Worried bc I lost 2 guppies

[FrozenDeth]

I set up a new 15g tank about 3 months back and everything was going great. This website helped alot with that. This is my first tank in 5+ years and am really enjoying getting back into the hobby. I currently have 3 zebra danios, 1 male guppy, 2 card tetras, 2 red cherry shrimp, 1/2 dozen ramshorn snails and assorted low light plants (had 2 female guppies that recently died.)

I added the 3 guppies about 2 weeks ago. Starting 4 days ago 1 female guppy was hiding in a corner not moving or eating, this went on for 2 days and the second I notice a large(for the size of the fish) white area on the side of her. The next morning she was dead. The same day the other female guppy started to do the same thing and died this morning, no white but her side looked strange. I have been testing the water and nothing has changed over the last week and all the other fish look great and are very active. I am wondering if I should do anthing at this point, I read on here that adding aqaurium salt may help cure some things but not sure if I should bother or just wait and see if any other fish look unhealthy.

Thanks in advance

 

[kellyinvancouver]

Your problem might be harassment... Danios and Tetras are both specie sthat should generally be kept in groups of NO LESS than 6, the reason being that they are shoaling fish who nip each other to socialise and establish a primitive 'hierarchy'.

When kept in small groups, these fish turn their attentions to fish of other species, nipping and harrassing them. It may not seem likely, but I have had fish die from harassment without any visible damage (chunks out of their fins, etc). Hiding, refusal of food are both symptoms of this... the white on their side could be a stress-induced coloring or complication of stress. One of my females gouramis turned yellowish before my male harrasssed her to death.

You really should invest in some more cardinals and danios instead of replacement guppies.

 

[FrozenDeth]

Thanks for the advice, since I made this post I have been watching the tank more and it seems 1 zebra danio was keeping all the other fish hiding in the plants. I put him in a breeding net this morning to give the other fish a break the last guppy isnt looking good. What would be my best move going foward. Adding 1 or 2 more danios, adding more tetras (local store said this might help) or is the problem danio going to need a new home.

 

[AdamHorton]

I dealt with a similar situation like this a while back. I had a GloFish (zebra danio) who had been in the tank much longer than anyone else and had become very dominant. She would harass all of the other fish a lot like you described. I tried putting her in the "time-out" bowl for a few days at a time but whenever she came back she was right back to her old self. Things got better when I got another GloFish (male) about her size for her to pick on, and even better when I got a third. They established a hierarchy very quickly. Recently (after she passed, and the next male became the dominant one) I added more zebra danios until there were a total of 5. They chased each other but completely left the other fish alone. Also what helped is I upgraded the tank from a 10G to a 20G-long to give them more room to swim.

I had lost a bunch of fish due to stress before that time, and now everybody seems to be doing fine. If you can, try adding more danios, at least 4. Also, more room to swim helps out a lot. Hope everything goes well.

 

[FrozenDeth]

Ok so I added 2 more danios yesterday and the danios are taking turns chasing each other for the most part. Everyone else in the tank seem to be doing better not getting run around the tank. I think my surviving guppy is going to find a new home in my girlfriends tank and ill pick up a few more cardnials in the up coming weeks.