90% Tank Wipeout.

[VaegaVic]

Some of you may remember that I was buying a new filter for my 64L.
Well it arrived, an Eheim 2215. I hooked it all up, added ALL the old media from the last filter, but I didn't put the guard over the intake pipe as if I did, it would be in the sand and I was worried about getting sand in the filter (a valid worry I thought).

Anyway, fast forward to last night and at 00:35am I went to feed my lovely guppies. I only found 1 out of a possible 5.
I knew exactly where they were before I even looked in the rest of the tank and found them all in the bottom of my new eheim, dead.

So now I have a problem.
I love female siamese fighters and I'd love to keep a nice big group in that size tank, ideally about 9-11. My problem however, is quite simple, do I add the same amount of girls as I did have guppies and then add a new lot next week? Do I add them all at once and risk an ammonia spike?
I still have 1 guppy and a few babies (6) in the tank, should I let them grow up? or completely start fresh with the girls?

I'm really stuck here, so I've posted this in multiple sections as I know if I don't act quickly, I could lose the bacteria which kept the (dead now) guppies alive.

Edit: The intake guard is now over the pipe, although it put up a fight.

 

[WILDER]

What are your water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

Is there plenty of aeration in the tank with the warm weather.
Did the guppys have any marks on them.
Any symtoms to go on.

It's best to add group of betta fish all at once.
But I wouldn't add anymore fish to you find the problem, and you post your water stats.

 

[VaegaVic]

Oh the water isn't the probs Wild, it's just that the poor sods were sucked up into the filter since I didn't have the guard on. The one hybrid I did rescue had marks and cuts on him, so he's gone into a small hospital tank containing only snails right now.

However, 0,0,15,7.5.

Just popped down to my LFS and they had 4 females in, £2 each, bargain! I thought, until I found out they were "just" recovering from something.
Hmm...

 

[WILDER]

The lfs shouldn't of sold the fish if they were recovering.
What were they recovering from?

Make sure the female betta's don't pick on the guppy.

 

[VaegaVic]

Luckily I haven't bought them yet, I was going to sleep on it and see how I feel tomorrow.
The lass didn't say what they were recovering from, she didn't seem to know, all she know was that "some of the ones we got in had died, so we quarantined them to be safe".
When I pop back tomorrow I shall enquire more about them, including how long it's been, but I couldn't physically see any problems, so it was most likely stress if anything.

 

[WILDER]

Ok.
Let me know how you get on if you don't mind.

 

[VaegaVic]

Well in the end I decided against buying them.
They were beauties but I couldn't take the risk of introducing anything into my tanks.
I've decided instead to raise my babies into full size and then rethink my options from there.
I also added a swordtail I've named Monty, sweet little thing he is.

 

[WILDER]

It's best to have a good think before rushing in and buying new fish.
Always research the fish before you buy, for tank size and conpatability.