Guppies Dying

[pilotdog68]

I have a new tank. I never tested the tank, but I used a cycle booster and PH corrector then waited till the water clouded with bacteria bloom and went back to clear before adding fish. (I know I should have spent more time cycling, but my wife didn't want to wait more than a week)
 I originally had 3 male Platys, 4 male guppies and 1 SAE. I have been doing 30% water changes twice a week, conditioning with prime.
 
Within the first day, one of the cobra guppies started acting lethargic and just floated at the top of the tank tilted to one side. I took him back to the store but he was dead before i got there.
 
Now 5 days later I have 2 other guppies acting similarly. They are both just floating at the top of the tank, and they haven't eaten in 2 days. They both look bloated, so I tried to give them peas, but they wouldnt eat it. Now one of them has what looks like a very thick white poop sticking a tiny amount out of him, and overnight it developed what appears to be a fuzzy mold substance.  It also looks similar to a few pictures I've seen of egg sacs produced by worms.
I'm just hoping its not going to spoil my whole tank.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm afraid all the problems you're seeing are most likely caused by an uncycled tank. Very few of the 'filter boost' liquids actually do any good.
 
You really, really need to be able to test the water for both ammonia and nitrite every day, and do enough water changes to keep them as near to zero as possible. A decent set of test kits (and by 'decent', I mean liquid or tablet based ones, not the paper strip kind) are something that every fishkeeper should own.
 
Until you can get the water tested (and, if you get your local fish shop to test the water for you, is is essential that you get them to write the actual numbers from the tests down for you) change as much of the water as you can, every day, making sure the new water is temperature matched and dechlorinated.
 
Do not use any king of pH adjuster; these cause the pH to swing in value, which is much more harmful to fish than a stable pH.

 

[pilotdog68]

I'm afraid all the problems you're seeing are most likely caused by an uncycled tank. Very few of the 'filter boost' liquids actually do any good.
 
You really, really need to be able to test the water for both ammonia and nitrite every day, and do enough water changes to keep them as near to zero as possible. A decent set of test kits (and by 'decent', I mean liquid or tablet based ones, not the paper strip kind) are something that every fishkeeper should own.
 
Until you can get the water tested (and, if you get your local fish shop to test the water for you, is is essential that you get them to write the actual numbers from the tests down for you) change as much of the water as you can, every day, making sure the new water is temperature matched and dechlorinated.
 
Do not use any king of pH adjuster; these cause the pH to swing in value, which is much more harmful to fish than a stable pH.

 
I agree the problems are probably traced back to bad water parameters, I'll get a test kit asap. But what does the current problem sound like to you? parasites? fin rot? just constipated?
 
and is there a reason why the guppies are being affected but the other fish seem to be thriving?

 

[fluttermoth]

I honestly don't think there are any issues you're seeing that aren't down to water quality; I'd say 90% of all the fish 'diseases' we deal with are due to poor water quality, and nothing else.
 
Fish in poor water become weakened, and develop all sorts of problems. Some fish will always be more sensitive than others; even in the same species. Guppies nowadays are not the hardy fish they used to be, due to generations of poor breeding, I'm afraid.

 

[pilotdog68]

I honestly don't think there are any issues you're seeing that aren't down to water quality; I'd say 90% of all the fish 'diseases' we deal with are due to poor water quality, and nothing else.
 
Fish in poor water become weakened, and develop all sorts of problems. Some fish will always be more sensitive than others; even in the same species. Guppies nowadays are not the hardy fish they used to be, due to generations of poor breeding, I'm afraid.

 
do you think there would be any additional benefit to treating with some kind of anti-parisitic medicine, or even just aquarium salt? Or do you think everything will be fine once my tank is cycled? 

 

[fluttermoth]

Aquarium salt would be helpful; it does help negate some of the effects of an uncycled tank; nitrite especially. Guppies and platies also prefer harder water, so the salt would improve conditions for them.
 
It's possible, but unlikely that they have parasites, but I wouldn't treat with anything yet; get the water right and see how they are. With better conditions, they might not need treating, and it's not a good idea to throw medicines at the problem.