Help!!!

[Starlight_Guide]

Ok, this is kind of gross, so Im sorry in advanced, but I have been concerned about my one femal guppy for awhile. She has had the gravid spot, and looked preggos since the day I brought her home. As time progressed, she never had her babies, never got fat, and she could have had 3 sets by now. So I've been watching her kind of closely.

Anyways, yesterday I went to feed my tank, and there was this long stringy white piece of poop hanging from her. (red flag went up in my mind) so I looked on my Jungle Labs chart and it said that could be a sign of a parasite. So after long debate, (because I do have babies in there) I put an anti-parasite fizzy tab from Jungle labs in.

I came back a few hours later and she was laying on the bottom of the tank, and I looked at her back side to see if I could see anything, and it was white. So I decided to scoop her up and stick her in my breeders net since I dont have a hospital tank, that way (this is horrible... sorry) if she was to die, I wouldnt have to dig thru my plants to find her.

I have watched her closely, checking on her every 15 minutes or so, minus the time when I got some sleep. Last night it looked like where she pooped from was stretched open. It looked almost like an oranda when it gulps for food or air.

Anyways, after a LONG while, and a SMALL poop, it sort of closed back up. then I found that when I shine a flashlight on her, and I can see where she poops from, it looks like a tiny little worm sticks his head out, and then goes back in. You have to look real closely though.

I tried to feed her anti-parasite food this morning, but she would have nothing to do with it. She loves her flakes.

I dont know what to do.

Help Please!!!

[Starlight_Guide]

I just found this form...

Tank Size: (the size of the tank in which the problems are occurring) 10 gallons

Water Parameters: (Ph, Ammonia, nitrates, temperature, etc..) I'm not sure. I dont have a test kit, and Im on a college student sallery ($0).

Water Changes: (how often you do water changes and how much of an exchange) Every other day or so, because I believe the tank is still cycling. (I did not know about the nitrogen cycle when I bought my fish. Im sorry!!)

Feeding: (How often the inhabitants of the tank are fed) Once, MAYBE twice a day

Fish in the tank: (the fish which inhabit your tank) Guppys and Black Neons

Infected fish: (the diseased fish) Guppy

Symptoms of the infected fish: (what appears to be wrong with the fish, both internal and external, which includes behavior) See my previous post

Time the Symptoms occurred: ( a few minutes, hours, days, etc. ago) Yesterday

Age of the fish: (how long you have had the infected fish) I dont know eactly. For a few months though.

Tank History: (history of past diseases that have occurred in the tank [in about the last few weeks to couple of months]) None

Medications in Use: ([if any] the medications that are being used in the tank, which includes, tabs, liquids, foods, etc.) Annti-Parasite Fizzy Tab, and *TRYING* to feed her Anti-Parasite food. But shes not eating it.

[mousey]

It could be that she is in difficulty delivering her babies. If something whitish comes out and then goes back in it is possibly a baby. Sometimes they get stuck. thye should come out head first but occasionally they come out tail first and the little fins act as a stoppage. Thus the mother and the baby sometimes die.
A lot of the antiparasitic medications are toxic to fish-- it makes them sterile for a while and also will kill the fry.It sounds more like she is trouble with delivering-- at least to me. I have seen that before.

[TheOldSalt]

Praziquantel is your friend. It's in the fizz-tabs, so keep it up. There are better ways to get rid of worms, but not easier ones.

[Starlight_Guide]

If it is a baby, what can I do?

By the way, I dont think babies are this white. They are white-ish clear. This is solid white, like the background we type in.

[Starlight_Guide]

I just checked her, and her one gill is starting to look strange too. Sort of like what is comming out of her butt. Could this maybe be a fungus too? I have fungus clear tabs, but I would be afraid to use them along with the parasite tab.

[Starlight_Guide]

...and now that I look at her again, I guess it wasnt as solid white as I thought it was. It looks more fuzzy instead of solid white like it was earlier.

Maybe it is a baby?? If so, what can I do? I dont want her to be suffering anymore, but I dont want to lose her either!!! Please help!

[Starlight_Guide]

Ok, I tried to get some pictures of what was going on, but Im still no expert at taking pictures of fish yet. These were the best I got. They dont show up very well on these pictures, but keep in mind, they look cottony now...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...uttandgill.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ie_18/Butt.jpg

I tried to just insert the pictures, but it didnt work. Sorry.

[Starlight_Guide]

Alright. I have checked her again, and it is definatly not a baby stuck. She is pooping what looks to be cotton. It is fairly long... about half the size of her. So could this be a parasite, or a fungus or something else?

[Ichthius]

Methinks it's not fry...by a long shot...

I'd take TOS' advice on this. Keep treating her and it should clear up, unless it's too far along. Looks fungal to me, just from the photos. So, if it's not parasites, treat with an antifungal medication.

[Starlight_Guide]

can I treat with an anti fungus medication as well as the anti parasite medication?? they would both be the fizzy tabs....and on the back of both boxes, it says they are safe to use with all other Jungle products, so you would think it would be ok to do that?

or would that be too much?

[Ichthius]

Do you mean the fizzy tabs you're using are multi-purpose? If so, you shouldn't have a problem treating. You *can* treat with more than one medication at a time, but it can screw things up for you.

[Starlight_Guide]

No. I have Parasite Clear Fizzy Tabs, which is what I used yesterday.... and I have Fungus Clear Fizzy Tabs, which I would use now... would that be alright?

You said it could screw things up, like what type of things?

[Starlight_Guide]

Ok, well I decided to go ahead with it, because I figured time was of the essence.

It was a catastrophe.

All of my fish started flipping out except the one that is sick. She actually started to get better.

5 hours later, I have had to do a 50% water change, and transfer the sick guppy to a bucket I have been using to siphon out fish water, including a bubble stone and a filter. The sick guppy seems to be doing ok, and the rest of my fish have sort of gone back to normal.

At first all of my fish were darting around the tank, and shaking, and trying to hide from any type of light. Then they just started laying on the bottom of the tank, thats when we decided to do the water change.

Dont ever trust the packaging when it says "can be use with all other products of this brand". Im so upset right now. I am just praying that all my fish make it through this ordeal.

Also, like what was stated above, my pregnate guppies have lost their babies. Their gravid spots have turned pink. So Im hoping they will be able to do whatever it is they do when this happens. (i.e. give birth or re-absorb them).

This has been a huge mess, and I just pray that my fish make it thru. Thank you all for your help though. Its much appreciated.

[TheOldSalt]

Another thing you can do is get some medicated fishfood. Tetra brand medicated fish flakes come in two styles. The antiparasitic kind contains metronidazole, which is very good for getting rid of internal intestinal parasites, which are a main cause of symptoms like your fish have.

[Starlight_Guide]

I have medicated fish food, they came in pellet form, and Ive crushed them so they were smaller, but they dont like them. Those are the only ones that are sold in this area. Its so frustrating.

[Obsidian]

Starlight, do not offer any other type of food than the medicated food. When they get hungry enough they WILL eat it.

[Starlight_Guide]

Thats what Im hoping. Im just kind of afraid she will starve before she decides to eat it. Its hard to see her now that she is in the mop bucket, before I had a side view, and could see her progression or regression, but now.. all i can see is the top of her which seems to be getting pretty pale.

[Starlight_Guide]

So last night, I think that she finally took a few pieces of food. Today there is a slightly solid piece of poop in the bottom of the bucket. How long should I wait to return her to the normal tank?