Dying fish, please help!?

[th08tu]

Hello everybody,
This is my first time posting in this forum, so forgive me if I am doing something wrong. My question is I set up a 20 gallon tank about 5 weeks ago. Since then I planted it and added 6 guppies. Simply put nothing did very well, the plants wilted, and the fish didn't look healthy. Over the past 3 weeks I lost 2 guppies, and the plants were starting to disintegrate. I figure this is because there were toxic amounts of ammonia, and nitritite in the water as the nitrogen cycle was starting to develop. Yesterday when I got up I found two more guppies stuck to the filter intake. I was surprised as I thought my cycle was finished because of these readings on my test kit:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 1 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
Ph: 6.5
Kh: 40 ppm
GH: 180 ppm

I have a filter, bubble wall, heater, and proper lighting. Also last week I put in 4 cherry shrimp to help with keeping the substrate clean. The plants now seem to be growing fairly well as I can see new leaves, that are very green so that is why I am surprised about loosing my fish when the plants seem to be thriving again. Any ideas, advice etc. would be greatly appreciated before I go out and buy more fish and have to watch them die also. I can't find the cherry shrimp however I assume they are just hiding under rocks or something. Any tips to help save my fish and tank.

 

[JPKeenan]

with nitrites still in the water the cycle has not completed fully. This substance is also toxic to fish.

The plants can be a bunch of factors including light or not having teh right type of plants.

 

[th08tu]

So are you saying that the plants do not find the nitrites toxic, however the guppies do even with such small amounts? I thought guppies were supposed to be pretty hardy fish? I remember my friend had 7 mollies in a 10 gallon tank and asked if I would test the water for him, I did and the nitrites were 10 ppm. All the mollies survived and one even gave birth during this time. Maybe he was just lucky?

 

[mfdrookie516]

guppies arent as hardy as some people think. In my first tank, i had goldfish, then i got rid of them and got mollies and guppies... almost all the guppies died, but the mollies lived until i gave them away. Mollies are tough fish.. also i might add that once i finally tested the water in my first tank, my parameters measured comparably to your friends

 

[th08tu]

Ok, that makes sense. So any ideas on how I can keep the guppies alive? My goal is to have a community tank with danios, tetras and guppies, however I am not going to do this until I know it is safe lol. Thanks for all your help everybody!

 

[mfdrookie516]

Keep testing the water, do frequent partial water changes... Prime will lock nitrite down making it safer for the fish. Usually once you have nitrites (USUALLY) the cycle is nearing completion. Just keep an eye on it... Once you have no nitrites, no ammmonia, and some nitrates, then the cycle will be done and you can slowly add some more fish...

 

[th08tu]

Great thanks for your help, last question I hope lol. I just tested the water after doing a partial water change like you suggested and there is no ammonia, no nitrite, and no nitrates. Whats going on with that?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Well, i just read, you have plants... planted tanks usually have less nitrates than those without plants... you should still have some though... Are you using liquid or stip test?

 

[th08tu]

liquid for ammonia, and API strip test for the rest

 

[mfdrookie516]

strips are horrible... your best bet is to get a master test kit... Not to say that the strips are wrong, but they are alot of the time... Before making any moves to get fish, id recommend getting a liquid "everything" test kit...

 

[th08tu]

ok i will do that for sure, the kits seem a bit expensive but they definatley save money in the long run I guess.

 

[JPKeenan]

yeah having a die off of 10 fish at $2 a pop will make you look at the test kit as an investment.

It is well worth it..... Also nice to set up a spreadsheet or get a note book to keep track of what the water params are and when you do water changes and such.

 

[EscVelocity]

Also, with newly planted plants, it's not uncommon for some die off until the plants take root.

I would prune whatever you see wilting.

 

[kaiofcanada]

Are you using a dechlorinator/water conditioner in your tank? Do you have any other objects in the aquarium besides the plants and aquarium gravel?

As for guppy hardiness...guppies are very hardy from the right source. Howevere, most guppies in the market are inbred and have poor genetics making them not hardy at all. My advice if you plan to have guppies is not to hold your beathe unless you get them from a good breeder who does not allow inbreeding by removbing males from females as soon as their sexual traits begin to emerge. Otherwise, guppies will mate with their own fry brood, over and over.