Cory Died-female Guppies Die

[guppielady]

I feel like a horrible fish owner. We have two male guppies and had a cory for a long time. It looked sick so we tried changing the water and the tank was getting cloudy so used an algae away tab...Poor little mother died inside the castle. The females we had died within two weeks. Why are the males surviving our horrid husbandry and why did my cory die?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
The lady

 

[dwarfgourami]

We need to know more about this tank: what is its size, how long has it been up and running, how many and what fish do you have in there, what is your water changing routine, what temperature is the tank (lots of UK owners are struggling with the heat wave atm), did the cory have all its barbels intact, have you got any readings for ammonia and nitrite?

I find that guppies can be very vulnerable to lack of oxygen in hot weather- can be remedied by airstones or redirecting the filter outflow so it breaks the surface. Corys are vulnerable to bacteria in the substrate, which start multiplying when its warm- remedied by keeping down on feeding and doing more regular gravel vac'ing.

 

[guppielady]

We had the 20 gallon tank for about 8 months now. We started with two male guppies then one died immediatly, returned it for another male. Then got two females and a live plant to float on top for cover in case they got pregnant. Plant went bad and died-took it out cleaned tank, females got pregnant and died. I don't know anything about checking levels or anything. We usually change out water once a month about 10-20% of it. We have an air pump. Temp is 76F We live in Minnesota(US) and have the air on. The two males now are acting weird since the Cory died. I am reading something about feeding the Cory bloodworms, lettuce etc...Why wouldn't the pet store tell US Never heard this before.

This last water change was about 6 weeks and the hubby forgot that our extra water storage jug was gone and had to fill tank with water that was 86 degrees-could it have shocked the fish.

Should we even bother replacing the cory? Or just count our blessings in live male guppies?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Please don't give up- you'e had a run of bad luck but it won't last forever.

Tank is clearly not overstocked if all you had i it is a couple of male guppies and a cory.

Your first move should be to buy a test kit. Liquid ones are generally considered more reliable than strips, but in any case make sure you get one that tests for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ph and general hardness. Test the ph and hardness. If your water is very soft and alkaline, that may make it harder to keep guppies alive, and you might have better luck with tetras. Ammonia and nitrites are the sign of a tank that hasn't got enough beneficial bacteria to process its waste. This can be because a fish population has been built up too quickly, because the tank is overstocked, because they are overfed, because the filter is not powerful enough or because there is rotting vegetation or a dead fish in the tank. It is a good idea to test very regularly, even once a day, during the start-up of a tank and when you've been having problems; once, a tank is running without problems you can test more infrequently.

A general maintenance routine should involve a weekly water change f 20-25 % (and the new water needs to be dechlorinated). Corys are particularly sensitive to a build-up of bacteria in the substrate, so a cory tank needs to be gravel vac'ed (=bottom syphoned) once a week when you do your water change: I do twice a week in hot weather, since I did once lose a cory to bacterial infection.

Eventually, if the tank remains stable, I would replace the cory, and build up gradually so I got a school of at least 3 corys. And 5 male guppies. In the long run.

I have never noticed corys taking an interest in lettuce; they prefer meatier foods. I feed mine catfish tablets (1 tablet does 4 corys), which I replace three times a week with jellied bloodworms or daphnia.

 

[guppielady]

Thanks so much for your guidance. I will do as you suggest and report back after awhile. The guppies look bloated lately, I think it's from over feeding or like you said decaying plant material. Ever since we had that plant die in there, it just hasn't been the same. I think we are going to ull out the pebbles and rinse them off good too...thanks again!!


Guppielady

 

[diademhill]

Thanks so much for your guidance. I will do as you suggest and report back after awhile. The guppies look bloated lately, I think it's from over feeding or like you said decaying plant material. Ever since we had that plant die in there, it just hasn't been the same. I think we are going to ull out the pebbles and rinse them off good too...thanks again!!


Guppielady

Hold on, What filter does this tank have?
Have you rinsed of the pebbles previously?

It is possible to keep a few fish in an unfiltered tank ( I used to do it, we all did before filters became commonplace) but it sounds like you have an imbalance in your tank. Test kits wouls be a good investment.

Can you please tell us the make & model or type of your filter & the brands of any additives you have used?

 

[guppielady]

Thanks so much for your guidance. I will do as you suggest and report back after awhile. The guppies look bloated lately, I think it's from over feeding or like you said decaying plant material. Ever since we had that plant die in there, it just hasn't been the same. I think we are going to ull out the pebbles and rinse them off good too...thanks again!!


Guppielady

Hold on, What filter does this tank have?
Have you rinsed of the pebbles previously?

It is possible to keep a few fish in an unfiltered tank ( I used to do it, we all did before filters became commonplace) but it sounds like you have an imbalance in your tank. Test kits wouls be a good investment.

Can you please tell us the make & model or type of your filter & the brands of any additives you have used?

I do not know the make and model or anything. We just have an air pump no filter. We have used algae away before. Also one of the guppies died yesterday-could it be ick? And how would I know if it was? Can I just put ick-away in the tank or do I have to test for it first? Still have not got the testing kit yet. Family stuff-long stories.
Also, forgot password and couldn't find my way back before, thanks for the help!