Guppies

[Guppyz]

Is it normal for guppies to open and close their mouths and gills quickly? I have a ten gallon tank with 6 fish (2 male and 4 female). I recently added one of the males and three of the females. Before I added them I had 7 guppies (2 male and 5 female). 4 females and 1 male died. WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

 

[XeroTolerance]

I'm not sure really but I'll try and help help you nonetheless. Maybe your fish are in the process of being infected with who knows what. Are the gills turning red or swollen? If so, add some medications for ich. Im sorry this probably didn't help you at all but I figured whatever help you can have is worth it . Good luck with your fish.

 

[trianglekitty]

Is it normal for guppies to open and close their mouths and gills quickly? I have a ten gallon tank with 6 fish (2 male and 4 female). I recently added one of the males and three of the females. Before I added them I had 7 guppies (2 male and 5 female). 4 females and 1 male died. WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

I would test your water...it sounds like your ammonia might be up? Is your tank cycled?

 

[This Old Spouse]

That was my first thought. Do you have a liquid test kit to find out your water parameters? Whenever I even think there might be a problem, I do a large water change.

 

[Guppyz]

My ammonia levels are fine. I tested for that. And I have been doing 10% water changes for the last few days.

 

[XeroTolerance]

What about your Nitrites and Nitrates? Those are just as important too.

 

[Guppyz]

What about your Nitrites and Nitrates? Those are just as important too.

Both are fine. I just tested.

 

[XeroTolerance]

Hmm. Has there been any major change in your pH?

 

[Guppyz]

I want to add platies. Is this a bad idea? I herd they are heartier and would have a better chance of living.

 

[Guppyz]

One of my guppies just died. She isolated herself by swimming towards the bottom but she never sat on the bottom. She also would not eat right away like the others. This started yesturday but before that she was fine and would swim just as happy as the others. What happened to my female?

 

[Guppyz]

One of my other females got a chunk taken out of her tail. I think it was from one of my males. Do their tails grow back? Also my water is soft. I read guppies like hard water. Is this true and does it matter? What are platies preferences? Is it safe to add more guppies? What about platies? Thanks for all the great help so far!

 

[waterdrop]

What kind of testing are you doing? Is it paper strips or a liquid-reagent test kit with test tubes?

The very first thing to be concerned about when fish are dying are the ammonia, nitrite(NO2) and nitrate(NO3) levels, both how accurately they are being tested for and what the numerical results are.

We wouldn't question this except that we've seen hundreds of cases where newcomers felt convinced they were getting good readings only to find there was some flaw to that. Many of us have experienced that too.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[This Old Spouse]

One of my other females got a chunk taken out of her tail. I think it was from one of my males. Do their tails grow back? Also my water is soft. I read guppies like hard water. Is this true and does it matter? What are platies preferences? Is it safe to add more guppies? What about platies? Thanks for all the great help so far!

Their tails will grow back eventually, but it takes quite a while.

I have very soft water and lots and lots of guppies.

I don't know much about platies, but I think their needs are similar.

I wouldn't add any more fish until you're sure everything has settled down with your tank.