Guppy Problems

[FishGuest5123]

I have lost a number of guppies over the course of a year. They appear to be fine for several months or longer. Then they go to a corner and lay there for several days. They then begin to breath rapidly and usually die by next day. I had one die this morning. I’ve actually had that one a year. Water parameters were 0,0,20. PH was 7.0. I do weekly tank cleaning, syphoning sand, and do 75% water change. I clean filter media every 2 weeks. I treated with General Cure last week thinking perhaps it may be parasitic in nature. No help. Any ideas as to what is going on? Also, does sand lower PH? All of my other tanks have 7.8 PH levels and they all have gravel. This one tank has black sand (Imagitarium brand) and PH is always 7,0. Same water source as other tanks. Note: This Is the tank that won TOM last month.

 

[Colin_T]

Imported guppies have lots of health issues and are regularly infected with intestinal worms, external protozoa and sometimes bacterial infections like Tuberculosis (TB).

Adult guppies from Asia can be any age from 6 months to 2 years. If you are getting super sized guppies, they will be older adults that are normally ex breeding stock and will die from old age within a short period of time. If you get normal sized guppies they are normally about 6-12 months old and might live a couple of years assuming they don't develop something horrible.

When fish stop swimming and sit in a corner breathing heavily and dying shortly after, it is usually an internal bacterial infection. The fish usually get fat suddenly and stop eating, although it can be hard to tell with female guppies that look pregnant or are full of intestinal worms.

Fish Tuberculosis can kill one fish here and another one there and there is no pattern to when they die. However, they usually show the same symptoms including: stop eating, do stringy white poop, sit under the surface or near a filter outlet breathing heavily. They swell up and get really fat overnight, die within 24 hours of showing these symptoms.
You lose one fish here, then a few months later you lose another one, 6 months later another, and so on.

If the fish have intestinal worms (tapeworm or thread/ round worms, or both) it can eventually kill the fish if left untreated. Praziquantel kills tapeworm and gill flukes. Levamisole treats most thread/ round worms that affect fish.

All fish should be treated for intestinal worms and gill flukes as soon as you get them and while they are in quarantine. If you don't quarantine new fish then all your tanks should be treated at the same time to prevent cross contamination.

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What is the GH of your water?
Guppies need a GH around 200ppm and if it is too soft, they are more prone to dying prematurely.

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Some sand can lower the pH and some can raise the pH. To test the sand, get a container of tap water and check the pH. Aerate this water for 24 hours and recheck the pH. Then add some of the black sand to the container of tap water and monitor the pH over the next week. Write the results down each day when you test it.

If you can set up 2 containers with the same water, you can add sand to one and leave the other with just water and use it as a control bucket. Monitor the pH in both containers and see how the pH goes with tap water only and with the sand.

As long as the pH is 7.0 or above, the guppies will be fine. But make sure the GH is around 200ppm or above.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Great information. Thanks so much. I’ll check the GH in the morning as I haven’t checked it in a while. Do you think it will be ok to treat the tank with prazi after treating with General Cure last weekend?

 

[Colin_T]

Doesn't API General Cure have Praziquantel in?

If you have done a couple of big water changes since using the General Cure, it should be safe to use Praziquantel or Levamisole on their own.

Use Praziquantel to treat tapeworm and gill flukes. Use Levamisole to treat thread/ round worms.

Remove carbon from filters before treatment and increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.

Treat the fish once a week for 3-4 weeks. The first treatment will kill any worms in the fish. The second and third treatments kill any baby worms that hatch from eggs inside the fish's digestive tract.

You do a 75% water change and complete gravel clean 24-48 hours after treatment.

Treat every fish tank in the house at the same time.

Do not use the 2 medications together. If you want to treat both medications in a short space of time, use Praziquantel on day one. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate on day 2 & 3. Treat the tank with Levamisole on day 4 and do a 75% water change and gravel clean on day 5, 6 & 7 and then start with Praziquantel again on day 8.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Thanks again, Colin. Yes, the General Cure does obtain praziquantel. I guess I could try some Levamisole. By the way, GH was 9 today.

