Please Help - Not Sure What To Do?

[Amycus]

Hiya

So here's the story...

I have a 5 gallon tank containing 4 male guppies.

The tank has been set up since October any unless I change 50% of the water every 24 hours I'm getting massive amounts of ammonia??

I had to leave the tank for 3 days in April and when I got back the ammonia and Nitrites were off the charts?! I don't understand it???

I used to have 5 guppies but one died 2 weeks ago - he was eating but spending most of his time hiding, lying on the bottom of the tank and wedging himself places. I noticed some deterioration in his tail before he died and now I'm seeing the same thing with 2 of the others.

I have no testing solution left but I know for sure that the ammonia level will be at least 1.0 and the Nitrite will be around 1.0 too!

2 are now showing rapid deterioration in their tails although they're still eating any swimming.

I know that the answer here is going to be plain and simple - Bad water is killing the fish - but why?! How can a tank that has been set up for 6 months+ still have water this bad???

Where do I go from here? What is the best thing to do for the remaining guppies?

Any help would be great! Thanks x

 

[LauraFrog]

Obviously the tank is not cycled and it's hard to know why. Have a look in your filter - what media do you have in it?
Were the readings stable and safe (ammonia and nitrites 0, nitrates under 50) before you had to leave the tank?

Rapid degeneration of the tail shortly followed by death sounds like columnaris. If you can get antibiotics in the tank within the next 24 hours you might have a chance of saving them but TBH it's probably too late. Usually antibiotics must be used in a hospital tank but as your tank isn't cycled then there are no bacteria for it to kill so it doesn't matter.