Confused - Dead Fish

[akkitten]

Currently I havea 10 gal with 2 guppies and 5 ghost shrimp. Amm 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, pH 7.6. On Wednesday I added 2 more guppies to the tank (there was a bonus fry in the bag!). On Friday one of the new guppies was dead, I lost the second one this morning. But that silly fry is still alive and racing around through the tank. I have no idea what could be going on but these two guppies that are in there have been through cycling and an ich treatment and seem to be superfish. What could be going on that I am not detecting?

 

[mfdrookie516]

how did you acclimate them?

Man i've asked that question a lot today

 

[DragonFish71]

how did you acclimate them?

Man i've asked that question a lot today

Sadly you have to ask that question because most stores don't tell people things like that. "Oh yeah, you can just drop them into that tank you JUST set up an hour ago."

 

[akkitten]

Sorry, I acclimated them the correct way (I thought), soaking bag for 15 min, and then slowly adding aquarium water and netting the guppies out and adding them to new tank. The tank has been up for about 5 weeks and just finished cycling. My readings have been at 0 for about 2 weeks, that why I decided to start adding more fish.

 

[DragonFish71]

Acclimation aside, since that could be part of it, some fish are just weak. I can add 12 danios, drip acclimating for an hour, water conditions being perfect and still count on losing at least 1.

 

[akkitten]

Really??? I just can't believe the fry is still alive. these fish came from a highly recommended lfs, a small mom and pop shop. The two that are indestructible came from a local 'chain'. Maybe I will run up there today and try one. I am feeling really bad about the increas in fishy body count. I'm also feeling bad that these ghost shrimp attack before the fish is completely dead.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Yeah, you did it ok... I prefer to drip the fish, rather than just adding water to the bag. How long did you do this for? 30 minutes or more? If you did it for a while, it's most likely just weak fish. Pretty common now days. I like fish that have been kept in small shops that hold them longer. They are usually a little higher, but much better quality IMO.

 

[mfdrookie516]

And about fry... those little guys are a lot stronger than a lot of people give them credit for. They have to be able to adapt, its built in to their genetics.

 

[akkitten]

Honestly, I dont' think I did it that long. Maybe 15-20 min. I did buy these in a small shop, that is almost a 1.5 hr drive from my house becuase they were so highly recommended. Well, sigh, this may be a blessling in disguise, I wanted to pull the UGF out of that tank, so this may be a good excuse to do to. I was going to wait till the fry was a little larger for tracking. If he made it this far I hate to play grim reaper on him now. Besides, its so cute!

 

[mfdrookie516]

Hmmm... if it's a 1.5 hour drive away, that could be part of it. Unless you get fish within a few miles (<15), you may as well plan on the water being different. My tap water has a constant steady pH of 7.8... I go 15 miles to the other side of town where they have a different water company, the tap is 6.6 or so... A big difference in parameters means you need to acclimate longer. I'll put my money (well, what little I have left) on that.

 

[akkitten]

OMG...I NEVER thought of that. Where I bought the fish is on city water with all the additives, I being in the country am on well water which is pure and a beautiful thing! I don't need to add anything to my water, tested out of the tap it is pH 7.6, Amm 0, N02 0 and NO3 0. No cholorene or anything. Where I bought the two die hard guppies is local, 10 min up the road, similar water conditions. I could kiss you for being a genius!!!!