Sick Guppy

[stiffler69]

I have a sick male guppy he seems to swimming strange and cant seem to balance his body straight his nose is pointed in the air and his tail is down. It also seems his fins on the side of his body are in poor shape i have put this down to his unusual swimming hes been on his own until today and has been off his food. The tank is over 7 days old and has been flowing for a week until the introduction of him and then a couple more today, could his condition be down to poor water quality thanks.

 

[Montizuma]

hey we need more information. like how big the tank is, other fish, water stats, filter, and things like that. i was just told that a week to cycle your tank WITHOUT FISH is not long enough at all. it should be doen for months at a time. Is you water cloudy if so you are in the same boat as me and have a amonia problem. I was told you have to do water changes everyday. heres the link i got.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?act=po...26&t=215369

 

[stiffler69]

hey we need more information. like how big the tank is, other fish, water stats, filter, and things like that. i was just told that a week to cycle your tank WITHOUT FISH is not long enough at all. it should be doen for months at a time. Is you water cloudy if so you are in the same boat as me and have a amonia problem. I was told you have to do water changes everyday. heres the link i got.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?act=po...26&t=215369

The tank is only 28l and it has had the male in it for a couple of days now and did have a couple of females with him but they died he seemed to be fine however and has only showed signs of weakness in his swimming today i thought it was down to him been lonely and he has cheered up a little bit since introducing a couple more females but still have not seen him eat anything, ive have not done any tests on the tank water as i was told just to apply the water treatment i got with the tank and leave it cycle for 7 days adding a little bit of fish flakes to help it along it also had plants in there aswell what i was told will also help the process i done this and then lost a couple of the females leaving the male on his own. Im thinking maybe i need to buy some test kits tomorrow and see if it is the water effecting him and if it is i need to get them transfered to another tank.

Here is a pic of him

 

[Apolloefc]

hey we need more information. like how big the tank is, other fish, water stats, filter, and things like that. i was just told that a week to cycle your tank WITHOUT FISH is not long enough at all. it should be doen for months at a time. Is you water cloudy if so you are in the same boat as me and have a amonia problem. I was told you have to do water changes everyday. heres the link i got.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?act=po...26&t=215369

The tank is only 28l and it has had the male in it for a couple of days now and did have a couple of females with him but they died he seemed to be fine however and has only showed signs of weakness in his swimming today i thought it was down to him been lonely and he has cheered up a little bit since introducing a couple more females but still have not seen him eat anything, ive have not done any tests on the tank water as i was told just to apply the water treatment i got with the tank and leave it cycle for 7 days adding a little bit of fish flakes to help it along it also had plants in there aswell what i was told will also help the process i done this and then lost a couple of the females leaving the male on his own. Im thinking maybe i need to buy some test kits tomorrow and see if it is the water effecting him and if it is i need to get them transfered to another tank.

prepare yourself for a lecture

 

[Montizuma]

Yeah if you put some more fish in with him and they died, (not to be harsh) but didn't that raise the alarm that there is something wrong with your water? You need to test the water and do some water changes i don't know how much water needs to be changed cause we don't know the water stats. Also when your at the pet store buy a thermometer so you now how cold/hot the tank is, that could also be the problem because even though guppies are hardy fish they do better with a certain temp. Should do some research on the fish to get more information on it. AND ALWAYS DO RESHERCH ON A FISH BEFOR YOU BUY IT.

 

[stiffler69]

Yeah if you put some more fish in with him and they died, (not to be harsh) but didn't that raise the alarm that there is something wrong with your water? You need to test the water and do some water changes i don't know how much water needs to be changed cause we don't know the water stats. Also when your at the pet store buy a thermometer so you now how cold/hot the tank is, that could also be the problem because even though guppies are hardy fish they do better with a certain temp. Should do some research on the fish to get more information on it. AND ALWAYS DO RESHERCH ON A FISH BEFOR YOU BUY IT.

Hi i have a thermometer and the tank temperature is 26.5 degress and is pretty stable from all accounts this is a good temperature for guppys from what i have read also i didnt think you needed to be changing the water so frequently but i will do so tomorrow and see if this helps, as i now have 2 female guppys and 2 female platties in there now and dont really want to be losing any more if i can help it

 

[stiffler69]

Will the chaging of the water distress the fish in anyway as i dont want to upset them anymore than i already have if you know what i mean

 

[Angel_Queen]

changing the water will do less stress than leaving it in water filled with toxins. It will only help.

 

[stiffler69]

Ok do i need to leave the new water for 24 hours with the treatment solution in it or can i just add it straight away thanks.

 

[Angel_Queen]

I think you can add it straight away, but you may want to leave the water for a period so to bring the temperature to the level of water in the tank.

Although I think in this instance it would be best to get the fresh water in as soon as possible. Maybe try adding the water in intervals so to not shock the fish due to the low temp.

Can I get confirmation of this from a more experienced forum member?!

 

[stiffler69]

Done a 25% water change and only lost around 1 degree in termperature so in all that wasnt so bad, since doing the change he seems to of become a little more active maybe just a energy spirt but ill see how he does tomorrow hopefully with regular changes he should pull through

 

[littlest]

You should get the water you are adding at the same temperature as the tank (roughly). In a big tank it doesn't matter so much, but in a little tank it does.
I just use a mix of hot and cold water from the tap, though some people say using water from the hot tap is bad because it contains more heavy metals. The alternative is to mix boiling water from the kettle with cold water from the tap, until the temp is roughly the same (by touch will do).

If you are using dechlorinater(which you should be) you don't need to leave the water to stand, you can change it straight away.

After you added the fish food, did you do a water change before adding the fish?

Adding the fish food in the empty tank would have caused ammonia in the water. You need this to do a fishless cycle, but a week wasn't long enough, so the ammonia was still there. Your fish are now also producing ammonia, constantly, and the ammonia is poisonous to them, hence the dead fish, hence the poorly one. That's why you need to do frequent water changes until your tank is fully cycled.

Have you read about cycling? if not > http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=141944

 

[Angel_Queen]

Just get the testing kits and make sure you check the water regularly, a few times in one day to keep an eye on ammonia/nitrItes if need be. The minute the ammonia or nitrIte readings spikes do a water change.

 

[stiffler69]

Hi thanks for the advice ill keep the water changes going and will purchase the testing kits tomorrow i was not told any of this when purchasing the tank so its all pretty new to me. Just from the first water change i done after been advised to do this the sick fish is more active and swimming alot more with the females so hopefully he will pull through fingers crossed

 

[Angel_Queen]

Keeping mine crossed for you. Going thrugh the same thing as you... not having done the proper research when we bought the tank... now very attached to the fish we have in the tank and keeping a tentative eye on them all the time.