Help! Guppy Is In Trouble

[Swimmingdownstream]

My husband thought all we needed to do before we got fish was let the filter run for 5 days. Now one of the guppies seems sick. Here's what we did:
 
Bought 20 gallon tank, filled with tap water (no additives), turned on filter/heater, ran for 5 days, temp is 74, put 3 guppies in. Now one guppy seems sick, isn't moving much, just sitting near heater. Got the fish on Wed, it's now Sat.
 
Haven't done any water changes. How do I do that? Do you have to add something to the tap water before replacing the water?
 
My 7 year old is really upset about Shark (guppy that's not doing well). Do I buy some chemicals? Do I do a water change (if so, what do I add to the tap water)? Help please!

 

[mike455555]

right that sounds like ammonia poisoning to me, do a large water change 90%+  add a decholranatior like tapsafe. and go to the beginners recourse center (link in my sig) and read about cycling 

 

[KrystaK]

+1, do a large water change, turn the filter off and start scooping the water out into a bucket, when there's only about 5-6 inches of water in the tank you're set to add new water.
Go buy 'Tap water Dechlorinator' It does exactly what you'd think, it takes the chlorine (And other elements) out of tap water and makes it safe for your fish.
Add the specified amount to the new water you're going to add to the tank (They come in different concentrations, it will tell you how much to add on the back of the bottle) Get the temperature of the new water as close to the water in the tank as possible. 
 
Does your sick guppy have very red gills, or is he breathing really quickly? Do his scales stick out and make him look like a pine cone? Does it look like any of your fish have little white spots on them (That look like grains of salt)? These are all symptoms of fish put in an uncycled tank. They represent various illnesses. 
Look into getting a small box of aquarium salt and adding about 1 tea spoon (Maybe a little less) for every 5 gal of water.
 
Also spend the 8 dollars and get some test strips that measure Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrate (And hopefully pH) Test your water every day to every other day. Expect to do smaller water changes (maybe 30-40%) every three days for the next month, and then weekly after that.  
 
Also, don't buy any replacement fish for three weeks to a month, (That's how long it takes for a filter to build up enough bacteria to properly process fish waste.) 

 

[daizeUK]

Yes, your guppies will produce ammonia through excretion and respiration and as the ammonia builds up it will burn their gills.  The idea is to build up bacteria in your tank that eats the ammonia, but the chlorine in your tapwater will kill the bacteria.  Guppies are unfortunately often a sensitive breed of fish and don't do well in uncycled tanks.  You will need to change the water for them every day to reduce the ammonia until the bacteria have a chance to grow.

 

[KrystaK]

(As you can see everyone has their own slightly different idea of how often and how large of a water change to do in order to decrease ammonia) but the general point is do them often in uncycled tanks so the ammonia doesn't build up

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Liquid test kits are far more reliable.
 
Do a water change to keep the levels as close to zero as possible, as big and as often as necessary.
 
 
Also, don't waste your money on products like "Ammo-lock" etc.  These are short-term solutions to a long-term problem.  The best way to help the fish is to change the water (right now, massively - 90%) and read through the "fish-in cycle" thread linked in my sig.  There is a WEALTH of information in the Beginner's Resource Center (also linked) that you will want to go through.  But, for now, the fish-in cycle thread is the way to go.

 

[mike455555]

i wouldent scoope water out when gravity can do it for me, syphons the way to go

 

[balajake]

90% water change. But you really need to buy a bottle of dechlorinator first. And a test kit to check ammonia and nitrite levels.

Api freshwater master kits are very good and can be bought in pets at home if you are in the UK and need a store that opens late

 

[Swimmingdownstream]

I checked the water yesterday and it wasn't high on ammonia. We still went ahead though and suctioned out water and replaced with dechlorinated water. Maybe it's something else?

 

[The Taffy Apple]

I checked the water yesterday and it wasn't high on ammonia. We still went ahead though and suctioned out water and replaced with dechlorinated water. Maybe it's something else?

 
 
It's nothing else but ammonia poisoning... even though you state the ammonia reading "wasn't that high", ANY reading of ammonia is deadly to fish..after all, it is a poison, even 0.5-1ppm is enough to kill your fish within days.
Continue your water changes, re-filling with warm, dechlorinated water, until you get Ammonia reading a big, fat '0'.
Good luck.
 
Terry.