Guppies swimming funny

[llonka]

I noticed tonight that two of my guppies are swimming funny. so i did a 50% water change thinking that was the problem. well they are still swimming wierd so i thought i should put some melafix in the tank. it won't hurt to treat the whole tank would it?? how come there are lots of bubbles on the surface of the water now that i put the melafix in??

thanks!

[xasuma]

i ve always thought its better to take the "sick" fish away and treat them, unless most of your fish are sick, then just treat them, and do a water change later to make the water come back to its original state.
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[llonka]

yikes, i thought about that right as I was putting the melafix in. i dont have another tank though... i have a critter keeper... but it wouldn't be filtered. or heated. hmmmm

[annageckos]

It is never good to treat without knowing what you are treating for. What are your water parameters? What is the temp? How long has the tank been set up and how often/ how much water do you change? What do you mean by 'swimming wierd'. Can you describe it? Any other odd behavours? Are they eating? What do you feed? You may also want to add a air stone/pump to the tank for now if you don't have one. Some meds mess with the oxygen leaves. So an airstone will help to counter that.

[llonka]

well i still dont have a test kit... the temp is about 80 F. it's been set up for about three months and i've been changing the water twice a week 25% each time. the two i'm worried about kinda wobble, they don't swim around straight like the others. i've been feeding tetramin once a day. all have been eating, and i have a bubble bar in the tank.

[annageckos]

80 is abit high, I would lower the temp to about 76F. Did you cycle your tank before adding the fish? If not you may have a build up of ammonia and/or nitrite. You need a test kit, liqiud, not strips. You need to know what your parameters are. As for feeding, I belive in feeding a varied diet with flakes, pellets, wafers, frozen, fresh and live foods. Not every day, but rotated. Guppies need a good amount of vegitation in their diet and will eat most veggies. Just stay away from iceburg letuce. I do not like the brand you are feeding because of the fillers and preseritives. New Life Specturm, Hikari and the best one I have found, Ed's Almost Natural Tropical fish food, [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]. For now try just lowering your temps and get a test kit. Keep an eye on your fish, if they are eating don't worry too much. If they are not eating and seem to get worse than think about treating them. Most important is get a liquid test kit :hmm3grin2orange: and test your water.

[llonka]

ok so do i need to change the water then since i put that melafix in there???? and i'll try to turn it down again.. think i need a different heater... and no, i didnt cycle the tank first, hubby dumped a bunch of guppies in there before i could do any reasearch. so i've been doing water changes like this since we got the guppies. could i give them some cucumber?? how would i give it to them? thanks for your help!

[Zilla]

A water change will help get rid of the meds as would adding carbon to the filter, but what you really need to do is buy a test kit. The tank isn't cycled, the fish are stressed out and in order to know what is going on, you need to know what you are dealing with.

You need a test kit for Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates. Buy a liquid kits ( or a liquid Master Kit) as strips will get a finger wagged in your general direction.

[xasuma]

Yea, probably te reason because yuor fish are acting "funny" its because your tank isnt cycled.
If it isnt cycled for a long amount of time , even not real bad condition, it will affect the fish .
Get the test kit, i recomment the API master kit, its one of the best. (best to me), and you should try and keep your ammonia less than 0.5 and the nitrites to.

About the cucumber, i cut a slice, and put it in a fork, so it sinks. or otherwise i have a little veggie holder that sticks to the glass and you can put it there. With my experience, the fish will eat the seeds (middle part of it) , so make sure thats showing, bacause the outside its kinda hard for them.
Ive never try it on guppies, but im sure they might like it.
You can try any green though.

Good luck and sorry but there is so much you can do if your tank isnt cycled.
I ve had a couple of fish died, and i couldnt do anything about it, maybe i could of, but if your not an expert and your tank isnt cycled, then its really hard :)
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[HeatherB]

If you can't get your hands on a liquid test kit right this second- take a sample of your water to your local store- most will test for you. It is strips but at least it can point you in the right direction.

Walmart.com has 2 good quality liquid test kits for under $20- much less than most places want for them!

[VoidParadigm]

If the tank has been set up for three months it's likely already been cycled. Don't forget about fish-in type cycles, people!

As for your cucumber question, just microwave it or boil it for a few seconds, then dump it in, remove in a few hours.

See if there are any spots on the guppies. Sometimes when a guppy gets ich or fungus it will try to shake it off, which looks kind of like a wobble. A video of your fish doing it really would help if you can get it.

[llonka]

i'm pretty sure it's cycled.... and the blue guppy i was worried about is now laying down on the gravel :( i was afraid of this. all the others are fine though. should i still change the water to get the meds out? the thing about the test kit i dont have a credit card and our stores don't carry the liquid kits. just the strips. and hubby would have to buy it and he thinks it's a waste of money :/

[xasuma]

if its cycled, then you shouldnt put more stuff in the tank.
If its cycled then could be something else , not just ill cuz of the water quaity.
Then you might need a picture of him, and post it and hope somebody knows whats up with him.
By the sound of it, seems that you will have to act fast or he might die.

I dont know enough to tell whats wrong with the fish , but a lot of people here do.
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[happygrits]

You seem to know so much about aquarium equipment~ what a blessing. Where is the best source to learn about different filtering systems, those air/stone thingy, vegetation, etc. I would love to read up on it all as my only source has been the local Wally World and there is never printed material available. Thanks for your help.

[jbobs]

I learned a;most everything I know from forums like this one. I still have a lot to learn! I read lots on the internet too. Ask lots of questions and tell lots of storries, you will get answers and advice quicker than ever!

[annageckos]

You don't need to mic or blanch cukes. Just take a slice, maybe 1/2 inch thick and you can either rubberband it to a rock, use a fork or get a veggie clip. I use a veggie clip and just drop it in, it sinks right down. You should test your water, you need to know if you have any ammonia or nitrites which are toxic to fish. You always want your ammonia and nitrites to be at 0. Nitrates should be 20 or less.

[jbobs]

someone here said 80 was too high a temp for guppies - I was always under the impression that 80-82 was preferable for livebearers?

[llonka]

jbobs: i always thought 80 was ideal too!! i turned my heater as low as it can go and it's still 78 in there!

does anyone add salt to their guppy tanks?? i read somewhere (dont remember) that they live better with salt in the water. i started adding it after i had that ich breakout. :P but there shouldn't be any in there right now.

[jbobs]

I add one tsp of salt per 10 gallons. I don't know if it's my imagination or not but they seem to get ill less. I also find they are much more active and "playful" looking in slightly warmer water. My water is 82 degrees.