Guppy Problem

lioness501

awww so sorry to hear that. i think everyone feels awful if a fishy friend dies. dont b disheartened tho, ur not a bad fish parent. ive lost many many fish, i should have a special grave yard for them!! keep ur tank well maintained and ull have happier healthier fish. i feed mine every other day, that way it all gets eaten ;) good luck with it! :):)

darthfoley

Well, we've changed things around a bit. Unfortunately, we've lost more fish in the process.

The remaining 3 of 4 original guppies we had were moved to a 20 gallon tank, along with 1 new black phantom. In the original 6 gallon tank, we rebooted - drain, clean, start from scratch, with a new yellow and a golden delta.

Within 3 days of the newly established 6 gallon reboot, the second yellow was dead - with no warning. Since these new tanks had been established at the same time, we decided to move the golden delta to the 20 gallon. All's well for a few days, then one morning I wake up to find the poor delta's tail split in two. We moved him to a small hospital tank, where he remained for 2 days, but he didn't make it.

So we now have 4 males in the 20 gallon, and an empty 6 gallon. The 4 remaining guppies all seem happy and healthy, but I admit to being very frustrated with the losses so far.

Steffiweff

Hi Darthfoley

Guppies used to be the most hardy of species. I remember when my father got his first tank (many moons ago) and added his first fish. He got half a dozen zebra danios, some neons and some guppies.

Unfortunately, they've been bred and interbred so many times that the hardiness has been bred out of them - breeders have been looking for other qualities instead.

If you're going to start your tanks from scratch you will need to get some zebra danios (which are still hardy) but don't add them to your tank until it has been cycling for at least 1-2 weeks.

Don't give up. I know how tempting it is.

Julie's Julies

"get some zebra danios (which are still hardy) but don't add them to your tank until it has been cycling for at least 1-2 weeks."

While you should let your tank adjust for a few days after set-up, unless there is already ammonia in your water or you are adding small bits of food to the tank to build up the ammonia count, the tank won't cycle in that first one-two week period since there will be nothing for the bacteria to feed on. Steffiweff is right, though, Zebra Danios are your best bet for tank cycling. I personally enjoy the long-finned variety - I find them to be really attractive fish.

mHeinitz57

This is true, it won't cycle until you drop the fish in or add ammonia in some other form. ALso, 1-2 weeks into the cycle you will probably have high ammonia or nitrite...a bad time to add new fish. With some supplements you can cycle a tank that fast but usually it will take 3-4 weeks...sometimes more. Zebra Danios are usually the cheapest and strongest fish to start with but White Clouds also work great. They are about the same price and hardiness. Some people claim cories are delicate but I have found them incredibly resilient and also great to start with as are gouramis. Both are labyrinth fish that can withstand water quality and even temperature shifts well.

yippee

i don't know that it helps any, but i was just going to say that i started my wide 20 gallon with white clouds. i saw them at the store and for the price decided i would try them out. after starting this tank out on them, i decided to transplant them and use them for my new 55 gallon as well. i used to use the zebra danios to start my tanks, but now i would suggest using either. just thought i would throw my experience with the white clouds out there. good luck, take your time, and don't get discouraged. in the end, the pay off will be worth the struggle.

darthfoley

Well, another update.

We've added a few fish in the month or so since the last post. We added 3 albino corys about two and a half weeks ago, after allowing the tank to finish cycling. Seemed ok, but about a week after being added we lost one of the corys overnight. Gave it a day or two, monitoring the ammonia, and decided to add 2 more corys and one more Guppy to make a total of 9 fish (5 guppies/4 corys) in our 20 gallon. Again, everything was smooth for about a week, then boom - newest Guppy overnight, one of our original 4 guppies the next day, and lastly one of the new corys the next day. Ammonia level atm is about 1.0ppm; we've been using cycle and ammolock but I'm not sure what else to do with it, aside from weekly 25% water changes/cleaning, which we've been keeping up with. Any suggestions would be appreciated. We're currently at 3 guppies and 3 corys in the 20 gallon.

Our second tank, a 6 gallon, now has 3 white clouds and 1 betta...everything there has been fine for about a month or so. The clouds definitely seem to be hardy little guys. :) Unfortunately the light on this tank has gone wonky on us - it's an Eclipse 6 gallon, and the light socket under the hood has somehow gotten corroded - so the light only comes on 'halfway' in the manner that fluorescents do.

darthfoley

Lost another Guppy overnight. :(

Lupin

I think you should stop using ammolock. What are your water parameters right now? Do water changes when you detect again your ammonia and nitrites.

GW

Darth, Just a question but what is the process you use to transfer the new fish into the tanks?