My Guppies Keep Dying

[jacksondaniels]

Hello,
I am having trouble keeping guppies as I have had a few die on me. I inherited a tank off a family member but when I got it home for one reason or another it was not cycled so had to start again. It is a 48 litre tank and has been going for 3 and a half weeks now which should be sufficient for it to be cycled shouldnt it? I do ammonia checks every other day which are fine, no signs of any nitrite or nitrate, I use tap safe when changing 25% water every week, my PH is a little low. I only have 2 fish in there at the moment and they are struggling. Swimming at the top , stationary, gills moving rapidly and appear red? I thought this was linked to ammonia but Ive tested for that. The other thing would be lack of oxygen but ive tryed daily water changes, have live plants in there and filter working fine to introduce oxygen to the tank. Any help would be appreciated. Michael.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How are you testing the water, test strips or liquid test kits? Strips are very inaccurate.

In a "fish-in" cycle like you described, I'd expect to have to change some water at least twice a week, unless the plants you have in there are what are considered fast growers and/or you are feeding very conservatively eg. size of one eye per fish per day.

 

[jacksondaniels]

I am using liquid test for the ammonia but I have those 6 in 1 strips for everything else. I have been feeding the fish every other day but more than the size of one eye per fish as you state. Im reluctant to buy any more fish at this point until the tanks running better and I have resolved this problem. Would you say the tank is not yet cycled?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Given the fishes' rapid breathing at the top, I'd be inclined to suspect a nitrite spike, even if it is not that I would do a massive (>75%) water change with similar temp dechlorinated water and see how they do over the next day or two.

I think you are still "fish-in" cycling here with that low feeding frequency. If you were feeding daily, I'd expect you to get ammonia and/or nitrite readings every few days for at least several months. I would not add any more fish until your tank is properly cycled, I would buy Seachem Prime dechlorinator to save money during all these water changes and give your fish a small 24 hour "insurance buffer" against ammonia and nitrite by ~2x overdosing (so ~10ml per 200l).

 

[jacksondaniels]

You mean putting double the stated dose of dechlorinator in? Will this act in a beneficial way? I am currently using the tap safe from pets at home, is this not adequate? I have just done a 25% water change before reading your post, I will perform a further 50% one too.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

5ml of Seachem Prime will dechlorinate 200l of water, it is very concentrated and is far more economical when you can get 2l bottles for <£40 (called Seachem Oasis Pond Prime, same composition as Seachem Prime, needs to be dosed at tank and not lower pond levels).

It can be safely overdosed upto 5x the standard dose to temporarily "mop up" ammonia, nitrite and nitrate for upto 24 hours (safe for fish, but can still be used as food for the bacteria you need to build up in your filter).

For anyone "fish-in" cycling, products like this can make all the difference for the short and long term health of the fish being exposed to an uncycled environment.

 

[KrazyKuhli]

Might help to add an air pump or move the filter near the surface to disturb the water.

Just keep on top of water changes

 

[jacksondaniels]

Ok thanks for that, I will go and see if I can find some at my local aquamania store. I have moved the filter so it breaks the water at the surface. Thanks.

 

[KrazyKuhli]

I have my Air pump on a remote switch and if I leave it off all day the fish start panting, an hour after turning it on they stop and are alot more active,

 

[OldMan47]

I am going to jump in on the side of poor testing with a nitrite spike ongoing. Do a huge water change, let's say 90% or more, and see how the fish respond. If the fish suddenly look better, as I suspect they will, you have a testing problem and should get a liquid type testing kit for nitrites.