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10 gal problems

2K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  serpaekeeper45 
#1 ·
alright,i had a guppy die about a week ago.now the other fish in the tank are acting wierd,well most of them.one guppy is getting really fat,but hes eating and all.another one of the guppies is not eating that much.i dont know alot about this but i think hes gettin picked on.one of my bigger guppies is going over to him and flaring while the little one makes his tail all narrow and small like hes being submissive.the water is a bit foggy but not toxic.all the other fish(4 neons and 2 corys)are doing fine.its just the guppies im worried about(the fat one and the submissive one.)i just switched to a nw light hood so im wondering if that could make a difference.also would it be a good idea to move the submissive one to a different tank until it is bigger?
 
#2 ·
Sorry to hear about the loss of your guppy. I just lost three guppy fry myself.

A few questions to start out: what are your water parameters, exactly? How old is your tank? How many fish do you have total?

Ideally, you should have 0ppm of both ammonia and nitrite, and very low nitrate. I personally do a water change every time my nitrates hit 15ppm, but others let it get a little higher.

It sounds as if your tank is new since you mentioned foggy water. One of the biggest culprits of foggy water is a bacterial bloom, which usually occurs shortly after starting a tank. If this is the case, you should try to move all of your fish to an established tank, since most of your fish will not survive the cycling process.

I can count at least 10 fish in your 10-gallon tank: 4 guppies (including the one that died), 4 neons, and 2 cories. I think you have too many fish for such a small tank. At most you should have about 6 small fish, though since the neons a really small, you could probably do 5-6 neons with the cories. Is there any way you can get a second 10-gallon and have two tanks running? Make one a guppy tank, and one a neon tank, and put one cory at the bottom of each. Just a thought. :)

About the "sumbissive" guppy: the symptom of making his tail narrow is called clamped fins, and it isn't a good sign. It does sound like he's being picked on, so moving him if possible would be great. Keep a close eye on him and see if he will start eating once he is safe from your aggressive guppy.

About the fat one: could it be a pregnant female? If so, congrats!! If it's a male, is he eating more than his fair share? Is there a lump or growth rather than just being universally fat?

Keep up the good work of observing your fish. Sounds like you are staying in tune with your tank, which is great.
 
#3 ·
the test strips that i bought said that the nitrates and everything were ok.in othee words under toxic levels.ill test once i get more.the guppy does not do that tail thing all the time.i dont see any visible signs of disease.as for the gyppy tank and everything,my parents would probably flip out if i did that.i do have a spare 10 gal that is my quarintine tank,so im not sure about that whole thing.they actually seem ok,i mean over all the fish are active and for the most part eating how they should be,its just that one guppy that im worried about.he is the smallest guppy in the tank,so im just wondering if he has to grow up a little or something.all my guppies do that thing were thay stare each other down.they will swim to eachother and get all siff and begin circling around.its kind of cute.the fat one has been eating at the alge on the plants,so that might be another reason its fat.by the way its a male,so im sure its not pregnant.all the guppies in the tank are males.the tank is NOT new,and it got foggy after a water change last night.also,my filter decided to be a pice of junk and the bio wheel wont spin at all.
 
#4 ·
well to my surprise my parents said yes to the guppy tank!i still dont know if ill do it or not though.im exploring my options like where to put it of if i can afford it at all.i dont know what room id even put it in.do any of you put your tanks on the floor?i dont have a stand.iv heard things like ppls tanks gettting kicked and stuff so i dont know if that is an option.im tempted to use the tv stand as an aquarium stand.i dont think i could afford a stand right now lol.i do have a large table available,but its right next to my 30 gal.any suggestions
???????
 
#6 ·
Craigslist is a great place to get good used (cheap) equipment. It's the only way I can afford to maintain my hobby! You can post a "wanted" ad about what size stand you want and how much you have to spend on it. There are also stands available that have two decks, and thus you can use one stand for both tanks. It's a great option for keeping more than one tank but when you have limited space.

Yeah, it does sound like your guppy is helping himself to whatever he can find to eat!! Hopefully your little guppy can grow a little bigger so that he can stand up for himself. Glad to hear he's not being constantly bullied. I've heard of people using temporary dividers for situations like this one, to give him time to grow, but I have never used one personally, so I don't know how well they work.

My tanks often get cloudy after water changes as well, just from stirring up the substrate when I vacuum it. Not sure if that's what happened in your tank, though.

Sorry to hear about your stuck biowheel. How frustrating!
 
#7 ·
well i got the 10 gal tank up!!! i just filled it up so i cant move my neons into it yet,i still dont have a heater.i think the double deck stands are onlu a good idea if you have a black divider between the tank or the fish will stress out.by the way i found a good spot on a huge table for the tank.it makes a good conversation piece!
 
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