OMG! My guppy gave birth while i was away!

[DukeNukem713]

So i come back this weekend and i look in my 40gal tank and i have 3 fry!! SO i have a few questions

now ive been having alot of problems with this tank. its in the middle of a cycle and my fish have been dying like crazy, the female guppy i left in there because she was my first fish and hasnt show any signs of weakness

i also have 2 female guppies in a 1 gal jar with live plants, a light, and some gravel. i just tested both tanks with strips and it seems that my 1gal jar is more toxic!

i was thinking about leaving the fry in the 40gal. the only fish in the 40gal that could eat them (i just took my guaromi out b/c of this) is a Beta and their mother. i was thinking about filling another 1 gal or half gal jar up with poland spring water straight from the bottle and putting them in there

thoughts?

 

[librarygirl]

More water changes. Cyclng is hard on fish and the water can become toxic very fast. Daily, frequent water changes of at least 50% are in order until the tank fully cycles. There's a guide in my signature called 'new tank with fish;' it'l guide you through.

yes the 1 gal jar is more toxic b/c it's a smaller amount of water. The guppys do not belong in a 1 gal jar (nothing does), please take them out and put them back into the 40; why were they removed from the 40 gal?

If you want to separate the fry, get a small 5 gal tank for them. No living thing should be in jars.

Also the test kits are inaccurate; get a good liquid test kit (API Master kit). With fish dying, the water is highly toxic and you aren't doing enough water changes (use a good dechlorinator, like Prime).

 

[DukeNukem713]

More water changes. Cyclng is hard on fish and the water can become toxic very fast. Daily, frequent water changes of at least 50% are in order until the tank fully cycles. There's a guide in my signature called 'new tank with fish;' it'l guide you through.

yes the 1 gal jar is more toxic b/c it's a smaller amount of water. The guppys do not belong in a 1 gal jar (nothing does), please take them out and put them back into the 40; why were they removed from the 40 gal?

If you want to separate the fry, get a small 5 gal tank for them. No living thing should be in jars.

Also the test kits are inaccurate; get a good liquid test kit (API Master kit). With fish dying, the water is highly toxic and you aren't doing enough water changes (use a good dechlorinator, like Prime).

i have them in the jars because the water in the jars is from my roomates cycled tank. i took them out of the 40gal b/c my fish were dropping like flys and i didnt want these two to die! i know the strips are innacurrate but i was using them to compare the two waters, not to get an exact reading. which is why i was surprised that the jar was more toxic than the tank. im afraid if i put them in the 40 gal they might eat the fry? or will they be alright?

and i have a small 8 gal i just set up last night (u posted in that thread too). should i put them in there? that tank hase to cycle also

 

[librarygirl]

Hardly any beneficial bacteria live in the water, so transferring water from a cycled tank doesn't really benefit anything, I'm afraid.

They're actually better off in the 40 gal b/c there's more water volume to disperse the toxins in the water. In smaller tanks, the toxins build up more quickly. With fish dying even in the 40 gal you're just not doing enough water changes, fish don't need to die during cycling if a daily water change schedule of at least 50% is maintained until the cycle is completed and the water is tested with a good test kit. When was the last time you changed or tested the water in the 40 gal?

The Fry could go into the 8 gal, that might be a good idea. Even though it isn't cycled they won't put out much waste and you could get away with doing a water change every couple of days to keep the water clean. Don't forget to use a good dechlorinator during water changes; Prime is best b/c it's more concentrated and can help detoxify the toxins between water changes (not to be used in place of water changes), but use whatever you have on-hand. Just change the water out regularly particularly in the 40 gal to keep the fish from dying.

 

[DukeNukem713]

alright im gana keep them in the 40 for now, move one of the females i have in the jar to the 8gal to be my test dummy, and move the other back to the 40 gal. i did a huge water change recently and im going to do another today.

 

[librarygirl]

alright im gana keep them in the 40 for now, move one of the females i have in the jar to the 8gal to be my test dummy, and move the other back to the 40 gal. i did a huge water change recently and im going to do another today.

What do you mean "test dummy" for the 8 gal? I'd put both guppys back into the 40 gal and use the 8 gal for the fry and just do water changes every 2-3 days to keep the water clean (not sure what other requirements fry need, like a heater or a small filter too possibly). I don't see a need to sacrifice a fish....?

 

[DukeNukem713]

well its either her or the fry!

both are in the 40 gal right now, fry too. im just gana wait till i get the full test kit and make sure that 8gal is liveable b4 i drop the fry in. i have a filter installed, but im using the pad that it came with (and the gravel like i said). the pad isnt dirty bacteria wise, but it does have a large gray spot in it. should i be alarmed by that?

 

[librarygirl]

If the 8 gal is brand new and never been used it isn't cycled. The tests are going to read 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite and 0 nitrite b/c there's nothing in it; as soon as fish go in there they are going to produce ammonia. So either way, whether guppys or fry go in the tank it isn't going to be cycled. I just suggested the fry go in there b/c it might be easier to maintain the tank through water changes every day or two.

If I'm remembering correctly you are still cycling your 40 gal as well, right? If the 40 was established you could have just pulled a small bit of filter media from that tank and put it into the new filter for the 8 gal to cycle it, but I wouldn't advise that if the 40 is still cycling.

If you're not going to put the fry in the 8 gal then I see no reason to have the guppy go in there either, why can't they all stay in the 40?

 

[DukeNukem713]

welll im gana convert my 40 to an aggressive tank and use my 8 and my other 20 to breed fry. i picked the tank up yesterday used. i added in some amonia from a bottle. when i picked it up it had no water and the man didnt tell me when he last used it, but the gravel was still damp. the filter media from my 40 is too big for the 8gal filter, and i need it to complete the cycling anyway. i want to put my fry in the 8gal as soon as i can thats why i was going to do a "test run" to see if it was safe. but seeing as i will be picking up a fil kit asap i'll just post the results here and see whatsgood