Jeff's Betta Biosphere

Guppy Diseases

Bacterial diseases are the biggest problem encountered by guppy breeders and keepers.  Parasite problems are far less and almost non existent for me . Here are a few symptoms that point to a Bacterial disease of some kind:

Clamped Fins
Listless fish
Gray/white patches on parts of body and fins
Tail rot
White true fungus on parts of body and fins
Constant “wagging” of fish in a stationary position

If your fish are showing signs of the above you have a bacterial infection. There are many medications out there.  I treat with Erythromycin. Here is the treatment and the schedule I use.

Basic treatment- 1 Tablet per 10 gallons of water. Do a 50% water change daily.

Here is the schedule I use:
 Day 1 – Basic treatment
Day 2- Basic Treatment
Day 3- Fish that are not responding to treatment are removed and destroyed.   Do not reuse the net without sterilizing. Repeat basic treatment.
Day 4 - Fish that are not responding to treatment are removed and destroyed. Repeat basic treatment. If the whole tank is not responding I destroy all fish . At this point I have cured fish or they have been removed.

Often a small percentage of fish will be lost but the majority will respond to treatment.   There are no 100%  effective treatments that I have discovered yet. The Erythromycin does treat for both gram positive and gram negative bacterial infections. My overall cure rate is about 80% on the small percentage of fish that get sick. If you suspect a parasite problem such as ick, velvet,  gill flukes, etc.,  I would use 95%

Formaldehyde one drop per gallon and repeat for 3 days-change your water 50% daily.

Sterilizing Tanks and Nets

 As a precaution I only use one net per tank without sterilizing.   A very weak bleach solution of ½ ounce per gallon sterilizes nets or tanks.   Empty tanks can be wiped down with this solution and then rinsed thoroughly. I just dip my nets in the solution and swish them around and then rinse them of well.  Nets are cheap.  I keep 20 or 30 around and use only sterilized nets for most one time uses. That may be a little overkill but not much time or expense.

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