Guppy acting differently

[Rll89135]

Hi all,

Firstly I have to confess I have not done any freshwater homework before getting a tank - which is cardinal sin!! I have however done a lot of research into saltwater tanks and thought this knowledge would suffice, which was wrong of me!

In terms of background, we have had a 46l fluval edge freshwater tank for under a week, stocked with 3x neon tetra, 1 x catfish (can't be more specific I am afraid) and 3 different guppies. Mine of the neons has died unexpectedly floating upside down in an artificial plant. My partner disposed of the neon before I had arrived back to check what had caused it. There appeared to be no issues before death and no significant behaviour differences. We thought it had either been taken through the filter, or it was a delayed response to stress.

I have one guppy (silver and blue) that remains near to the top of the tank, by comparison he would appear to be gasping as his gills move significantly further than the other two guppies. He has repeatedly had what I took to be a string of excrement coming from around the middle of his body. Other than this he eats well and can act normal at times, swimming with others.

I just don't want to have another death in the tank, so I hope someone can help me

 

[rmiller]

It sounds like you haven't cycled your tank. Take a look thru the articles and read up on fish in cycling. You will need to get a liquid test kit, either API freshwater master kit or similar.

As an emergency treatment now, do a 50% water change. Just make absolutely sure you dechlorinate the new water.

 

[Rll89135]

Your spot on there! I can't believe I didn't even twig for a second! We got chemicals to treat the water which are 'instant' but we chose to leave overnight. That explains so much! thanks for the advice. Will have water from today tested in the morning, but in the meantime have carried out a water change to be on the safe side! Thank you again for your assistance! Much appreciated.

 

[rmiller]

Until you get a test kit of your own I would do 50% daily. Taking water to the store every day for testing becomes a real pain. Plus most stores (at least in my area) use strips with are horribly inaccurate. You can usually pick up a test kit on Amazon for around $18-20. It's as essential to fish keeping as water itself.