dying fish

[danny]

i have recently bought 5 guppy and it has just been a week and they are
dropping like flies i have only 1 left can anyone help

[danny]

its such a shame because when i got them they used to be so active and
sit at the bottem and watch the television at night with me it was so
upsetting when i lost the first one it was a blood red and then the
second was also a blood red the third one was a black guppy and i have
this morning lost an electric blue i have only a golden guppy left and
it seems to be hanging around with my two platy.but im worried this one
will go too or that it will stop eating because it did hang around with
the electric blue which i called bluppy :o(

[Steve]

danny wrote:
> i have recently bought 5 guppy and it has just been a week and they are
> dropping like flies i have only 1 left can anyone help
>
Danny,
If the 5 guppies represent a significant population increase, or if your
aquarium is fairly new, less than 2 months, that may be the problem. You
can read about new tank sydrome or aquarium cycling through google searches.

Solution to the above problem: syphon off 50% of your water today and
replace with dechlorinated tap water. Repeat in 1 or 2 days, and then
start a program of regular 30% water changes once or twice a week. Use a
gravel cleaner/syphon and clean the gravel while doing this. Once
everything settles down you can go to more relaxed aquarium maintenance
schedule. Also, guppies/ platies like a bit of salt, non-iodized
"pickling" or "aquarium" salt at perhaps 1/2 teaspoon per gallon.
However, don't use salt if you have live plants.

Good luck!
Steve

[danny]

i have changed the water after each and every one of the fish has died
and done the gravel and everything put in my stress coat and stress
zyme and tested the water
the tank is 1 month not 2 so that could be it but the "NITRIT" not
nitrate (because lots of people make that mistake) was 1.6 and it
should be 0.3 im thinking that could also be it but i do 20% water
changes every week so i dont think it is that.

so i'll let off on the guppy's and just buy hardy fish for another
month, would that work?

and can you mix angelfish with guppys

thnx
danny

[danny]

i have changed the water after each and every one of the fish has died
and done the gravel and everything put in my stress coat and stress
zyme and tested the water
the tank is 1 month not 2 so that could be it but the "NITRIT" not
nitrate (because lots of people make that mistake) was 1.6 and it
should be 0.3 im thinking that could also be it but i do 20% water
changes every week so i dont think it is that.

so i'll let off on the guppy's and just buy hardy fish for another
month, would that work?

and can you mix angelfish with guppys

thnx
danny

[Tynk]

Danny...
It sounds to me like your Guppies were diseased when you bought them.
You're also dealing with a new tank that is trying to cycle properly.
You're adding fish that haven't been quarantined, possibly introducing
parasites and diseases so please think about having a small quaranting
tank.
You haven't said the size of this tank.
You asked about Angelfish....I have to know the size of the tank first.
Are there any other tank mates in this tank now?

[danny]

it is a 30 litre tank
and at the moment i have 2 platy's
2 phantom tetras
2 glowlight tetras
and 1 guppy left

[Elaine T]

danny wrote:
> i have changed the water after each and every one of the fish has died
> and done the gravel and everything put in my stress coat and stress
> zyme and tested the water
> the tank is 1 month not 2 so that could be it but the "NITRIT" not
> nitrate (because lots of people make that mistake) was 1.6 and it
> should be 0.3 im thinking that could also be it but i do 20% water
> changes every week so i dont think it is that.
>
> so i'll let off on the guppy's and just buy hardy fish for another
> month, would that work?
>
> and can you mix angelfish with guppys
>
> thnx
> danny
>
1.3 ppm nitrite? That's your problem. Stop buying fish and let your
tank cycle. http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html explains the
cycle. You only want one small fish for every 5 gallons of water during
the cycle.

Angels and guppies can be mixed if your tank is big enough for an angel
and if you dont want to breed the guppies. The angel will keep the
guppy population down by eating the baby guppies. I wouldn't add an
angel to a cycling tank - wait until nitrites are gone and you measure
some nitrate.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Elaine T]

danny wrote:
> it is a 30 litre tank
> and at the moment i have 2 platy's
> 2 phantom tetras
> 2 glowlight tetras
> and 1 guppy left
>
Ack. Didn't see this before I wrote the last post. You do NOT have a
big enough tank for an angel and way too many fish to cycle the tank.
Change enough water to keep your nitrites below 2 ppm - 20% a week will
not be enough. You should have cycled with only two fish, and it is not
at all surprising that you have lost some.

Your tank is really almost full. For figuring stocking with small fish,
I usually allow 1 inch of *adult* fish body per US gallon of water.
That level of stocking makes the tank fairly easy to maintain and keeps
fish waste reasonably low so the fish can grow to full size and live
long, healthy lives. Your 30l tank is about 8 US gallons, so you can
keep 8 1" fish.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[A Man]

On 8 Aug 2005 00:18:27 -0700 in article <1123485507.045183.319870
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>, spoke thusly...
> i have recently bought 5 guppy and it has just been a week and they are
> dropping like flies i have only 1 left can anyone help
>
>
OP has 8g tank with about 5 fish.

Do you treat your water to remove chlorine AND chloramine before using it
after a water change? Read the bottle, it has to remove both, as both are
toxic to fish.

And yes, stop buying new fish, just keep the fish you have in there and let
your tank cycle. When your nitrates stabilize to a low level, then cycling
should be done. Takes about 30 days from when you start.

Read some info on cycling, other users have posted links in this thread. That
will give you an idea of what to do and how often to change the water.

--
Sig: Say no to fixed width HTML tables. They look terrible in most browsers.