Guppies Keep Dying - Want To Switch Fish. Need Advice.

[GuppyGoddess]

Hi everyone,

My son was given a fish tank last July. We decided to put guppies in. Months went by and it became clear no matter what we did, the guppies simply became sick and died. We moved them to a larger tank hoping that would help.

Now, the deal is after all these months (7 now), I'm fed up with guppies. None of them have grown to full size. The little ones I get seem to have developed that "failure to thrive," where they've stayed about 1/2". The teenagers all develop a bony appearance and none of my females have swelled up with pregnancy.

I've read what kinds of symptoms can develop if a fish has TB and my fish seem to have that starvation look to them. I can't be sure they have TB and I'm not going to spend the money to have a vet test them out.

Either way, it's come to the point where it grosses me out to even touch the tank lid, much less put my hands in it.

The deal is it's my son's tank in his room and he's absolutely in love with the idea of having guppies. I'm not at all sure how emotionally attached he is to the fish, but he is always drawing pictures of his fish and writing stories about them.

Two options would a) be to cull the tank and buy a new one, cycle it and put a betta in (much easier to maintain), or b) just keep putting guppies in and avoid breaking my son's heart.

I feel so bad about my son. . .anyone had to get rid of their child's tank or been in a similar situation?

Thanks for thoughts.

 

[nessar]

Just some possibilities, are you sure its not the water, have you tested it? And are they at the right temperature? It seems odd they are all dying. Or are you buying them all from the same place, it could be you are just buying sickly fish. Or your tank could have become diseased from one sick guppy and theyre all getting it when you put them in?
Hope I gave you some stuff to investigate. And Bettas are much prettier than guppies, he might be willing to try it. But don't cull the guppies, they might be lucky!

 

[Night61]

i tend to agree with Nesser, you need to test your water, and maybe change the source of where you get your guppies.

 

[WILDER]

I would treat your fish for camallanous worms.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Thanks guys. I posted in the emergency dept as I just today found that the ones in the tank have cottony growth on them. None of the others who died had this, so it's a new phenomeona. One died last week (which now I realize was from the cotton) and I had to cull two other guppies and my pygmy cory just a few hours back to hopefully save the last three.

Some of my previous guppies were treated for camallanus (used levamisole) and it didn't help them at all. I kept the tank covered for a few days since Levamisole is light sensitive and nothing happened and they still got sickly and died.

Now that I've found the growth, it's clear my water isn't ideal!

I'm not even sure where to get guppies. I've checked *numerous* shops around me and have yet to find a place that's got excellent guppies. Some have partially eaten ones, others have ich, and so on. . .

 

[Bebobb]

I would do a complete clean of the tank. I would rinse the gravel, or sand, very good. And then I would clean the tank with dilluted bleach and rince it out very well. I would say that a good alternative to guppies would be Endler's Livebearer. They are debated about being related to the guppy. And they are beautiful as can be.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

I would do a complete clean of the tank. I would rinse the gravel, or sand, very good. And then I would clean the tank with dilluted bleach and rince it out very well. I would say that a good alternative to guppies would be Endler's Livebearer. They are debated about being related to the guppy. And they are beautiful as can be.

Are endlers not guppies (for sure)? One "guppy" I had in the tank was an endler. I thought it was a variety of guppy when I bought him since he and several others were mixed in with the guppies at the store. I asked the employee and she didn't know what I was talking about!

What a disaster. First time I've had multiple casualities at once. Most were spread out so about one died every month. Now this.

I post about problems with guppies then go and check the tank and they're all sick at once with an obvious disease!

 

[Bebobb]

It is still under debate whether the Endler is a variation of the guppy, or a different species. But most Endler's that are in the aquarium trade are hybrids between Guppys and Endlers.

 

[kribensis12]

Buy a water test kit and figure out what's going on. My best is your water quality is the issue, and if it is, you will never be able to keep fish succsessfully (spelling).

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Buy a water test kit and figure out what's going on. My best is your water quality is the issue, and if it is, you will never be able to keep fish succsessfully (spelling).

Hi,
Can you elaborate? Are you saying if the ammonia/nitrite is an issue, then I can't keep fish or if the PH is off, then that's the problem? My bettas are all doing good so maybe the water is more suited to them. I tested the water PH before and IIRC, it was on the higher side. I'll have the LFS test it again.

 

[kribensis12]

pH doesn't really have anything to do with it. The ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte are what you are looking for.