Guppies Dying Off

[eminentpenguin]

Temp: 80
pH: 7.3
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Salt: 2 Tbsp in 6 gallons

Fluval Edge, 6 gallon with power filter, LED light setup, 50 watt heater.

Tank set up March 19, 2012

5 guppies originally, (2 added 2 weeks ago) - all dead but one.

Gravel substrate - heavily planted tank.

Ich treatment completed 2 days ago (salt/temp 84). One fish affected - died early on.

Water changed (20%) after death of each fish - Seachem Prime conditioner used.

Fish have died without any sign of disease. Ich free. The only behavioral issues have been the guppies (all males) nipping at each other's fins.

All fish were bought at a local pet store and acclimated with the drip method.

Any ideas what's going on?

[f1shg33kz]

I don't think those test readings are accurate. That would indicate you had no cycle at all. In a cycled tank, there should always be some nitrate.

Where did you get the guppies? How long have you had them? It is possible that you just got some bad stock. There may also be some other things at play in your tank. Are you using a liquid test kit or test strips?

[ekfishlover2011]

Thats way too much salt for 6 gallons of water. My container says 1T per 5 gal, and they say that's even pushing it. That might also be part of the problem.

[Tiari]

The salt is too high. For the Edge it should be 1 Tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon maximum.

[eminentpenguin]

Thank you for the input, everyone. I am using a freshwater master kit from API that is not expired. The fish were from a LPS, and they were approximately 2 weeks old in my tank. Once everything died, I did a nearly complete water change to lower my salinity. Then, I put a few new fish in (1 male/2 female guppies) to get myself some fry. We'll see what happens :)

[Cermet]

I understand salt is a very poor ick treatment so why use it instead of proper meds? While I use salt (far heavier levels) to treat discus for not eating (I've never heard of ick on discus due to their high temperature water), they do tolerate - in fact - like salt. Can't say the same for many other fish.

[Lady Hobbs]

Two week old tank with 0 parmeters across the board? This doesn't sound right. Do you mix the liquids together and allow them to sit for 5-10 minutes before taking your readings?

Too much salt, uncycled tank PLUS many fish can not tolerate temps of 84 degrees. Also, with all ick treatments, air stones must be added because that heat will drive off oxygen levels.

[Tiari]

+1 Lady Hobbs

The tank needs to be cycled, you can read up on that here, there's a great link under Lady Hobb's signature to read up and learn about it. Learning about the cycling process when keeping fish will change your whole experience in fish keeping.

I have a Fluval Edge, and that seems a pretty small tank for five guppies, I would say no more than four should go into it. Unless there is a specific illness you are attempting to treat, guppies do not need salt, so you can dispense with adding any to the tank.

The tank temp should also be around 76 degrees.