# Few Concerning Problems!! Needs Immediate Response!



## Licciardi (Aug 22, 2011)

I have a fairly new tank, which is filled with a total of 17 fish. 6 Gold "brass" tetras, 5 Harlequin Rasboras, 3 black phantom tetra, and 3 Fancy guppies. 

my main issue concerns my gold tetras and the guppies... I'll start with the tetras:

Ive noticed very recently, considering i just added them to the tank, that when i look at the backs of a few of the tetras, their backs are covered in, what looks like, mucus colored gunk.. however, the fish are very active and other than that look very healthy.

Second, my guppies, specifically one, are more concerning... I noticed, originally, when we purchased the three guppies from the store, that one of them had an arched back, and a bloated stomach... it kind of wobbled when it swam, as if its body was a pendulum that was swinging back and forth very quickly, but not its tail, or like a fishing tackle, when it quickly shakes back and forth while you reel it in... Just recently ive noticed a slight discoloration on the top of the guppy as well as the other two.. like a light brownish color on their backs... and i see what looks like a very small 1/8 inch pale patch near the dorsal fin, but just on the arched guppy... That guppy is what most concerns me... i've put it into quarantine for the time being, occasionally putting aquarium salt in... 

I really need some feedback on this one... quite a stressful situation lol

Thanks to anyone who can help!


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## Licciardi (Aug 22, 2011)

In addition to the lacking guppy, its tail fin is starting to erode, and previously, i noticed the fish sitting in corners of the tank, pointed upwards slightly, motionless other than its fins flapping, right now it does seem more active than previously though


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

The guppies might be suffering from dropsy, and the tetras might be suffering from fungus.

Do an immediate 50% partial water change and be sure to treat the water with a dechlorinator, a.k.a. tap water conditioner. Have you been dechlorinating your tap water?

How "new" is the tank? Has it established its nitrogen cycle yet? If you don't know what the nitrogen cycle in an aquarium is, Google it. It's a vital thing to understand.

Remove the carbon from your filter, otherwise any meds you add to the tank will be filtered out by the carbon. Isolate the guppies you're worried about and start feeding them shelled green peas, at the same time do some research on dropsy. Treat the main tank with the tetras in it with API Pimafix (get the small bottle), which is an herbal remedy for fungus. Also, if you could get your water parameters like ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, KH, GH, and phosphate (probably just the first four will be possible), and post them on here, it would help us further help you.


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## Licciardi (Aug 22, 2011)

Ive seen signs of improvement since my last post... yes, the nitrogen cycle is established, and yes, the water is dechlorinated... None of the scales on any of the fish are out of order, which is a usual symptom of it, and the fish does not look very bloated, at least not to the point for it to look like dropsy, nor has it gotten any worse... the activity of the concerning guppy has increased substantially, i have not seen it stop i the tank for unusal time periods.. I did do a salt bath recently as well, which may have helped to some extent... And i havent seen any more advancement of the gunk on the fish, so thats a good sign... I did buy two algae eating shrimp yesterday, just to take out any excess algae in the water thats been growing a little more than i would like to see P
but so far things are looking better! If i have any more concerns i will post them here!


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