Guppies keep dying

[Slaphppy7]

I've been using the Aloe Vera for a long time, so it's a definite possibility.
I'm testing my tap water and yeah, the water has turned green! I never thought of doing this. So I've been putting ammonia back into the tank, when I do water changes. Nothing comes up when I test the tank water, though.

And no white stringy poop, just normal fish poop.

Get the Prime, it will render the ammonia harmless for 24-48 hours.
You may need to cycle your tank, as well.

 

[Kusurii]

Get the Prime, it will render the ammonia harmless for 24-48 hours.
You may need to cycle your tank, as well.

Good to know, thank you!
I've already cycled my tank, would I need to cycle it again?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Good to know, thank you!
I've already cycled my tank, would I need to cycle it again?

What kind of test are you using?

 

[Kusurii]

What kind of test are you using?

It's the API Freshwater Master Kit, the liquid one with the test tubes.

 

[Essjay]

If a tank is cycled, the bacteria will remove the chloramine ammonia before it becomes undetoxifed again.

 

[Slaphppy7]

It's the API Freshwater Master Kit, the liquid one with the test tubes.

Good deal, that's the one to have...make sure it's not expired

 

[Kusurii]

If a tank is cycled, the bacteria will remove the chloramine ammonia before it becomes undetoxifed again.

Thank you for all your help, I'm still a little new to fishkeeping, so would this mean that it wouldn't harm my fish?

Good deal, that's the one to have...make sure it's not expired

Haha, yeah I've definitely made that mistake before. This one is good to go!

 

[Essjay]

If the guppies' poop is normal, they shouldn't have worms.

It's either weak fish or the temporary ammonia after a water change.



One other thing to look at for the long term - guppies are hard water fish. If you have soft water it is not good for them. It won't harm them quickly but it will shorten their lives. If you search on your water company's website for hardness, you should find a page where you type in your postcode and that will tell you your hardness. If they give a number, tell us what it is, please - and the unit of measurement as there are several they could use.

 

[Kusurii]

If the guppies' poop is normal, they shouldn't have worms.

It's either weak fish or the temporary ammonia after a water change.



One other thing to look at for the long term - guppies are hard water fish. If you have soft water it is not good for them. It won't harm them quickly but it will shorten their lives. If you search on your water company's website for hardness, you should find a page where you type in your postcode and that will tell you your hardness. If they give a number, tell us what it is, please - and the unit of measurement as there are several they could use.

Ok, I'll know what to look out for if I ever suspect they do have worms, so thanks for that!

I had a quick google and the results were:
Calcium: 123 mg/l
total Hardness: 307.5 mg/l

 

[Sgooosh]

Thank you for all your help, I'm still a little new to fishkeeping, so would this mean that it wouldn't harm my fish?


Haha, yeah I've definitely made that mistake before. This one is good to go!

make sure your water conditioner is not exiperd either, it does not do all the actions it should do

 

[Sgooosh]

Ok, I'll know what to look out for if I ever suspect they do have worms, so thanks for that!

I had a quick google and the results were:
Calcium: 123 mg/l
total Hardness: 307.5 mg/l

i think that's good

 

[Essjay]

Thank you for all your help, I'm still a little new to fishkeeping, so would this mean that it wouldn't harm my fish?

If you use a water conditioner such as Prime which detoxifies ammonia, the fish will be safe. The detoxification lasts around 24 hours and a cycled tank can remove the ammonia from chloramine well within this time.
But if the water conditioner does not detoxify ammonia (and Stress Coat does not) then after every water change there is ammonia in the water until the bacteria have had time to remove it.

There are several water conditioners which detoxify ammonia, just read the label/item description. You need one that
removes chlorine
removes metals
detoxifies ammonia.



Your water is nice and hard, perfect for guppies
Fish profiles on all websites use one of two units of measurements. One is ppm, which is the same as mg/l calcium carbonate. The other is dH.
Your water is 307.5 ppm and 17 dH.

 

[Kusurii]

make sure your water conditioner is not exiperd either, it does not do all the actions it should do

That's a good call! I've just checked and I've got another 2 years before I'm out of time haha

If you use a water conditioner such as Prime which detoxifies ammonia, the fish will be safe. The detoxification lasts around 24 hours and a cycled tank can remove the ammonia from chloramine well within this time.
But if the water conditioner does not detoxify ammonia (and Stress Coat does not) then after every water change there is ammonia in the water until the bacteria have had time to remove it.

There are several water conditioners which detoxify ammonia, just read the label/item description. You need one that
removes chlorine
removes metals
detoxifies ammonia.



Your water is nice and hard, perfect for guppies
Fish profiles on all websites use one of two units of measurements. One is ppm, which is the same as mg/l calcium carbonate. The other is dH.
Your water is 307.5 ppm and 17 dH.

Thank you so much for explaining all this clearly, it can get a little overwhelming with everything to remember. I have a much better picture of what is going on with my tank!

And thank you everyone else, you've all been incredibly helpful!

 

[Slaphppy7]

That's a good call! I've just checked and I've got another 2 years before I'm out of time haha


Thank you so much for explaining all this clearly, it can get a little overwhelming with everything to remember. I have a much better picture of what is going on with my tank!

And thank you everyone else, you've all been incredibly helpful!

More than welcome.

 

[Colin_T]

In the past, they've either developed bent spines, gotten incredibly thin and died that way or there was 1 who ended up looking a bit like a pine cone with his scales sticking about 2 days after I bought him but he was otherwise fine and survived longer than I thought he would (half a year).

Bent spines can be from poor genetics, or a growth inside them. Old fish are more prone to developing curves spines.

Fish losing weight can be suffering from intestinal worms or an internal protozoan infection.

Fish that swell up suddenly and have scales sticking out, have dropsy, which is normally caused by an internal bacterial infection.

Guppies suffer from all 3 of these things because they are badly inbred. If you mix up the bloodlines and keep the young, they usually do better than fish from Asia.

I've had my 130L tank for about a year now, do about 20% water change every week,

Do a bigger water change each week. Change at least 50-75% each week and gravel clean the substrate any time you do a water change.

No idea how often you clean the filter but it should be done at least once a month. Wash the filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water an re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn.