guppy behavior

[darkstar22]

i just got another female guppy for my 10 gallon tank... there is a total of 2 females and 1 male in this tank... and the new female i got today seems to be staying around bottom of the tank in little gravel holes and not really being active so to speak... i dont think shes dying.. but anyone know if this is normal?... because i know once guppies are pregnant they want to have some space at times... but she doesnt seem to have an appetite... looks like shes scared of something.... thoughts?!?!??!

 

[Annastasia]

It could be stress from the move. Or it could be a shock from changing from one water chemistry to another. How did you acclimate her?

I'd keep an eye on her.

 

[darkstar22]

i left her in her original bag for probably 4 minutes to let her adjust to the temperature... i have been keeping a pretty close eye on her... she got more active once i turned the damn light on after about a 15 minute period... so i dont know because now shes just chilling at the top and not really moving much... still bothering me a little well see

 

[darkstar22]

things dont look good... i think shes going to die

 

[darkstar22]

.......well as i was just thinking she ended up dying before my eyes... i am going to get a different female today hopefully one that is alot more active!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You should acclimatise any fish for at least 30minutes via putting the bag in the tank and echanging small amounts of water from the tank into the bag once every 5-10minutes. Your guppy most likely died of stress from lack of acclimatisation, how long has the tank been set up for and do you know about ammonia, nitrates and nitrites?

 

[darkstar22]

the tank is actually fine... been cycled and set up for over a year.... but i went back to the fish store and they didnt have anymore ... one day later which means i think there was somethign wrong with them...maybe sick or sumtin...

 

[Angry_Platy]

That happened to me. I bought 3 females from the one LFS tank and they all died within a week. I was at the LFS the following week and casually mentioned it and they told me that theirs had died too from the same tank. They gave me a refund (kinda, the 3 fish I got that day were for free).....

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You should still try to acclimatise any fish you buy for more than 4minutes as that length of time won't give the fish enough time to adjust properly to the tank and its water stats...30minutes is realy the best minimum and when it comes down to it, it isn't that long considering that you may have the fish for many years to come and the longer you leave it to acclimatise the more likely the fish will be able to settle in well into the tank and survive

 

[Annastasia]

Yeah...the fish needs longer then 5 minutes.

I usually let them sit for 10 minutes, then open the bag, pour out a little bit of water, then put a cup (A betta cup..like the ones they come in) of water from the tank in. I wait 10 minutes, then repeat this process. Keep doing this until you think it is mostly your tanks water. This has worked very well for me, and I have never had a fish loss from this. Guppies are also sensitive fish, due to inbreeding, so they need more acclimation time then some other fish do. Though this is a good idea for most fish.

 

[afireinside]

i normally leave the fish in for an hour, that way, i know that the water in the bag and the water in the tank are the same.