Why are my female guppies getting sick all the time?

Question

I bought 2 female guppies and 1 male. However, the 2 females died due to some sort of fungus growing on them and I exchanged the two. This morning, I found that one of the females' scales are tearing apart. My other female and male are fine, though. What is the problem? Is it the water? Is the male attacking it? Should I buy medicine or should I wait a bit longer?

Answer 1

It is probably your water condition. Since I do not know your set up or water parameters I will list things that are important for the health of you Guppies.

You need at least a 5 gallon aquarium (though because guppies are prolific breeders I would suggest 10+).

You need a filter, preferably above mounted not under gravel (as these do not work as effectively, if at all).

You need a heater to keep the water between 74-82 degrees, ideally 78 degrees F.

You need to make sure the tank is cycled before adding the fish. One of the possible cause of your problems could be poor water quality.

Do a 50% water change.

Make sure temperature is constant and within acceptable range.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salt per a gallon.

Start using Melafix if you are more concerned. I recently used Melafix for a torn tail on one of my Male Guppies and was very happy with the results.

I am not very experienced with Melafix, but I do know it supposedly aids in regrowth and healing. Though a word of caution, Melafix cannot be used with fish with a labyrinth such as Bettas and Gouramis.

If you keep salt in your water it will keep you fish from having more fungal problems. There will probably be some responses stating that Salt is meant for only Saltwater aquariums, but this is not true. Salt is present in natural water sources and most freshwater fish benefit from having a small amount in their water.

Good luck!