Problem after problem - guppies

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Wow some fabulous replies, thank you. It has been a hectic day but I will spend time reviewing all of this, I'm hoping third time will be better - I'll respond much better tomorrow.

In the meantime, should I invest in a book like this? I want to better understand, I don't much like seeing my fishies sick ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1470751438.164232.jpg


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If your breeding guppies, i would say get the book. Ive learned about as much from books as i have from the internet. Im 33 and grew up before the land of the internet.....
My dad taught me too. And ask experts
there is a facebook page called Guppyfanatic, very knowledgeble persons on there.
Jim alderson is a well known guppy breeder for decades, and he knows alot about diseases, he is on the FB page and replies most of the time (give him a few days, hes old lol)
Otherwise you can google or ask for bob fenner, he knows alot about diseases as well.
 
He is the one who taught me something that will always stick with me, certain fish are prone to and sometimes ONLY get certain parasites, for example, Oscars get Hole in the head hexima, but guppies do not. They live in water in nature that is too hard.
Guppies get camallanus worms alot, but oscars do not, they are big fish, and would simply pass the worms. Thats why you rarely see oscars get sick from eating feeder guppies even tho their riddled with parasites, they simply do not get it.
Guppies are prone to bacterial ailments which are easy enough to cure with the right meds, or just keep an eye on them and use an anteseptic (wich i believe is all you can get in the UK/AUS because antibiotics are not avaliable) for minor wounds before it becomes a full blown infection.
Parasites you must watch out for camallanus worms with guppies, once they take hold in the little fish they get lodged and are difficult to get rid of even with levimasole de-wormer.
What arthur said is very true, buying pet store fish is likely to result in failure most of the time.
I have done it, (bred true strains from pet store fish), but its hard and takes some luck. But if you start with more high quality fish, say a pro breeder in aus, then your more likely to have sucess, but get a strain that is commonly avaliable to start with, because you dont want to inbreed too much. That way you can always go to the store to get one new male for new blood and mate him to your females.
Sorry didnt mean to rant on, ive had way too much caffine and im in fish mode right now. Guppies are very addicting and very rewarding if done right. But very easy to kill.
 
Loving these responses. I bought a couple of books online tonight. My hubbie is away ATM so I've been busy busy. Haven't touched the tank at all since euthanising two fish, the last endler seems fine, possibly lonely tho. Hmm. Hurry up books.. And might look into the pro breeder, although the little local fish shop had some cute males...


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I would look up what meds you can get in australia. Especially antibiotic, as they make be necessary from time to time. Try to get some oxytetracycline, its cheap, its very good, very broad spectrum, and dosent ever go bad because its synthetic.
You could look into a UV stearilizer.
You could also raise your guppies in Brackish water, to reduce the amount of diseases and parasites in the water. Camallanus worms for example, are a common gut parasite, and can wipe out several tanks, but they cannot survive in brackish or saltwater.
Guppies can do fine in brackish, just make sure to always let it dissolve for half an hour to an hour first in the bucket. There are cheap hydrometers avaliable online or at marine fish stores. Look for something like this.
http://blog.aquanerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Hydrometer.jpg
 
I would look up what meds you can get in australia. Especially antibiotic, as they make be necessary from time to time. Try to get some oxytetracycline, its cheap, its very good, very broad spectrum, and dosent ever go bad because its synthetic.
You could look into a UV stearilizer.
You could also raise your guppies in Brackish water, to reduce the amount of diseases and parasites in the water. Camallanus worms for example, are a common gut parasite, and can wipe out several tanks, but they cannot survive in brackish or saltwater.
Guppies can do fine in brackish, just make sure to always let it dissolve for half an hour to an hour first in the bucket. There are cheap hydrometers avaliable online or at marine fish stores. Look for something like this.
http://blog.aquanerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Hydrometer.jpg


Hi Matt, thanks again, great ideas. I've ordered a couple of fish health books, as I'm a bit of researcher - I like to read up on things :)

Also, I will be doing what you've suggested, I.e keep the water brackish. I had reduced the amount of salt (as it was very high while I was trying to treat the fish). And at the time, nitrites were rally high, I don't know what caused this, either high salt or meds. But now that I've reduced the salt to "normal" levels and taken out meds, and added a Toxivec dose to the Tank earlier in the week.. I had not touched the tank for 5 days.. And tested last night after doing what I thought would be a required water changes given the last lot of levels in the tank only to find:
Ammonia and nitrites were 0.0 and nitrate was low at 2.0-3.0 ..So wow. Not sure how that happened given I had such a hard time trying to keep nitrite down while the tank was in treatment mode. But did have a nitra-zorb bag in the tank too.. Maybe it all helped.

So, still have a living Endler in the tank, although, given how he seemed to be a fin nipper, not sure I want to keep him. But I'll keep him while I make sure the Tank is ok for the next few weeks.

