I've had 9 guppies in my aquarium for about 2 weeks now and 5 of them died from yesterday afternoon to early this morning. I had my water tested a week ago and it was good. Why would five die all of a sudden like that? 4 are still alive and doing fine as well as 2 tetra. Any ideas as to why?
guppies 5 dead within 14 hours
- Thread starter jennis
- Start date
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Sillyfishies
Aquarium Advice Addict
What size tank is that? Is it cycled?
Sillyfishies
Aquarium Advice Addict
My guess would be an ammonia or nitrite spike. I'd highly recommend getting an API liquid test kit. Only like 20$...
Ian086
Aquarium Advice Addict
I would take Sillyfishies advice and get your own liquid test kit. Maybe the lfs is testing using strips, which are pretty much useless imo. Maybe the lfs is not checking the water correctly. The only way to know for sure is to get your own....
I recommend the API Freshwater Master Liquid Test Kit.
if you can afford it, get a test kit of your own. some of the box stores like petsmart use strips to test. they aren't as accurate as the liquid tests are. if you can't get the entire set at least get the ammonia and nitrate test bottles. whenever you have a fish death, you should be able to test your water immediately and start treating with water changes. if ammonia is high you might have to test a few times a DAY not once a week. you have to do as many water changes daily as needed to keep the ammonia at 0 or no higher than .25. i agree with silliefishes and also suspect an ammonia spike. how long has the tank been cycled? did anyone tell you that you should add fish slowly to a newly cycled tank? only maybe two each week until you are at max. the beneficial bacteria has to catch up to the new bio load that you get from the fish. if you added all at the same time you'll need to do water changes at least daily. now that some of the fish have died add your replacement fish slowly this time. good luck! 
It was an amonia spike due to overfeeding. I did put the guppies in too quickly too. I was told to do a 25% water change, wait 3 days and do it again then have the water tested again the next day and then everything should be ok. Sound right? I did the water change as soon as I got home, and everyone is calm and swimming normally againthis morning. I still have 4 guppies and the 2 tetra. Thanks for the advice!
librarygirl
Look It Up
Not quite. 9 guppies (even 5) in a 10 gal tank is pushing it and if the tank isn't cycled, which it sounds like, is going to cause toxin spikes. Testing the water daily will let you know how much water to change and when, which is why it's important to get your own test kit. Here's some guides that may help:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice
shellieca
Aquarium Advice Addict
You'll probably have to do more frequent water changes & larger. Testing daily is very important with a new or uncycled tank. I have a 10g with 1 male Betta & now a mystery snail, its been set up for around a month. I test one day & all is good the next day I tested & had nitrites, had I not been testing daily I wouldn't have known of the danger creeping up on the new tank. When I do a water change I always do a minimum of 50% that way I know the ammonia, nitrites are brought back to 0 where they should be. Depending on what your ammonia level was, 25% may not have been enough to keep the water safe for 3 days & without daily testing you won't know how quickly ammonia is building up.
Now one of my 4 surviving guppies has a serious tail problem! I noticed earlier that like a third of his tail turned from red to grey. I just looked again and now that part is clear and another third is grey. None of the other fish are having problems. They all calmed down and went back to normal By this morning. Could it be because he was so stressed?
shellieca
Aquarium Advice Addict
I don't have guppies but some fish will change colors when stressed. I have Bettas & when stressed or sick their colors will fade considerably.
it could be ammonia burn. get at least the ammonia test or there's really not much we can do to help you. you need to test EVERYDAY! when my tank was new i tested at least 2 times a day.
do a 50% water change at least once a day maybe more but we won't know that without you testing the water. i'm afraid you'll lose all your fish if you don't listen to what people are telling you. everyone wants to help you but you seem to resist the advice you're given. so it seems we're stuck at this point until you get the tests you need.
do a 50% water change at least once a day maybe more but we won't know that without you testing the water. i'm afraid you'll lose all your fish if you don't listen to what people are telling you. everyone wants to help you but you seem to resist the advice you're given. so it seems we're stuck at this point until you get the tests you need.
Koopamaster
Aquarium Advice Activist
The guppies may be attacking each other. I had introduced 3 female guppies into a 5 gallon tank with 3 males already inside (which caused it to become overstocked but I did not know this) and then one would be murdered in the night everyday until there were 3 again . The fishes that were the soon-to-be victims would exhibit clear deteriorating tail fins.
. The fishes that were the soon-to-be victims would exhibit clear deteriorating tail fins.
Matt68005
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sounds like my first guppy tank. Lol. Next time u feed. Crush it up to a powder and sprinkle just a tiny bit on the surface. Look at the food from below the waterline. That will give you an idea just how.much you were prob overfeeding and the resulting ammonia which us toxic to fish at high levels. We all live and learn and guppies are good fish to start with. I wish u luck and hope you dont give up in them.
Thanks for all of the replies. I was way overfeeding them causing the amonia to spike. I did a 25% water change and they quit dying. I did another water change 3 days later and all is well again. I started feeding them flakes also. The problem is I have 2 african dwarf frogs who eat the tiny pellets. Should I feed the flakes to the guppies and through in a few pellets for the frogs? Does anyone know?
Ok. I thought all was well again but now one of the surviving guppies tail has lost almost all of his color! Its still intact and doesn't look like its rotting or anything and he seems ok, the color just went out of him. Could that be from the amonia spike they went through? I just had the water tested last night and it was good.
spiketooth
Aquarium Advice FINatic
How old are the guppys?
spiketooth
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I ment how old are the guppys, i have about 30 guppys and there tail change colors as they get older or pregnant. Is it a male or female. (Going to guess female)
