Please Please Help

[Sami9999]

Todays water tests ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitates 0 ph 7.4. Still losing females guppies...So sad that my poor fishies keep dying.

Frogs are doing really good now and are out and about a lot. They are all eating and no longer spend all their time in a cave.

 

[Sami9999]

I started antibiotics two days ago. I took my filter media out and set it aside in a bucket of tank water so my bacteria would not be killed off. However, the ammonia in my tank is spiking to just under .25...I am not sure if I can do a water change with the antibiotics. Will doing a water change make the antibiotics less effective or will I be okay. Your advice would be greatly appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[waterdrop]

I don't actually know the preferred approach, with antibiotics in there - perhaps Wilder or someone else in the emergencies section will see and comment. Obviously, you can do a large water change with conditioner and temp-matching and then re-dose the antibiotic. That seems like a reasonable thing to do, just don't know if that's what's really preferred.. but lacking info that's probably what I'd do. WD

 

[Sami9999]

I am sorry to keep bugging everyone but I am really not sure what to think. Basic recap is that I was losing female guppies...I lost around 10 in a week. My ammonia and nitrite readings have been 0 until yesterday (ammonia spiked to just under .25) and nitrates have never gone above 5ppm. My guppies have shown a number of symptoms:
*red gills
*two had tail rot (tails were fine and then gone within 15 min)
*two had white patches (kind of looked a bit like mold) on their bodies near their tails.
*the rest seemed fine and then sat on the bottom of the tank for less than an hour and died.
Under the advice of a vet I started them all on a broad spectrum antibiotic..I am on day three of a four day course. They seem to be doing better and I have not lost a fish in 24 hours, however, now one of my males has a white patch similar to the ones the females had. I am really confused...I am not sure if I am dealing with multiple problems or if maybe for some reason my water test results are wrong. I am using an API master test kit...it is not expired and I follow all of the directions to a tee. I have a 10 gallon hospital tank set up and the moment I notice any symptoms I remove that fish from the main tank. The only fish in the tank affected are the guppies. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. I will also post this in the Emergency forum.

 

[Tolak]

Do you have a name on that broad spectrum antibiotic, and what amount are you dosing? I'm assuming this is still in the 55 gallon tank. Are you using the 10 gallon tank for a medication tank? For dosing with most antibiotics it takes at least 7 days of medication, 10-14 is better. This is no different than humans, or if you've ever had other pets, dogs, cats, etc.

For most antibiotics a large daily water change & redose is what is needed; there are a few that will remain effective in the water for several days, having a considerably longer half life.

 

[Sami9999]

E.M. Erythromycin. The vet said to follow the direction which are 1 packet per 10 gallons for four days. I do a water change every day at 4pm and then redose. Should I continue for longer than the four days? I thought four days was a bit short. Yes it is still a 55 gallon. I am treating both tanks. The vet I spoke to said that because the larger tank was already infected I should treat it and use the smaller tank for any fish showing obvious symptoms. Am I treating right?

 

[Sami9999]

Am I doing something wrong? No matter what I do my guppies just keep dying. I test the water three times a day and change water as needed. I have never gotten an ammonia reading above .25 and my nitrites are always around 0. I have a hospital tank and remove any fish that seem sick but they just keep dying. I am really upset over all my fish dying and don't know what else to do.

 

[Curiosity101]

Hmm, if it's only the guppies dying and all other fish seem fine... aswell as the fact you're medicating then I really don't think you can do much more. At this point the only reasonable conclusion I can come to is that the guppies have something wrong with them. Possibly something genetic, or possibly they were kept badly when they were younger/before they got sent out to you.

 

[waterdrop]

There are some who say that guppies are over-inbred as compared to 30 years ago and its cases like this that sometimes seem to support that. Very frustrating. WD

 

[OldMan47]

I have seen that same comment over and over WD. I own pet shop guppies, one of the few fish I still buy from pet shops actually, that are all healthy in my tanks. I got mine from a local outlet of a large chain pet shop so I doubt they are any different genetically from the run of the mill guppy out there. Something that surprised me when I was selling their fry at a local club auction was that people thought there was something special about them. They do survive and thrive, but all I really do to make them different from any other guppy is feed them well on high vegetable content foods and do water changes as needed. I do one other thing that may make a difference, although I am not sure it does, I keep them cooler than many people would advocate. My guppies never see water over about 24C and never see water with a pH even close to dropping below 7.4.

 

[fluffycabbage]

how are your other fish?

 

[Sami9999]

how are your other fish?

Tetras and danios are doing great. The frogs are also doing good. Guppies are still dying. So tired of waking up to dead fish.

 

[waterdrop]

Well, we've got some good tips from OM up there on keeping guppies, perhaps something amongst those suggestions will help!

Thanks OM! WD

 

[OldMan47]

I have merely scanned this topic Sami. Have you posted the pH and GH/KH of your tank? Do you know if you have hard or soft water? I have what many people would consider quite hard water with a relatively high KH so there is little doubt that my mineral content is through the roof. My guppies fit the pattern for hard water and are thriving in it. Tetras are typically soft water fish and danios are hardy in almost any water. If those are thriving and guppies are not, it is entirely possible that your water is not appropriate for guppies. In that case, no amount of care on your part will help them short of setting up a separate tank and adding lots of hardness to their separate tank. If you choose to go that way, we can certainly give you advice on how to raise GH and KH.

 

[Sami9999]

I have merely scanned this topic Sami. Have you posted the pH and GH/KH of your tank? Do you know if you have hard or soft water? I have what many people would consider quite hard water with a relatively high KH so there is little doubt that my mineral content is through the roof. My guppies fit the pattern for hard water and are thriving in it. Tetras are typically soft water fish and danios are hardy in almost any water. If those are thriving and guppies are not, it is entirely possible that your water is not appropriate for guppies. In that case, no amount of care on your part will help them short of setting up a separate tank and adding lots of hardness to their separate tank. If you choose to go that way, we can certainly give you advice on how to raise GH and KH.

My ph is 7.4 and my tank is moderately hard. My tap water is very soft but I have crushed coral in my filter to make it harder. I only have strips to test this though. I can go buy an api test if they make one. I have no problem spending money if it means saving my fish. The male guppies are doing just fine. I have only lost one male to the 12 or so females I have lost. I posted a picture of the one male I lost and the patch of missing color on him in the emergency section. Only a few of the guppies I have lost have had this maybe four of them. All of the guppies that have had this symptom have died though. Liveaquaria.com (where my parents had the fish shipped from) messed up the order and sent the wrong guppies but have since shipped the right ones. I received these on Wednesday and they have been in a quarantine tank ever since. I use separate nets and buckets for water changes so the tanks have no cross contamination, however, the new guppies have the same symptoms as the original ones.

I test my water three times a day and ammonia and nitrite reading are both 0 and nitrites stay below 10. The fish do not hang out at the top of the tank and are eating well. I also have a betta in another tank who is doing very well and goldfish in a pond which is filled with the same water and they are doing great also. If you have any suggestions for my water please let me know and thank you guys for all of the advice and help.