In the mean time, my other established tank has a fry in it, which has been growing and looking very healthy and happy in his space. I put a very small dose of salt in a water top up yesterday, and he's adjusted ok. As you say, letting salt dissolve before adding is key.

A UV steriliser sound expensive, but I'll look into it. But I definitely see the value of a hydrometer. Thanks also for the tip about antibiotics. I'm not sure if we can get antibiotics over the counter here, but I might head to the fish shop and see what the story is .

Matt you're advice is fantastic, I really appreciate it . Thank you. Will keep you posted :)



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Sure no problem. You can repay me by telling me what it says in your books on certain parasites or diseases. I love to talk and read books, but when it comes to computers im not much of a fan of reading stuff, i guess it just seems too bright and im leaning forward too much.
 
Lol worries at all!

Spent money and time on the tanks today.. Ditched scrappy looking live plants for good looking fake ones... I'm pretty impressed, although not by the spend..pictures soon.


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Heres how i like to set mine up. Im using live plants because im not doing the brackish water thing anymore, i have plenty of antibiotics on hand to use when the fry pintail or the adults get tail rot.
Its just cheap 4" plastic pots filled with white gravel. 2 dwarf crypts and 1 amazon sword. These plants are easy and do well in my water system. Its bare bottom except the potted plants, and the back is spray painted on the outside flat black. It has a HOB wisper 30 filter and a adjustable sumersible heater. It has like 8-9 pet store HB Red tuxeudos and like 6 juv's.
 

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Like your plants.. Here are my fakes.. It looks like it's taking up a lot of space (which it is), I think it'll offer a nice way for fry to hide- if I decide to go that way.
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There guppies there extremely sensitive to what you were doing with all the water changes and medications and salt levels. The only problem is that there small fish and can't handle that much crazy dosage. I suggest take every fish out of the tank let it sit for awhile a week or two and the re-add fish back to the tank. Guppies and small tetras can't handle what your dosage and water changes like that.


"My Corals do Better Than Fish."
 
There guppies there extremely sensitive to what you were doing with all the water changes and medications and salt levels. The only problem is that there small fish and can't handle that much crazy dosage. I suggest take every fish out of the tank let it sit for awhile a week or two and the re-add fish back to the tank. Guppies and small tetras can't handle what your dosage and water changes like that.


"My Corals do Better Than Fish."


I totally understand. I think when you see them sick you want to help by changing things, but I took it too far. Lesson learned. Those fish died except for one Endler. He is still happily in the tank which is now normalized. Thanks for your feedback though :)
 
Guppies can handle large water changes just fine.
They can handle salt, again JUST FINE
Kwakatoo read this short article to get an idea the validity of my salt suggestion
Many parasites and especially the dreaded camallanus worms cannot survive in high salinity. Guppies being very close relatives of mollies, thrive in water with some salinity.
A bag of Marine salt runs 20 usd. Will last for months even with several guppy tanks. The fry are the ones who need the salt the most, if nothing else give them the brackish and the adults just abit.
Culture of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, in Singapore
 
Thanks Matt. Will read up on that, but I don't need too much convincing. Adding salt to tank every water change.

Want to know something funny.. I now got an algae bloom. Put my fry in with the big boys, while I clean up the tank and he's doing well. As far as I can tell!

The fry is the smaller one (lol) in the back with red and black speckle tail showing through.. So excited he's getting his colors. And he's definitely a boy.

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The amount of salt your adding is little compared with the amount of pure marine salt needed to raise it to brackish conditions. That would be 2 1/2 tablespoons per ten gallons of water.
Just to point out. Just an observation.
Those little cheap meters i told you about work well.
 
Just to point out. Just an observation.
Those little cheap meters i told you about work well.


Yes I did look for one but ended up in a fish shop and the guy was quite condescending when I told him what I was looking for and why. So I left.

Then I got an algae bloom in my tank so I'm dealing with that atm. Read the article. All makes sense. Might start some new recording scenario for my tanks as I just got two new ones this weekend very cheap. Will figure out salt dosing when I've rechecked all my tank measurements. :) I'm effectively starting 3 tanks .. That'll keep me busy!
 
Ya its a shame the way alot of fish stores are run. The guy probably knows diddly about guppies and he what got an attitude about raising them using salt?
Guppies and mollies come from brackish as well as freshwater environments in nature.
Trinidad, its an island, surrounded by the carribean sea.
Venezuela, it has tons of streams rivers and swamps that are near the coast. Singapore, fish farms raise the fry in brackish ponds and the adults in stone/concrete vats that are made with alot of limestone, again raising the ph and the hardness.
Its pretty much pointless to even get into conversations with Fish store people, after awhile you'll know more about guppies and fish diseases than they could ever dream of.
 
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