 

[Guppylover3x]

Thanks again, Colin. Yes, the General Cure does obtain praziquantel. I guess I could try some Levamisole. By the way, GH was 9 today.

I’m sorry to hear you are having problems, it’s a shame guppies are so sensitive. It sounds like you’re doing everything right. From my experience I’ve posted my peramters on the forum before due to my water being quite soft and need helping with the amount of minerals I need to add. The feedback I received is that guppies prefer a GH of 10/11. Mine was currently 8 at the time.

 

[Guppylover3x]

I also didn’t know api general cure treats for worms etc. I don’t quarantine any of my fish so I would probably benefit from maybe adding this in at some point.

 

[Colin_T]

Don't use API General Cure unless you have to. It contains Metronidazole and Praziquantel.
Metronidazole is an anti-biotic designed for people and should only be used if the fish have a known internal protozoan infection.

You can buy Praziquantel on its own from pet shops and that is safe and fine to use on any fish that might have tapeworm.

If the fish have thread/ round worms then you need a different medication like Levamisole.

 

[Guppylover3x]

Don't use API General Cure unless you have to. It contains Metronidazole and Praziquantel.
Metronidazole is an anti-biotic designed for people and should only be used if the fish have a known internal protozoan infection.

You can buy Praziquantel on its own from pet shops and that is safe and fine to use on any fish that might have tapeworm.

If the fish have thread/ round worms then you need a different medication like Levamisole.

Plain praziquantel can’t be purchased in the UK. Alternatively there is other fluke/worm medications available that contain around 50% of it, not that I’ve ever used them. I suppose I could have used api general cure for the flashing I had with my guppies that’s stopped after using salt. I did think this was some sort of protozoan.

 

[Guppylover3x]

This may have also not harmed my plants like the salt did.

 

[Essjay]

In the UK we do have access to these medications:

eSHa gdex contains praziquantel
eSHa-ndx contains levamisole

 

[Colin_T]

If you can't buy Praziquantel for fish, look in the pet section. It is commonly used to treat cats and dogs for tapeworm. You can buy it for them and find the dose rate online for the fish.

 

[FishGuest5123]

So I guess we really don’t know why my guppies keep dying. I agree that poor genetics and dishonest breeders contribute to the issue. As much as I love the species, I guess I’ll stay clear of them for now. Any ideas on what to replace them with? I have 20L with 2 platies, 6 long fin leopard danios, 3 guppies, 2 neon tetras, 3 green neons, 4 glo light tetras and one bn pleco. Temp 76F, parameters 0, 0, 10 and GH 9.

 

[Guppylover3x]

If you can't buy Praziquantel for fish, look in the pet section. It is commonly used to treat cats and dogs for tapeworm. You can buy it for them and find the dose rate online for the fish.

So I guess we really don’t know why my guppies keep dying. I agree that poor genetics and dishonest breeders contribute to the issue. As much as I love the species, I guess I’ll stay clear of them for now. Any ideas on what to replace them with? I have 20L with 2 platies, 6 long fin leopard danios, 3 guppies, 2 neon tetras, 3 green neons, 4 glo light tetras and one bn pleco. Temp 76F, parameters 0, 0, 10 and GH 9.

I agree that due to the fact that guppies are inbred so much this effects their lifespan. I could be wrong though. It’s a shame because their such a beautiful species. Guppies used to be very hardy fish at one point. I hope you figure out what’s causing the problem.

 

[Colin_T]

For anyone who wants to keep guppies, buy a group of females and put them in a tank with hard alkaline water, add a heap of salt and keep the salt in the tank for 4 weeks, then dilute it out. Deworm the fish during this time. Let the females breed and produce a heap of babies. Get rid of the adults and keep the young. Grow the babies up and you will have some healthy guppies.

I have 20L with 2 platies, 6 long fin leopard danios, 3 guppies, 2 neon tetras, 3 green neons, 4 glo light tetras and one bn pleco.

A 20 litre tank is a bit small for all those fish.