# Guppy Tail



## Nano557 (Nov 29, 2020)

Hi there, 

I had bought 4 guppies, unfortunately 2 have passed away, approximately a month ago. I have noticed one guppy has a piece of his tail missing! I don’t know if they will grow back! Any advise would be helpful!
Many thanks


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## fishexpert (Jun 24, 2020)

It has either torn on somthing on the tank or it has fin rot. All 8 of my guppies died withen 2 weeks because of fin rot. They grew white strings on there tails and it destroyed there fins and killed them no matter what salt or medicine I put in the tank. I am sorry to say your all your fish in that tank will soon be dead. Nothing to do now I am sorry this had to happen to you. Its just best to move on and forget about it.


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## Fishy Bubbles (Nov 20, 2020)

Hello, I am so sorry. I'm not an expert and I don't want to get your hopes up too high, but I had two guppies survive from fin rot, ich, other guppy fish bullies, and poor water quality. There is a chance of them pulling through. (especially is it isn't fin rot) I really hope they make it.


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## fishexpert (Jun 24, 2020)

I have had several make it through fin rot but from my experience only 1 out of 20 survive.


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## Akeath (May 12, 2009)

I do definitely see some fin rot there. The unevenness of the fins and the dark, sort of slimy looking parts of the fin are both signs of fin rot. In my experience fin rot is highly treatable. To me it looks like the deeper fin damage didn't start as fin rot - it was either damaged by a tank mate (Guppies will nip each other, especially in tight quarters) or by a rough piece of decor. Then it got infected, and once the fin was infected the rot spread from there. 

First, you should test your decor to see if that caused the damage. You can do this by running a piece of pantyhose against the decor. If the decor causes tears or runs in the pantyhose, then it can also damage your fish's fins. Any decor that fails that test should be removed from the tank. 
What is your other stocking in there? Tank mates can also do fin damage to each other, and then that damage invites infections like fin rot to set in. Guppies will nip each other, especially males, if they are in tight quarters with too many other males. What is the tank size? 
Many other fish will also fin nip Guppies, they are pretty tempting targets for fin nipping. Even if you don't have fish that are known fin nippers in there with them, if you don't have a large enough school of some fish they will start nipping when they wouldn't if kept in proper numbers. This can especially be a problem with Tetras, Danios, and Barbs. 

The other main cause of fin rot is poor water quality. This is almost always present in cases of fin rot, even if the fin damage first started from something else. Can you test your water quality for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate and post your numbers? Do you have a mature filter? What is the stocking for your tank? Sometimes just doing daily 30% water changes can help cases of mild fin rot, but your Guppy has it severe enough and close enough to the body that you should do 1 partial water change and then add in medication. He needs medication soon if he's going to make it.

For treating fin rot, the best medication in my experience by far is Tetracycline. It is a broad, powerful antibiotic (fin rot is a bacterial infection). While it will kill the dangerous bacteria that causes fin rot, it will not harm the beneficial bacteria in the filter that keep the tank cycled. That means that there won't be as much of a dip in water quality when using Tetracycline like there can be with other antibiotics. You should be able to get Tetracycline at pet stores in the aquarium section, and you can follow the directions on the back for treatment. Don't forget to remove any activated carbon from the filter so that it doesn't just remove the medication once you put it in.


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## fishexpert (Jun 24, 2020)

Fish you buy from pet stores often have fin rot or some kind of disease.


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## TerriGtoo (Jul 2, 2013)

20yearfishexpert said:


> It has either torn on somthing on the tank or it has fin rot. All 8 of my guppies died withen 2 weeks because of fin rot. They grew white strings on there tails and it destroyed there fins and killed them no matter what salt or medicine I put in the tank. I am sorry to say your all your fish in that tank will soon be dead. Nothing to do now I am sorry this had to happen to you. Its just best to move on and forget about it.


I have been reading your posts for a few months now. I am not sure where your “20 years of expertise come in”, but it is not reflected in your posts. It almost sounds like you are a kid hiding behind a profile name. The fin rot that this member is experiencing IS highly treatable. To just say give up and move on is a bit irresponsible.


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## TerriGtoo (Jul 2, 2013)

Akeath said:


> I do definitely see some fin rot there. The unevenness of the fins and the dark, sort of slimy looking parts of the fin are both signs of fin rot. In my experience fin rot is highly treatable. To me it looks like the deeper fin damage didn't start as fin rot - it was either damaged by a tank mate (Guppies will nip each other, especially in tight quarters) or by a rough piece of decor. Then it got infected, and once the fin was infected the rot spread from there.
> 
> First, you should test your decor to see if that caused the damage. You can do this by running a piece of pantyhose against the decor. If the decor causes tears or runs in the pantyhose, then it can also damage your fish's fins. Any decor that fails that test should be removed from the tank.
> What is your other stocking in there? Tank mates can also do fin damage to each other, and then that damage invites infections like fin rot to set in. Guppies will nip each other, especially males, if they are in tight quarters with too many other males. What is the tank size?
> ...


