Weird guppy behaviour

[Pathagor]

Hello folks..

Im a complete newb, having only started out in the fishkeeping world last weekend

Last weekend I bought 2x guppies (1 male, 1 female) 2x neon tetras and a blue gourami. I didn't know much back then..but was told if you stick too many fish in your new tank they will probably all kark it....obviously from reading up about cycling etc I now understand why

Unfortunately on day 3 my male guppy discovered a little hole in my filter intake and got wedged into it while I was at work. I came home and couldn't see him anywhere, so thought the poor thing had been eaten somehow by the larger gourami, but then noticed his crushed little body stuck underneath the pump. Now the strange thing is, the femal guppy has been acting quite erratically since this happened. Previous to this, both guppies would swim around the tank quite happily, but now that the male is gone, the female is either resting at the bottom of the tank completely still (apart from an occasional flutter of her fins and some gill movement), resting on top of my heater near the surface, or is darting to and fro around the top of the tank at the rear. Is my female guppy grieving for her lost buddy?? The neons and gourami are acting fine.

 

[Zenn]

Now i had a simular thing happen to me, except, it was my female that passed away first... For unknown causes, but basically she died shortly after giving birth to two small fry, which have grown up into fine young ladies now , but basically about 4 days later my male died, now there was nothing wrong with him, he was alive a hour before hand and then he popped his clock, and i didnt know why, but the nearest conclusion i could draw, he was lonely, he too rested on the bottom, stuck to the back of the tank, and rested, well upon my internal filter insted... But what i would advise, it find her company ASAP, or she might just give up on living... which i was really depressed to lose my guppy male, because he was a 'oddball' because he was the only one with his colours in the county

;(

 

[BuntbarschXXL]

@pathagor:

Is it right that you got a fishtank last weekend and already hav fish in it?
Have you never heard something about the peak of NO2 (nitrite)?

Also the choice of your fish is bad, guppies need hard water, neon tetras need soft water....

 

[Pathagor]

As I said Bunt, Im completely new at this. Only after I got the fish did I understand about tank cycling.

Thanks for the helpful post tho

 

[kitty falol]

Hi Pathogor

To be honest, it's probably more likely that your female guppy is suffering from new tank syndrome - Yes, she's probably lonely, but her erratic behaviour sounds more like some sort of poisoning. Have you checked your water parameters?

I made exactly the same mistake as you, I naively followed the advice of the shop, leaving the tank for just a week before I put guppies in. I had no idea just how delicate the little creatures are and I would never cycle a tank with guppies (or any other fish for that matter!) again.

Test your water, it is likely that your tank is going through an ammonia or nitrite peak. If this is the case it might be a good idea to do a 30% water change. You might be able to add some sort of prime to detoxify the ammonia and nitrite while your tank is still cycling.

Sorry, I'm no expert

Good luck!

 

[Link]

People always cycle their tanks in different ways, some with fish and some without. I set a tank up leave it a few days to let it get sorted and then add just a few hardy fish. I then test the water and do water changes all the time to keep it down. The only wrong way to do it is to get a tank set up and add loads of fish straight away.
Your ammonia will peak first, then Nitrite.

I don't think the female will be grieving, she might just miss her own kind. When fish dart about its normally something to do with the water or parasites but cause its a new tank I'm gonna go with the first.
Although if the other fish are ok then it might not be.

I'd do what Kitty suggested, that should help

 

[Pathagor]

Thanks guys..I think I'll do some partial water changes over the next few days. Unfortunately I havn't had any time to get my hands on an amonia or nitrite test kit so I can't check my levels untill the weekend. Sounds like it's probably a combination of the lost mate and poor water quality causing my poor guppie's depression

 

[David]

Also pathagor neons are schooling fish; you should have at least 5-6 of them.

 

[Pathagor]

Yeah Im buying 4 more of them on saturday

 

[BuntbarschXXL]

Yeah Im buying 4 more of them on saturday

Hello.

Please don't buy more until your problems, especially the nitrite peak, are gone. This takes 2 weeks minimum after installing the aquarium.

Before you buy more neons, please check your water- as I already said they need soft water.

 

[David]

Yeah Im buying 4 more of them on saturday

Hello.

Please don't buy more until your problems, especially the nitrite peak, are gone. This takes 2 weeks minimum after installing the aquarium.

Before you buy more neons, please check your water- as I already said they need soft water.

He's right, I was just letting you know.