help, whats wrong with my guppies?!?!?!

[gorgeousness_dd]

Hi

This is my first ever batch of fish and after 2 days we have 3 dead. The tank holds 35 litres and we have had the water cirrulating for 3 weeks before the fish were added. We added some neutralising drops as suggested by our suplier and the heater is set at 25 degrees with a separate thermometer, so we know thats right. Again we have been advised this is correct by the supplier and friends.

We purchased 8 blue guppies and 5 glo-lite tetra on sunday, wanting to start small and not over crowd the tank, this is what was advised by the shop. After a settling in period of a few hours they started to move about and explore and all of them eat, all was looking good. On Monday morning tho we found one of the Guppies dead, we put this down to the stress of moving. Once again on monday eve all seemed well, but this morning there was 2 dead at the bottom of the tank.

Im not sure if this is normal, but its only the guppies that are going, the glo-lites seem very happy. Do you think its bullying? We dont have plants yet but there is a castle, ive been told fish like to hide!

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[CementShoes]

Research how to 'cycle' a tank. Your fish are dying because of this (IMO). No amount of 'drops' eliminates the need to cycle an aquarium. You can cycle with fish (but please don't) however even in the inhuman way you added way too many fish at one time.

They are swimming on their own waste and the aquarium environment has no way of eliminating the poisons, hence the fish are dying. A cycled tank can detoxify itself to allow for a habitable environment.

Right now they are swimming in a toilet

Good luck


The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

 

[joy13]

If you added all your fish at one time chances are you have an ammonia spike. Guppies have been interbred so much that they aren't as hardy as they once were and they will most likely be the first ones effected. Test your water if you have a test kit. The best thing to do is a PWC (partial water change) probably about 25%. Prime is a good water conditioner to use if you are having problems with ammonia.

 

[musicman]

Welcome to AA,

There are a couple of problems that I see, The first problem is overcrowding. Starting small in an aquarium is starting much smaller than you might think. You would have been good to put in one or two guppies, and gradually worked up to five or six. 35L is just under a 10G tank, which is pretty small by aquarium standards. The size of your tank limits what and how many of each species you can accommodate.

The second problem is an immature filter. There are helpful bacteria that need to become established so that they can consume some of the toxins caused buy the accumulation of fish waste. These bacteria are a part of the Nitrogen Cycle, which is a naturally occurring process. The problem is, it takes time for those bacteria to multiply.

Right now, you have about 10 fish in a 5 fish tank. They all have to eat and poop and that poop has nowhere to go. Your job, as a fishkeeper is to remove some of the toxic waste produced by the poop. The best thing for you to do to help keep more of your fish alive is to do partial water changes. I would change about 30% of the water (about 10 L) every three days. Remember you are changing the water with water that has been dechlorinated by the drops and is about the same temperature.

Please tell us more about your tank and your setup. The more you tell us the better that we can help you.

 

[Mystery]

If the tank hasn't cycled I would suggest even more dramatic water changes, whatever is necessary to keep ammonia to levels the fish can tolerate.

 

[gorgeousness_dd]

Hi All

Thanks for your advice its much appreciated. Being a beginner is a scary prospect.

We have come home to 4 more dead guppies and the last one does not look too happy. The thing that is confussing me is that the glo-lites are still perfectly happy, and all living. Surely if it was a water problem would this not be affecting them too?

We explained to the shop the size of the tank and we where advised to start with the 8 blue guppies ( the same size as tetra) an the 6 glo-lites tetras.

Again any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks and happy fishin xx

 

[JustOneMore20]

Welcome to AA!

Some fish are more tolerant of the ammonia levels in a cycle than others. I find that Glo-light tetras are pretty hardy and can withstand the ammonia. Its hard to say what the effects of a cycle will be on them, if they make it though. Shortened lifespan is a possibility.

Fish shops will sell you anything and everything. They want to make money and when your fish die, you'll go back for more. They know this.

Do some water changes to lower the ammonia level and be sure to add dechlorinator to the new water. Change a little bit of water daily.

Also, it would be a good idea to invest in a test kit. You definitely want test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates.

 

[gorgeousness_dd]

Thanks

That was the confussing thing that the glo-lites are fine. Il get a test kit tomorrow and do a water change every couple of days. That shop is going to get a piece of my mind, its not fair on the fish. Do you think its ok to add a plant durin the "cycling", or should I wait until after the 6-8 weeks?

Thanks again : )

 

[mfdrookie516]

alot of fish stores will exchange fish that you bought that died out with new ones within a certain amount of time... check your water params, and if they all check out, take the dead ones back to the store and a sample of your water and they should swap them out for you... any good store should do that... if your water is out of whack, which sounds like it may be, then dont even bother...

 

[mfdrookie516]

oh and i almost forgot, welcome to AA

 

[Mystery]

You can also take a sample of the water to the store and have them test it.

 

[gorgeousness_dd]

Thanks for all the advise guys.

I did a 20% water change last night and im going to do the same tonight. Unfortunately we have now lost all the guppies. Im going to call the shop later and see what they say as we only acted on their advise.

Thanks again for all the help and advise xxx