Guppy Floating

[andy_spurs]

Hi,

I have been watching one of my guppy's and for the last day he has been floating near the top of the water and hardly moving, my tank has been running for a month now and i have had no other problems, all other fish look heathy? He is still feeding but that is it?
Any advise??

ANdy

 

[backtotropical]

Can you give us more info, Andy?

Ammonia?
Nitrite?
Nitrate?
pH?
Temp?
Size of tank?
Fish in tank?

 

[andy_spurs]

Can you give us more info, Andy?

Ammonia?
Nitrite?
Nitrate?
pH?
Temp?
Size of tank?
Fish in tank?

I haven't bought a test kit yet, going to take a sample over to my LFS on friday, my next day off

the tank is 60L and is 77 deegrees, i've got a few danios and cherry barbs in there, with 3 guppys.

 

[backtotropical]

Stocking sounds fine. How long has the tank been set up??

 

[Aleydis]

I know one of my fish died of what I THINK is ammonia poisoning, and he showed similar symptoms. You should really get a test kit. I didn't know about my ammonia problems before I was more than a month in with my fish. Now I'm in the midst of clearing the ammonia, but my fish are dropping.

My fish had these symptoms before death:
Distancing from group
Barely eating
Lethargy
Lack of energy
Swimming/staying at surface but not gasping
Swimming at a slightly upwards angle.

If your fish shows these symptoms, you might want to check your ammonia sometime soon.
Of course, I'm a newbie myself and I may not be right.
The best of luck to you, though!
-Aleydis

 

[Juice]

If its a female, they do that especially when about to give birth. My guppies stay at the top alot, and when the females are pregnant like huge and black gravid spot they hang around the top.

 

[andy_spurs]

Thanks again for the answers

i just got home from work and he is floating in some plants hardly moving,

The answer to previous question, my tank has been set up for about a month now, no previous deaths

and as previously mentioned i am going to take my water to be tested on friday (my first oppertunity)

 

[martyn413]

your tank is not cycled. You will need to buy a api test kit asap. Also you will need to be doing daily water changes to get the ammonia down.

If you leave it too late then you will have deaths. Even if the fish do survive they could suffer from ammonia burns.

Martyn

 

[andy_spurs]

i did a water change before i went out earlier, just come home and at least he's moving now, still doesn't look happy

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Andy,

I suspect Martyn is probably right that your tank isn't cycled. Are you familiar with 'The Nitrogen Cycle'?

You should invest in a liquid re-agent test kit as soon as possible so we can establish and monitor your water parameters. I suspect that your fish is suffering from ammonia poisoning. Does it look red and inflamed around the gills?

You need to do a 90% water change straight away, making sure the replacement water is a similar temperature to the old tank water. Then start changing 50% each day until you get a test kit and we can evaluate the situation further.

Good luck!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

have a look at the link in my sig 'whats cycling' which should explain a bit more about this all.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, you need to follow backtotropical's advice and do the 90% (means remove water until fish just have minimal room left) water change. Note that water changes can be done after 1 hour of waiting since a previous water change. The return water should be roughly temperature matched as BTT says, and also conditioned per instructions on your dechlorinator/dechloraminator bottle.

(then when you sit down to rest, follow miss wiggle's link to begin reading about what's behind all this...)

Good Luck!
~~waterdrop~~

 

[andy_spurs]

Hi,

I have previously done a fishless cycle and had the water tested, all other fish are ok.

I have 2 guppy's and the other one is fine.

Just got home from work and noticed something at the middle/rear of the fish which looks like a white fur??
Also the above mentioned fish is pretty liveless and seams to be floating on it's side every so often??

Should i just remove him from tank or hope he recovers??

Thanks again for all the advise

Andy

 

[rabbut]

Large waterchanges will often be the only treatment the disease you describe need to clear up. It is Culmnaris

You say you fishless cycled before adding fish. How you do this? Sorry if it sounds like a silly quiestion, but many "newbie" members do get it wrong. Don't take offence to that quiestion..

Get a large waterchange done and then keep watching things

All the best
Rabbut

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, its not possible to fishless cycle without a test kit.