Guppy Disease Diagnostic Chart

Guppy Addict's Fancy Guppy Information Center

Guppy Disease Diagnostic Chart

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! This is especicaly true when it comes to fishkeeping. Whenever you add new fish ALWAYS use a quarantine tank. New fish should be quarantined for at least a week and always use a seperate net or siphon hose when working with the quarantine tank. Nothing is more heartbreaking than loosing your prized strain of guppies do to disease. Just in case the unthinkable should happen, I hope that this chart will be of some help.

Columnaris

Symptoms:
A white cotton like fungus on the body, fins or mouth.
Treatment:
Jungle Fungus Guard, Furazone Green, Furazone Light, or Tetracycline.

Fin and Tail Rot

Symptoms:
Ragged look to end of fins and tail, Missing fins or disolving tail.
Treatment:
Erythromycin, Tetracycline, Furazone Green, or Triple Sulfa.

Gill Flukes

Symptoms:
Fish scratch their gill plates against ornaments or the glass. They may also remain at the surface with gills wide open gaspng for air.
Treatment:
Copper Sulfate, Malachite Green, Sterazin. If after treatment the gills are still inflamed and the fish appears to be having trouble breathing, this could be due to a gill infection. Treat this with an antibiotic such as Tetracycline or Ampicillex.

"Dropsy"

Symptoms:
Drastically swollen body with raised scales. This is a very hard disease to cure.
Treatment:
Tetracycline, Maracin 2, Furaloid, Clortetrechcline.

Ich

Symptoms:
Small white spots on fins and body. Fish may scratch on the glass, also called flashing.
Treatment:
Aquarium Products Quick Cure, Rid-Ich+. It also helps to raise the temp.

Velvet

Symptoms:
A hazy white appearance on the body. Ich and velvet are sometimes hard to tell apart.
Treatment:
Quick Cure, Acraflavine, Methlene Blue, or Furazone Green.

Shimmy

Symptoms:
The fish looks like it is swimming fast but stays in one place.
Treatment:
This is more of a warning sign than a disease. Shimmy is usually brought on by stress. Start out by checking the fish for any signs of disease. If none are present do a 50% water change and add one tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons. If the symptoms still persist treat with Jungle Molly Bright.

Hydra

Symptoms:
Unexplained loss of fry. Hydra have a small, stalklike body, which ends in up to ten long, slender tentacles. The tentacles have a battery of stinging cells which Hydra uses to capture its food consisting of small crustaceans, invertebrates or even young guppies. If you examine the sides of the tank with a magnafying glass you will see the hydra attached to the glass.
Treatment:
The easiest way to handle this problem is to move the fry to another tank, then clean the infected tank with bleach water. If, like most of us, you don't have an extra tank, you can try Copper Sulfate.

Intestinal Worms

Symptoms:
Overall change in color, distended stomach, fish appears to be wasting away.
Treatment:
Jungle Internal Parasite Guard, Pepso Food, Formalin.

Disclaimer:

This chart is intended as a reference guide only! I will in no way be held responsible for the use of the information contained in this chart. I can offer no guarantees for the treatment recommendations or advice. Use all medications with caution and follow the instructions prescribed by the manufacturer.