Guppy with goldfish and no heater?

[HOLLIEO]

My co-worker has a 10 gallon tank on his desk. He had a male and female betta, 2 goldfish, some cleaner shrimp, and a Chineese algae eater. the tank does not have a heater on it. His female betta just died so he put in two guppies. I thought that guppys needed warmer water... a tropical fish. Am I wrong or are they okay in this type of condition?

 

[grimlock3000]

does he even have a filter in the tank? does anyone have an idea as to why the betta died? goldfish make a mess, the whole tank could be a bio disaster wating to happen...

 

[HOLLIEO]

Yes. He has like a little Whisper HOB type.
He is not sure why the betta died. He sais the male killed her. Yeah, right anyway. The female had no markings like she was attacked. He had stuck her in one of those breeding nets because she was ready to have eggs. There is where she was found floating. I told him his tank looks a little dirty and he insists that it is soooooooo clean because of the filter and the shrimp. Yeah, right anyway!!! He even claims that he has not changed any of the water in it, just adds some when it gets low?!?!?! Is he nuts... or is this all okay? I think I am gonna bring in my test kit to work and test his water to see if the fish are in danger. Personally, with two fat fancy tail goldfish... there is no way you could go with out water changes...
any thoughts?

 

[hisc1ay]

if the tank is warm enough on its own, he doesn't need a heater. Mine stay well heated at home around 78 w/o a heater (there is one, but in the summer it never turns on). I think a good temp for guppies is 76-80.

It could be that his levels are ok without changing the water if it evaporates quick enough and he refills it. I never used to change my water when I was new and didn't learn any better, and my fish usually did ok. But you should check the water, and maybe even do a change.

-j

 

[HOLLIEO]

Okay, I am gonna bring in my water test stuff and post the results tomorrow. Then you guys can tell me if all the perameters are correct and/or what should be done. Yeah!!!

 

[HOLLIEO]

So, can anyone tell me what steps to take now?
Here are the water perameters:
Ammonia .25ppm
PH 7.2
Nitrite .5ppm
Nitrate 160

So, with readings like this.... any help???

 

[grimlock3000]

The ammonia and Nitrite are low enough that they should not be an immediate danger to killing the fish. Still, it would be much better if each was at 0. The bio load could be a bit too much for the tank to properly filter out biologically. He could try additional bio filtration like a air sponge which gives bacteria and addition place to go and thrive as water passes over. How long has the tank been running?

The Nitrate is really high though, I believe most people try to keep it under 40. It would take two 50% water changes to get the tank down to 40, but a few smaller ones would likely be better.

 

[hisc1ay]

Agreed.

-j