Hello, so I've never owned fish but have gone to college and wanted pets. So I bought a 3 gallon tank and 3 male guppies, per what the pet store lady recommended. I conditioned the water in advance and used a bacterial stimulant. They started to die off day by day. They'd get lethargic and soon be dead. I replaced all 3 thinking maybe I got bad ones. I had also been feeding them three times a day per the food bottle which the pet store emplyee said may have killed them through over feeding. She then advised to feed them every other day. Within two days one looked really torn up. Missing a top fin and the back fin was missing a chunk in the middle. Around the bottom fin there was red streaking. The other two look fine. I took him back to the pet store and the lady said it could be a fungal infection. With the first 3 fish, I hadn't paid much attention to their fins before they died so i don't know if they were affected in the same way. I bought a fungal treatment anyways, just to make sure the other 2 stay healthy. But does this sound like fin rot or like my guppy may have been bullied? I read somewhere that you should keep 6 males in a tank at once but obviously my 3 gallon tank cannot sustain that. Im pretty disappointed with my local pet store. (And with myself for not reading in advance). I've never owned fish so I didn't realize they could require quite a lot of maintenance. However, I have them so I'd like to figure out how to keep them alive. The pet store didn't mention anything about cycling nor a heater. And now they're dropping dead.
Guppies
- Thread starter Alysegonz
- Start date
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Hey.. Yeah petstore knowledge is poor but with the one i go into. If you ask questions then they answer them well... They just dont tell you anything without asking.. Because that person knows things they expect customers to know them.... Get a rundown of your readings on here if you can.
3 times a day seems alot if you were filling them up each time.... It is possible that they werent actually dead.. Just floating on their side due to overfeeding. Hopefully now you know not to overfeed but...
If it happens again then take the fish out and leave it in a container Thats never had a cleaning detergent.
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3 times a day seems alot if you were filling them up each time.... It is possible that they werent actually dead.. Just floating on their side due to overfeeding. Hopefully now you know not to overfeed but...
If it happens again then take the fish out and leave it in a container Thats never had a cleaning detergent.
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But since I never did cycling, are they most likely going to die? And they never mentioned a heater. but I was reading that guppies should have them since they're tropical. But I also live in Texas so it's usually pretty hot. I keep my house at 76 most of the time. Do you think I should buy a pretty low wattage one?
Yeah I just dechlorinated for 48 hours and dropped them in. I didn't have any prior knowledge and that's what the petsmart worker said to do. Then I added a bacterial starter. And in regards to the ammonia levels, I had them checked and they said everything looked fine on the level testing
Yeah adding that bacterial starter should be before adding fish.. I read you got your water tested by petshop and they said it was fine.... I would get them to check it again and give you the readings.. I am Guessing they didnt really know what to look out for... Ammonia may have been fine but nitrites off the chart
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76°F is fine. You can get a 25w heater for your 3gal.
But, if it isnt too late, I would go and exchange the 3gal for a 10gal. Larger tanks are easier to take care of in regards to nitrite, nitrate.
You really need to get the tank cycled. You can do fish in cycle or fishless. You need to read on how to get your tank cycled, else your fishes will keep on dying.
Fishes produce ammonia, so you need to do water change to keep it at a safe level for your fishes to stay alive, probably daily 10% changes until the bacteria can take care of the ammonia. After that, you need WC to keep nitrate at a safe level.
Also, it's best to get your own test kit. You may want to test your water daily...
But, if it isnt too late, I would go and exchange the 3gal for a 10gal. Larger tanks are easier to take care of in regards to nitrite, nitrate.
You really need to get the tank cycled. You can do fish in cycle or fishless. You need to read on how to get your tank cycled, else your fishes will keep on dying.
Fishes produce ammonia, so you need to do water change to keep it at a safe level for your fishes to stay alive, probably daily 10% changes until the bacteria can take care of the ammonia. After that, you need WC to keep nitrate at a safe level.
Also, it's best to get your own test kit. You may want to test your water daily...
Toad
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^this. Go for at least a ten gallon and nice little hang on back filter. Read read read everything about cycling and water changes. Make sure you treat the water before you put it during a water change. Don't change your filter pads/floss. I honestly don't think you'd need to bother with a heater at 76, my tank hovers around 70 for mine and I don't use a heater. Feed them once a day but only what they seem to eat quickly. They are pigs and will beg every time you get close to the tank lol.
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