my guppy is sick

[luvmyguppies]

Hi. I'm new to this so please bare with me. I have 5 male guppies in a 5 gallon tank. I've had them for five days. They have been a little aggressive but seem pretty happy. Today I noticed that one of them is laying on the bottom of the tank 90% of the time and only swims when the other fish nip at him. I can't get to a petstore untill tomorrow and I dnt know w!hat to do . Any advice would be great. Thanks

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Welcome to AA!
Most likely the tank has high ammonia. First thing your going to have to do is a large (50-70%) water change using temperature matched dechlorinated water. Do you own a test kit?
What are the readings?
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html
Please read this.

 

[luvmyguppies]

No I don't own a test kit. I've just learned that I need one. I plan to get one tomorrow. I've been doing 20% water changes daily with conditioned water. He seems to be having trouble breathing, his gills are moving rapidly. Ive read that adding a little salt helps with stress. Would that be a quick fix until I get to the pet store tomorrow?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I quick fix would be a large water change to bring the toxin level down in the tank. It would be a good idea to do back to back 50% water changes now. Sounds like ammonia poisoning.

 

[luvmyguppies]

Ok I'm on it!!! But, will changing the water too much cause other problems? How soon will I know if the water changing is working? Btw thank you so much for the attention to my questions!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

No problem. You should hopefully see a huge improvement in the guppies behavior after the water changes. The very sick one might not make a recovery but we can certainly try our best! Changing the water will not cause problems. The tank will still cycle with frequent water changes. If you haven't already, read the article I linked above. It will explain what needs to be done in the next 4-8 weeks while the tank cycles.

 

[luvmyguppies]

I'm willing to try anything at this point! So, I'm going to start on these water changes and ill post on how it turns out! Thanks again

 

[luvmyguppies]

Ok after a 20% water change and two 50% changes the lil guys still looks like he's struggling. I feel so bad for him the four other fish are very active but lil Nemo just found a good spot to hide and looks as if his breathing hasn't improved! Does anyone know what else u could try to help this poor lil Guy?

 

[luvmyguppies]

 

[derail]

Ok after a 20% water change and two 50% changes the lil guys still looks like he's struggling. I feel so bad for him the four other fish are very active but lil Nemo just found a good spot to hide and looks as if his breathing hasn't improved! Does anyone know what else u could try to help this poor lil Guy?

His fins don't appear nipped, so aggression can be partially ruled out. His gills don't appear to be red so he may not have suffered too badly from high ammonia. If you haven't added salt, try doing that to see if it helps. Guppies can handle salinity up to 150% of seawater, so a tbsp per 5g will be fine (or whatever your salt instructions say). I didn't notice a temperature, do you have a heater? If so, what does the thermometer show? Don't trust the ones that stick to glass either, an internal works best. Good luck and keep updated

 

[luvmyguppies]

Yes I do have a heater. The water stays about 82°f. Sadly after all my efforts Nemo still died last night. His gills continued to move more and more rapidly until he finally just stopped breathing. I hope I get to a pet store or at least a Walmart today. So I can pick up my test kit and some aquarium salt. I live in a very small town and the closest Walmart is 45 miles away. Until then I plan to continue with my water changes. I hope my four other fish stay healthy!

 

[derail]

I'm sorry to hear that, losing fish isn't fun. The catching, bagging, and release into a new home is quite stressful. Hopefully you don't lose any others, remember to keep the water changes up daily until you can test threw water and be sure the parameters are stable