TreadingWater
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2013
- Messages
- 3
Hello! I've been all over the interwebs but found this site to be one of the most helpful and informative so I thought I'd post my (possible) guppy problem here.
About a month ago we lost our goldfish to what I believe was swim bladder. I removed and rinsed the plants/decor in a slight vinegar solution and thoroughly rinsed in clean water. I removed all but about 3 i nches of water from the tank (10 gal). It sat for a while until, 2 weeks ago, we went to the fish store and got a male guppy and a red phantom tetra. I added conditioned water to the old water in the tank. We floated them and added some tank water over about an hour period of time or so. Initially the tetra was a bit shy and the guppy was more active. About 4-5 days ago I'd guess, I noticed the guppy spending most his time by the filter outlet. He was in the top 1-3 inches of the tank most every time I checked him, though didn't give the appearance of gasping or having his mouth at the surface. He seems to spend most his time in one of two places, either the top portion of the tank or the bottom corner. The fact that he doesn't seem very active has me wondering if he's stressed or ill. I've spent a great deal of time online researching possibilities and while I would perhaps introduce them to the tank differently or have checked my water conditions before adding them (the store employee said I could add them to conditioned water same day - I think we're ok due to the old water but I'm not impressed with that advice given the studying I've done!) So here's where I'm at:
- Tested ammonia (API kit) over the past 3 days and it appears 0 or possibility tinted toward a .25% reading. I did about 20-25% water changes each day using Prime conditioner to be sure if it was at all elevated I'd addressed it.
- I only had test strips for other parameters - best I can tell from those the pH is 7 or below, and the No2 and NO3 are 0 or low.
- Water is room temperature and I'm careful to match it with my water changes - it's consistent in the 69-70 degree range.
- I brought a water sample to the store today (about 14 hrs after last water change) and they showed everything to be fine (ammonia, nitrite and pH). They didn't give me any other advice or suggestion other than wait and see. Gee thanks!
- The tetra seems happy...actively zipping around the tank with periods of rest or slow times.
_ Skipped feeding yesterday, but normally feed a small amount of flakes once daily.
- I gave them a few tiny flakes of goldfish food and the guppy did move from his lower corner to tour around the gravel and poke a bit. I later found out that my husband had fed them earlier and they ate well (thankfully I was skimpy with my unintentional second feeding).
- Since spending the morning at the bottom corner, the guppy is now back to his upper local.
- The 2 fish seem to get along fine.
- I don't see anything on the guppy's body...not sure I know what I'm looking for, but I've inspected him as best I can and he just looks like a fish to me
- Tank is 10 gal with an Aqua-tech with both the polyfiber/carbon filter and the bio-filter installed. It is a new filter (old one wouldn't start up) so I used the new bio-filter - I later wondered if any good gunk might be in the old one so I slipped that in too about 5-6 days ago.
So...if you're still reading at this point...do guppies normally just 'hang out' like that? Is there something else I should do with the water - I of course don't want to upset the tetra in the process either! Any feeding suggestions? Should I get live plants? Are there physical signs I may have missed? I have since learned we should have more tetra but I am afraid to add any until I'm confident that things are ok. And here I thought fish were supposed to be relaxing!!
Thanks for any direction or ideas (or reassurances too!!)
About a month ago we lost our goldfish to what I believe was swim bladder. I removed and rinsed the plants/decor in a slight vinegar solution and thoroughly rinsed in clean water. I removed all but about 3 i nches of water from the tank (10 gal). It sat for a while until, 2 weeks ago, we went to the fish store and got a male guppy and a red phantom tetra. I added conditioned water to the old water in the tank. We floated them and added some tank water over about an hour period of time or so. Initially the tetra was a bit shy and the guppy was more active. About 4-5 days ago I'd guess, I noticed the guppy spending most his time by the filter outlet. He was in the top 1-3 inches of the tank most every time I checked him, though didn't give the appearance of gasping or having his mouth at the surface. He seems to spend most his time in one of two places, either the top portion of the tank or the bottom corner. The fact that he doesn't seem very active has me wondering if he's stressed or ill. I've spent a great deal of time online researching possibilities and while I would perhaps introduce them to the tank differently or have checked my water conditions before adding them (the store employee said I could add them to conditioned water same day - I think we're ok due to the old water but I'm not impressed with that advice given the studying I've done!) So here's where I'm at:
- Tested ammonia (API kit) over the past 3 days and it appears 0 or possibility tinted toward a .25% reading. I did about 20-25% water changes each day using Prime conditioner to be sure if it was at all elevated I'd addressed it.
- I only had test strips for other parameters - best I can tell from those the pH is 7 or below, and the No2 and NO3 are 0 or low.
- Water is room temperature and I'm careful to match it with my water changes - it's consistent in the 69-70 degree range.
- I brought a water sample to the store today (about 14 hrs after last water change) and they showed everything to be fine (ammonia, nitrite and pH). They didn't give me any other advice or suggestion other than wait and see. Gee thanks!
- The tetra seems happy...actively zipping around the tank with periods of rest or slow times.
_ Skipped feeding yesterday, but normally feed a small amount of flakes once daily.
- I gave them a few tiny flakes of goldfish food and the guppy did move from his lower corner to tour around the gravel and poke a bit. I later found out that my husband had fed them earlier and they ate well (thankfully I was skimpy with my unintentional second feeding).
- Since spending the morning at the bottom corner, the guppy is now back to his upper local.
- The 2 fish seem to get along fine.
- I don't see anything on the guppy's body...not sure I know what I'm looking for, but I've inspected him as best I can and he just looks like a fish to me
- Tank is 10 gal with an Aqua-tech with both the polyfiber/carbon filter and the bio-filter installed. It is a new filter (old one wouldn't start up) so I used the new bio-filter - I later wondered if any good gunk might be in the old one so I slipped that in too about 5-6 days ago.
So...if you're still reading at this point...do guppies normally just 'hang out' like that? Is there something else I should do with the water - I of course don't want to upset the tetra in the process either! Any feeding suggestions? Should I get live plants? Are there physical signs I may have missed? I have since learned we should have more tetra but I am afraid to add any until I'm confident that things are ok. And here I thought fish were supposed to be relaxing!!
Thanks for any direction or ideas (or reassurances too!!)
