have been together a long time with no problems. 
But you never know...

Since he's in good spirits and acting/eating normally
I made the choice to not to euthanize him at this
point but appreciate your good advice, Chris regarding
this.  I've had to do this before ala the krib's
advice and won't hesitate to again if needed.  So far
he's the only one who's sick and I don't think he
realizes it.

So, thanks for everyone's advice.  I'll follow up with
the results of this product, which I think is fairly
new.  Or have you all been using it for years?  :)  
Bev

Chris wrote:
<Furry spots?  My speculation is that your guppy has
fungus growing on 
finwounds.  Something is nipping at him.  I'm assuming
it is a male guppy that
is "sick".  The males are normally subjected to abuse
before the females
because the males have big, cumbersome tails that slow
them down and make
them targets for abuse in a community tank.  Kudos for
checking the ammonia
AND having it read 0.  And more kudos for doing a big
water change.  That is
the right solution for most fish ailments, but I don't
think this is a water
quality issue.
The salt is a good idea.  If it's not too far along,
this is probably the
best solution.  The other healthy fish should not
contract the fungus,
either with or without treatment.  Fungus will attack
a weak fish at the
wounded area.  My guess is that the Neons are the
cause of the abuse.
Guppies are wonderful animals, but IMO are not
candidates to be mixed with
other species, except maybe Corydoras.  The rest of
the male guppies will
probably share this ones fate if the guppies remain in
the tank with theNeons.
If it were my fish, I would probably euthanase it. 
You don't have a
hospital tank and the fish might not get better even
if you did have one.
Check the archives for suggestions or contact me
off-line if you don't know
how to do this.  I'd rather put the fish down than
come home from work to a
half eaten carcass.  Don't put him in a jar or an
in-the-tank "recovery
home" - these are methods for certain, slow deaths.>


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