sick guppies?

[Paw Broon]

hi all i just got 3 male guppies and 5 females and put them in my 10g that i just set up again. The filter is already colonised with bacteria from my larger tank so all was added straight away, but one female guppy died. She looked very old and big compared to the others but now the other females are acting like she was now, just constantly moping around the surface. Now i have since moved 2 males to the bigger tank and they are fine.

Checked perameters this morning and they are good. Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0-5, ph 6.5-7. Also i had an algae eating shrimp in there who also died during the night but no idea to what happened.

I was going to move them all to the bigger tank just now with the filter and see if they do any better but i'm now going to leave it incase my big tank somehow becomes infected with whatever it could be. Guess i'll have to wait it out just now but here's a pic of them.

[KcEE]

Hmm...continuous swimming at the surface usually indicates a problem with the water. When did you seed the tank? Did you use a dechlorinator?

[Little Embers]

That is a shame Stirling :scry: You may have added too many fish too soon, even with using bacteria filled media from another tank, it still needs time to settle and adjust. I would have waited a few days and then added a few fish at a time over a period of a week or more. You could also add some of the substrate from the established tank which may help further establish the bacteria.

The PH seems a little low for guppies as they prefer it around 7.4 - 7.8 I believe, so they may need a few dys or more to properly adjust to it, also the PH may fluctuate in a newly set up tank and takes a while to stabilise. Just wondering what the temperature is as well? 76-78* is good for them. I wouldn't start thinking that it is a disease just yet, but more to do with stress/shock.

I suggest checking your parameters every day as the bacteria may not be enough yet to cope with the extra bio load from all the fish and you may get an ammonia spike, continue to watch the fish very closely. Hopefully you won't get any more deaths.

[Paw Broon]

That is a shame Stirling :scry: You may have added too many fish too soon, even with using bacteria filled media from another tank, it still needs time to settle and adjust. I would have waited a few days and then added a few fish at a time over a period of a week or more. You could also add some of the substrate from the established tank which may help further establish the bacteria.

The PH seems a little low for guppies as they prefer it around 7.4 - 7.8 I believe, so they may need a few dys or more to properly adjust to it, also the PH may fluctuate in a newly set up tank and takes a while to stabilise. Just wondering what the temperature is as well? 76-78* is good for them. I wouldn't start thinking that it is a disease just yet, but more to do with stress/shock.

I suggest checking your parameters every day as the bacteria may not be enough yet to cope with the extra bio load from all the fish and you may get an ammonia spike, continue to watch the fish very closely. Hopefully you won't get any more deaths.

The ammonia or nitrites did not rise so i don't think i added too many fish, also i've heard that adding substrate from my established tank would hardly make a difference as the bacteria live in the filter media and the filter i had running has been running for months with a lot of fish so should have lots of bacteria. temps 77, i read that 75 is good for adult guppies though.

Well if it is stress i have probably just contributed more to that as i have moved them to my community tank with the others. No fish are bothering them so i will just wait and see how it goes. I am quick to put the blame on this damn shop though because it's not my usual one the reason i got them there is because my usual only had males. Definetely the last time i buy fish from there as i know people who have advised me not to get fish from there anyway, geez i need to start listening!!

Thanks for your help.

[Paw Broon]

Well while i'm sitting here like a spare rib.....another female has died! the remaining 3 are sitting at the top while the 3 males are everywhere having a great time. This truly sucks!

[Jaster]

I have a good amount of guppys in my 80 and if it isn't a water issue when they do that, it's an annoyed issuefrom what I've noticed with them. And usually they seem to be a bit jumpy. Mine like to swim and move a lot. I woundering if they didn't like having so many in the 10 gallon and felt crowded... add that to the stress of moving too. That would explain why they seemed to mellow out after the move. The females might still be a bit stressed and the boys are just thrilled to have so much room.

[Little Embers]

Well while i'm sitting here like a spare rib.....another female has died! the remaining 3 are sitting at the top while the 3 males are everywhere having a great time. This truly sucks!

Sorry you lost another one!

The ammonia or nitrites did not rise so i don't think i added too many fish, also i've heard that adding substrate from my established tank would hardly make a difference as the bacteria live in the filter media and the filter i had running has been running for months with a lot of fish so should have lots of bacteria.

I guess this is something that has always confused me. Many say that most of the bacteria is in the tank being on the substrate, decor as well as in the filter. While others say it is chiefly in the filter! A new thread is probably best to get members opinions on that though.

If they happen to be pregnant, that may be adding a lot more stress to them as well!

[Paw Broon]

I guess this is something that has always confused me. Many say that most of the bacteria is in the tank being on the substrate, decor as well as in the filter. While others say it is chiefly in the filter! A new thread is probably best to get members opinions on that though.

If they happen to be pregnant, that may be adding a lot more stress to them as well!

Well some water was added and substrate from the old one anyway just for good measure but i've heard so many people n here say it's in the filter.

Another 2 died last night so i'm down to just one female with 3 males and this is the one that is definetely pregnant! I'm pretty sure she's going to pop soon. I may move her back to the small tank later on but do not want to stress her any just now and she seems content to sit on the filter just now where no males seem to bother or notice her.

[mommy1]

most of the bacteria is in the filter but there is some in the gravel and on the decor as well.

do you have an airstone, and/or good surface agitation? just a thought but maybe its a lack of oxygen.

[Paw Broon]

most of the bacteria is in the filter but there is some in the gravel and on the decor as well.

do you have an airstone, and/or good surface agitation? just a thought but maybe its a lack of oxygen.

I don't have an airstone no but the filter i have came with a little adapter type thing that goes on the outlet and you can twist it to create bubbles so there is plenty oxygen getting in. I have since moved the pregnant guppy to a 3 gallon as i don't want the males bothering her and the small tank has a good little filter that has a tube that sucks air in and out the outlet so lack of oxygen shouldn't be an issue.

Please note this is just for a few days until i have the 10g up and running again.

Oh and another thing i have a little fluval 1 plus sitting in the big tank but it's not turned on due to lack of plugs but i take it the bacteria will still thrive in the media as long as there is an ammonia source getting to it?

[PostalPenguin]

What was the condition of the fish in the store? Perhaps they were in poor shape at the store and the stress of moving them home pushed them over the edge. Have you purchased fish from them before?

[Paw Broon]

What was the condition of the fish in the store? Perhaps they were in poor shape at the store and the stress of moving them home pushed them over the edge. Have you purchased fish from them before?

Well to me they seemed ok in the shop but i am no expert. Wont name and shame the shop but it's a big chain store and half the staff never have a clue in those places, there must have been something up as all males from a different tank are fine. It wasn't my usual shop and i have been told not to buy fish from there but i tried them anyway. My usual is a small place but the guy and fish are very reliable and they have a great reputation around here.

In fact i forgot to mention a couple did have quite bad fins but i never really noticed in the shop. I am going to put it down to stress then as there's no other explanation, the others are fine just now (touch wood). Thanks all.