Akeath, I completely agree with you. Your comment is highly positive and well thought out. Having experienced fin rot myself over the years, I agree that it can be successfully treated. nano557, Akeath has good recommendations. I was going to mention many of the same, but since Akeath already has it would be redundant.


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## 21niko (Oct 9, 2020)

Nano557 said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I had bought 4 guppies, unfortunately 2 have passed away, approximately a month ago. I have noticed one guppy has a piece of his tail missing! I don’t know if they will grow back! Any advise would be helpful!
> Many thanks
> View attachment 843996





Hey I had 4 guppies and one had fin rot and I mean, FIN ROT his COMPLETE BACK TAIL WAS TORN OFF AND CLEAR, I fixed it by isolating him from the others , changing water from both tanks to get rid of whatever organisms or whatever was eating their tails, and MOST IMPORTANTLY I TREATED WITH E-ERYTHROMYCIN 25% of one of the packages. Then I had him in the hospital tank, and slowly with treatment and water changes he grew his tail back. Hope this helps e-erythromycin really works for fin rot dude .


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## MoreThanAFish (Nov 16, 2020)

20yearfishexpert said:


> It has either torn on somthing on the tank or it has fin rot. All 8 of my guppies died withen 2 weeks because of fin rot. They grew white strings on there tails and it destroyed there fins and killed them no matter what salt or medicine I put in the tank. I am sorry to say your all your fish in that tank will soon be dead. Nothing to do now I am sorry this had to happen to you. Its just best to move on and forget about it.


Its the medicine and all the salt that killed your guppies. Water changes will heal finrot effectively or cleaning the tank out completely.
And in OP’s case this is not finrot, just a ripped tail bit. It should heal in no time. A 50% water change will help it heal faster.


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## fishexpert (Jun 24, 2020)

Hi MoreThanAfish! 

So, I notice you are helping a lot of people. Which is great! However, I notice some of the information you are giving people is false. For example, fish CAN die of loneliness! 

Here is a website that says it:

Can a neon tetra live alone?
*Neon tetras* are a schooling fish and need to be in schools pf at least 5-10 to feel safe. If kept *alone*, the fish will enter a state of "depression" and pine away, unwilling to feed or actively swim until death.

You also mentioned in one of your replies, how fin rot CAN'T kill a whole tank of fish but here is some information from another website that supports MY information. 

*Fin rot* is a condition usually caused by either the Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, or Vibrio bacteria. ... If left untreated, *fin rot will* eventually *kill* the diseased *fish* and may infect all the other *fish* in the *tank* as well. 

Your posts about your new pet betta fish are VERY confusing too! You are asking questions about nitrates and things like that yet you are telling other people infermation you don't seem to know about!

All I am trying to say, is to please stick to topics you actually KNOW about. It helps the whole fish community that way.


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## MoreThanAFish (Nov 16, 2020)

20yearfishexpert said:


> Hi MoreThanAfish!
> 
> So, I notice you are helping a lot of people. Which is great! However, I notice some of the information you are giving people is false. For example, fish CAN die of loneliness!
> 
> ...


First, I mentioned it already but alright, lone neon tetra will get stressed with no friends and then will get ill and die. Usually lone fish get stressed and die of an illness that is caused by the stress and they should be kept in groups of 6 or more. Finrot will not cause whole tank to die. I have a bacterial finrot in my 33 gallon tank, my molly has got some pretty nasty finrot, no other fish in the tank has it and she is alive still. Got her with this finrot already from the store and had it now for 5 weeks. It does not kill. See?
Oh I see, your looking for a website that say the same you say to then throw it in my face right? I’m sorry but it does not work on me. My new pet betta? I think you’re the one who’s confused, I was not asking about nitrate, I was asking about the growth which by my intuition or sixth sense if you want, I knew it was columnaris and healed it to 0 with someone who told me its bacterial and salt would not do any good. If I would not know a thing about fish keeping, I would certainly not try to help others and I’m not spreading any misinformation, but you. I’m sorry.
And you cannot tell me what to do, so I will keep on spreading ”misinformation”.
Good day.


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## fishexpert (Jun 24, 2020)

Your molly might not have fin rot then.


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