Whats wrong with my guppies?

Question

i have about 100 endlers (they are about 1- 2 cm big) and some i have had nearly a year, just lately i have lost about 5-6 and about that many look ill they have like cotton wool growths on them like trailing (not white spot)

and they dart around and look a bit tatty its mostly the females too, the tank is a 60 liter juwel, i cant work out wether they have a disese there is something wrong with the water or they are a little over crowded!

please can someone help!

Answer 1

Symptoms:

    A white cotton like fungus on the body, fins or mouth.

Treatment:

    Jungle Fungus Guard, Furazone Green, Furazone Light, or Tetracycline.

I would suggest buying a new tank of the same size and splitting the fish between tanks and then treating them ASAP.  That is entirely too many fish for that tank.

Answer 2

simple enough- they do have a disease, the water probably isn't great, and they're very very very very overcrowded.  all guppies should have about 1 gallon each, or just under.  your tank is only 15 gallons.  i think we've found the problem.

it sounds like they have cotton mouth or a similar fungal infection- go to your pet store and get some medicine.

My guess is that they'll be too overcrowded (i.e. water too messy) for the medicine to do its job effectively.  

do about 1000000 water changes (at least 1 a day, at 25%) from here on in, until you get a bigger, or a second tank.  

What would be kinder would be to take them to a pet shop and see if they will take most of them and treat them.  they can then sell them on.

Answer 3

Sometimes its called the 'Cotton wool disease'. Its is a general term applied to the most common fungal infections that infect the skin, fins, and mouth.The most common types of fungi in these infections are Saprolegnia and Achyla.

Treatment for cotton wool disease in freshwater fish includes salt baths using Freshwater Aquarium Salt or the antifungal agent phenoxyethanol. In some instances, the entire tank is treated, but if individual infections are present, treating the fish in a separate hospital tank is preferable.

Answer 4

I'm not sure what disease it is but almost all aquarium fish ailments can generally be traced back to poor water quality. Fish won't succumb to disease unless they are already stressed. 100 fish of that size in a tank like that is a very high stocking density and will require regular water changes. Something of the order of 30% every week unless you have a really good bio-filter then you may get away with less.

Answer 5

I agree with everyone else overcrowding a problem here,and it does sound like cotton wool disease you will need to have another tank or find a pet store to take to try and get this problem under control.

I wish you luck and let us know how you get on.

Answer 6

overcrowding is the problem

Answer 7

They definitely have fungus.  You are keeping them in very crowded conditions and the water quality is probably very poor.  "Crystal clear" water is no proof that the water conditions are good for fish.  What you have to watch out for are high levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.  This is produced by the breakdown of fish waste, including their urine, which is invisible in the water.  Freshwater fish produce a lot of very watery urine in order to retain as much salt as possible in their bodies from their food.  In overcrowded tanks this can build up in the water and poison your fish.  Your fish will get sick and die long before you will ever see a thing.