Guppies Keep On Dying

[platyfanatic]

Hi guys, well i have recently started adding guppies to my tank and every female i have added has died but not the male.
Well at first i went to my lfs to get my first male and my first 2 females and within two days the females were dead, but the male was fine.
After this i went back to get another 2 females, and then after 2 days again they had both died.
After this i thought it was a dodgy batch of fish seen as the male is still fine, just the females were dying, who were in separate tanks to the males in the lfs.
After this, yesterday i tried pets at home and got 2 more females, i have got up today and looked and the one female is hanging around the top if the tank and by the filter just lying there and tilted and hasnt got the energy to swim and looks like she is dying.
I would say she has around 2 hours left max, this is so annoying, so does anybody know why this keeps happening to me.
By the way dont forget that its just the females that keep on dying, the male is in great condition and is very healthy.
Please help me guys, Please.

 

[nukeonekitty]

Couple things. Is it a new tank? If so, the tank could be cycling and killing the fish. My second guess is that the male could be attacking the females. Third, what is your water chemistry? It may not be ideal for guppies.

 

[platyfanatic]

My tank is about 3 months old now.
But its just the females.

 

[nukeonekitty]

I would say that it sounds like the male is killing them or they are killing each other. What else is in the tank?

 

[platyfanatic]

Well i have just gone into check on the tank, and i have just removed a dead female, that i only bought yesterday
There are 3 platys, 2 guppies now that the female has just died and 6 neon tetras.
By the way i dont think that the male is killing them, he doesnt even bother with them.

 

[nukeonekitty]

Hmmm that is really bazaar... you did say you didn't buy all of them from the same place, right? If you did buy them all from the same place it could be bad stock or the fish are weak.

How are you acclimating them?

 

[platyfanatic]

What do you mean by aclimatizing?

 

[nukeonekitty]

Acclimating is the process of readying your fish to be released into forgein water. The water at the LFS is a different temp and has an entirerly different water chemistry than yours. You need to first, leave them in the bag for a good 30 minutes, while the bag is floating in the tank. This allows the water in the bag to equal the water in the tank for temperature. After this, poke a small hole in the bag and let some water from your tank into the bag and let the fish sit in that for 5 minutes then let a little more in etc. Do this until the bag seems full and well mixed then realease the fish into the tank. Doing this they will be less likely to get pH shock.Acclimating is the process of readying your fish to be released into foreign water. The water at the LFS is a different temp and has an entirely different water chemistry than yours. You need to first, leave them in the bag for a good 30 minutes, while the bag is floating in the tank. This allows the water in the bag to equal the water in the tank for temperature. After this, poke a small hole in the bag and let some water from your tank into the bag and let the fish sit in that for 5 minutes then let a little more in etc. Do this until the bag seems full and well mixed then release the fish into the tank. Doing this they will be less likely to get pH shock.

 

[paul_219]

But he is saying only the female this mean they are together in the bad or no?

 

[platyfanatic]

Yes only the females are dying, and i accumilated them the same as i did the male.

 

[nukeonekitty]

Weird. I am out of solution. Sorry.

 

[paul_219]

Thats really weired. Are they showing any symptoms on there body when they are dying?

 

[platyfanatic]

Nope no symtoms on there body.
They just float at the top of the water and behind the pump with no energy to swim and then about 1 hour later i find them at the bottom of the tank, DEAD!