I'm New At Fishkeeping. I Just Need Some Advice On My New Guppies&

[HarpyFishLover]

Hey guys! I have recently joined the fishkeeping community. I got a 10-gallon fish tank for my birthday and cycled it and all. Last Saturday I got two male fancy guppies. I think I over fed them, as I noticed poop trailing out of my biggest fish who eats all the food. I fasted them that evening, the whole next day, and, still noticing the poop trail, I did not feed them the next morning. That evening, however, I fed them Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, and a tad of fish food. Soon after, I noticed my bigger fish had a very fat belly. It is a little better today, but how should I go about this? My smaller fish hasn't eaten much, as the bigger one has eaten it all. How do I feed the smaller one without feeding the bigger one?

 

[nic1]

What do you mean by poop trailing out of him?
What colour is the poop?
How did you cycle the tank and when was your birthday? (just trying to establish how long you cycled it for)
Do you have any pictures of the fish?

 

[HarpyFishLover]

Alright, starting with the first question... there are long strands of poop and it takes him a long time to get rid of it. Second question- the poop is a very light pinkish color with a hint of light brown. Third question- I didn't start the tank till about two weeks ago, and let it cycle for a week. I've had the guppies for 1 week now!
Won't let me send pictures

 

[snork6]

You cannot cycle a new tank in 2 weeks you need a month at least. The color poop you described sounds normal (someone correct me if i'm wrong)

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, I'm afraid there's much more to cycling than letting a tank run for a week.

The chances are that, because you don't have any good bacteria living in the filter (growing those is what cycling is), then the fish's wastes are building up in the water. In a cycled tank, the bacteria would eat those wastes, and stop the water becoming toxic.

You need to change at least half the water, every day, until you can get some test kits for ammonia and nitrite. Make sure the new water is warmed and dechlorinated.

 

[HarpyFishLover]

I do have some test strips, but they don't test for ammonia... I plan to get some today or tomorrow. So, since I already have two fish in it, how long do I need to wait to add more fish?

 

[fluttermoth]

Until you've had zero readings for both ammonia and nitrite, without having to do a water change. for at least a week.

Get liquid tests if you can; they're far more accurate and do some large water changes until then, as you won't know how high the ammonia is getting without testing (you can't see, smell or taste ammonia at a level that will kill fish).

 

[HarpyFishLover]

Alright, thanks for your help! ☺ Now I have noticed the over fed fish is fighting the underfed fish... is that normal guppy behavior, or is that something wrong with the water?

 

[fluttermoth]

It's common if you only have a small amount of fish, I'm afraid, but I can't advise you to add any more until you've got the water quality under control. Is there any way you can take the fish back and do a fishless cycle?

 

[HarpyFishLover]

I don't think so...

 

[Jeremy180]

What is your fish store's return policy?
Mine will refund half credit, no questions asked on any live fish returned within two weeks.
Maybe your fish store would be willing to take the guppies back if you didn't ask for money back? (guppies are relatively cheap, so you shouldn't be out much money) Alternately, do you know anyone with an established aquarium, or a cycled quarentine tank??
Provided the conditions and tankmates are suitable, this could be an emergency home for the guppies until your tank is properly cycled.
Even if you freind's tank doesn't have suitable tankmates (many fish will bully fancy guppies), you might be able to use some "gunk" from their filter to seed your tank with good bacteria to shorten the cycling time, instead.

 

[HarpyFishLover]

I will check on the store's return policy. My guess is, they will accept the guppies. And unfortunately I do not know anybody with a cycled fish tank, or have a cycled quarantine tank... after I get this one established I will most likely use our tiny 3 gal for it.

 

[HarpyFishLover]

So, about the food issue... I've fasted them all day today, only fed em once yesterday, and fasted them the day before that. Should I feed em tomorrow morning? BTW, tomorrow is vacuum day

 

[BaylorPerez]

you could try to section off half the tank for each guppy, then feed both separately, then remove the section holder then do that when you feed them. Also with the Guppies, you may want to lower the food you put into the tank. Couple years ago i had guppies as well, the male took most of the food until the female got pregnant, Also try sinking pellats, this would help with the food being taken by both fish

 

[HarpyFishLover]

The sinking pellets are too big for them to eat... was wondering if a breeder box might work? Like put the fat one in the box, and feed the other dude...