guppies dying

[guppy grl]

I started a new tank for my 3yr ol daughter..who is fascinated by fishies..she had 5 guppy fish and in 3days now has 2 no it has not cycled, yes I used the start up chems and have tested the water...ammonia is between.5-1.0more the .5 side, NO3 IS 0, NO2 is 0, hardness is25, chlorine .5, alkalinity is 80, ph is 6.8....what am I doing wrong? They die the same way..they stay at bottom..then can't seem to right themselves wen swimming then dead on their sides...one by one they do this...no red gills, no shimmies, an no notice of gasping...I know it might b due to tank not cycled but chem levels seem ok...please help..feel horrible bout poor fish an my daughter counting less an less of her "babies"

 

[guppy grl]

Also tank is a 10gallon marineland with water filter, heater, thermometer, an fluval air filter, feed them freeze dried blood worms an brine shrimp, an have live plants

 

[Calypso77]

What chemicals are you using? I don't believe guppies are the best for FishI cycles.

With ammonia that high you need to be doing 50% water changes daily to get that number way down, and what is you nitrites, nitrates reading at?

What kind of test kit are you using?

 

[HN1]

Water changes, water changes, and then water changes. You'll need to change enough water to keep ammonia and nitrite under .25. Do you know anyone with an established tank that would give you a bit of nasty as possible filter media to seed with?

 

[creic38]

Guppies are not good cycling fish. I know it's hard for the kids to understand....I went through the same thing with my daughter.

That tank needs to be cycled. You should use Prime to as your water conditioner. You can dose up to 5 times the amount to make the ammonia less toxic for the fish. If you can, try to find someone with an established tank and see if they will give you some of their filter media, gravel, decorations......anything that will help jump start your bacteria colony. This is the best way to get that cycle going. Don't clean your filter. Keep that stuff in there until it is falling apart. You can rinse it in old tank water, but not tap water.

You will be fine. You just have to be patient and keep up with the tank.

 

[obedey]

I cycled with 5 adult guppies fine but you do have to water change religiously. I did 25% daily water change from day one. I kept this up for 6 weeks I think it was. But like Calyspo says you need to do 50% changes until the ammonia levels go down.

You can read up on fish-less cycling here if you haven't already but its probably a bit complex really.
Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

So basically change water every day. Sometimes it can take a huge amount of time to cycle.

 

[creic38]

That's why I say they are not good cycling fish. I know there is no way I would be able to change the water every day.....just no time. Then again, this would need to be done for any fish that are used for a cycle, so I guess any one would be bad for me! Hahaha.....that's why I go fishless.

 

[guppy grl]

Thank you everyone for ur support an advise..unfortunately we are down to 1guppy..wish blue boy the best..I am dedicated to changing water 50% daily til ammonia levels down..water hardness still really soft..going to get prime..if blue boy doesn't make it I'm not giving up an neither is my daughter..suggestions on a good hardy cycle fish? Suggestions welcome an advice is greatful. The chems I use are API but prime is what I will use now..no one I know has an established FRESHWATER tank for me to use some of their water/gravel...I do not want mote fisjies dying but I an Analiese do want fish..

 

[Calypso77]

A fish I started out with we're Platies. They are cute, I have a orange one, yellow one and a blue one. If you don't want babies it is best to go all male or all female. If you do want babies which I would suggest until the tank is fully cycled as babies won't survive to well in uncycled waters you would want a ratio of 1 male for every 2-3 females. Pretty sure that ratio goes for most fish. And still keep up the 50% daily water changes and testing on your tank until it completely cycles.

Good luck and don't be afraid to come back if you need any help or just want to show off you fish or something.

 

[_skyla_]

I started with platys aswell and have 2 females in my 3year old sons tank with other fish oh and they were pregnant when I got them so we have 2 surviving babies. I'd go with platys oh and you can get the mickey mouse platys I find kids love them and really pretty high finned platys google them their very pretty you could also try a golden mystery snail eventually my son loves his

 

[Bbarb27]

Live bearers like gupplies, platys and mollies prefer harder water. If you want to increase the hardness of your water, you can do it by adding calcium and magnesium. I add Seachem equilibrium to my livebearer tanks when I do water changes. It doesn't alter the PH but does increase the general hardness. I use it in tanks with livebearers because our water is fairly soft (GH and KH of 3).

 

[guppy grl]

Live bearers like gupplies, platys and mollies prefer harder water. If you want to increase the hardness of your water, you can do it by adding calcium and magnesium. I add Seachem equilibrium to my livebearer tanks when I do water changes. It doesn't alter the PH but does increase the general hardness. I use it in tanks with livebearers because our water is fairly soft (GH and KH of 3).

I was wondering about the water hardness being not so hard..I can't figure out why since the bettas tank is hard yet the 10gallon guppy tank is super soft

 

[guppy grl]

I was wondering about the water hardness being not so hard..I can't figure out why since the bettas tank is hard yet the 10gallon guppy tank is super soft

Wrote down the chem u suggested, going to a mom an pop store instead of petsmart.. They want to sell me everything they have an not explain why I need it...also I know that guppies are not good cycling fish but blue boy is doing well with daily water changes...I'm doing everything everyone here has advised.., is it wise for me to purchase 2 more guppies since I read they are happier with more than 1.... Don't want blue boy getting lonely...if so.. I know u shud limit the number to add so I don't end up having the tank restart cycling.. Is 2-3 a safe number with daily water changes?