Update...going Great!

[iluvguppies]

Hi,

Thanks for reading this and any help you can give greatly appreciated

My guppies seem ok to look at and are eating well, etc, but when viewed from above when they are stationary their tails seem to bend to one side....not all the time but a fair bit.

Anyone who has read my other posts will know that I'm going through fish-in cycle and that it's not going great..struggling to keep levels down. Have done lots of big water changes but this so far hasn't held levels down that much. Today I emptied it completely and rinsed the gravel clean. I'm also going to be getting some mature media from a very lovely person on saturaday so hopefully that will help a lot.

Other fish are okay.

Any ideas???

Thanks

Nikki

 

[iluvguppies]

Anyone please

Water stats (using API liquid master test) this morning after complete change and cleaning gravel are:

ammonia less than 0.25...its yellow but not quite the same yellow as on color chart but def not greenish so hopefully much closer to 0 than 0.25
Nitrite 0.25
nitrates 10
ph looks like 7.8 poss 8

Should I try to lower ph as I know high ph makes ammonia more toxic? I can buy product for this.
Will do 50% w/c today and see or do u think more?

thanks,

Nikki

 

[WILDER]

How many gallons or litres is the tank.
How many fish and which type.

Don't empty the tank completey. Dont wash the gravel.
Only remove uneaten food.
All you can do is water changes and increase aeration.
If you just have livebearers add some salt gradually. One tablespoon to 5 gals.


Its bad to do a full water change as if the ph is different from tap the fish can get ph shock.
Don't lower ph.

Any fish look skinny or bloated.
What does it look like when the fish go to the toilet.
I had a few platys with bending tails and they never made it.

 

[iluvguppies]

Thnx for reply.

Tank is 64L. Had 5 guppies and 6 neoen tetras plus about 15 guppy fry (around 3-6wks old).

The 2 guppies that were doing this seem to be doing better in the new water ( I haven't noticed them doing it)...I know I shouldn't really clean gravel so thoroughly, but nothing else was seeming to work with getting rid of the ammonia/nitrites for any length of time so it was done in desperation. It may be my imagination but the fish seem happier/perkier than before.

I'm just going to perform a 40-50% ish water change and will check the results again after a few hours. The stats straight before the water change are: ammonia 0, nitrites 0.5 and nitrates 10.

Maybe I'm finally going to see the end of this cycle (I'm about 7 weeks into it).

Thanks for your advice, I will be following it closely.

No fish look skinny or bloated as far as I can tell and their colours are all good. They are active and busy.

I will try feeding just once every 3 days..do you think that's ok?

I think the poo is brownish on the guppies, although I have noticed that on some of the fry definately (not sure what else..can't remember) it's sometimes whitish.

I will look again and see though.

Thanks,

Nikki

 

[iluvguppies]

Hi,

Water 50% changed. Water stats 6hrs later:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0.25
didn't test nitrates.

Water stats 16hrs later:

Ammonia between 0 and 0.25
nitrites 0.5

That's a shame, I was hoping it would hold at the lower levels

I'm getting some mature media today and will do a 50% water change as well...probably after I get the media.

Is all this normal so long in? I thought I'd be near the end now?

Nikki

 

[WILDER]

I would phone the lfs to see if they would take the young fry off your hands.
I would still keep feeding 3 times aday with having the fry.

 

[iluvguppies]

ok..will ask them.

Got big chunk of mature media today and crammed it into my filters. Hopefully, this will help with the levels. How long is it likely to take to show a difference...it's almost doubled the amount of media (sponge) I've got.

Nikki

PS poo is brownish. Altogether, I guess there's approx 12" of fish in my 64L tank...is that too much??

 

[indigoj]

You should see a difference very quickly - hopefully if you are close to completing your cycle this will finish it off.

 

[iluvguppies]

Oh, goody! Now you're getting my hopes up, I shall sulk if you're wrong, lol.

Seriously, though, I hope so for my fishes' sakes.

Thanx,

Nikki

 

[WILDER]

Have you checked your water stats.

 

[iluvguppies]

Hi,

Yeah, it's great!!! For the last 2 days ammonia and nitrite have held steady at 0mg/L (testing 3xdaily) WITHOUT any water changes. I am hoping to move to changing water 1x per week as long as stats stay ok.



Thanks for everyones help.....I swear the fish seem happier already!

Nikki

PS nitrates are b/n 10-20 pH is 7.8

 

[WILDER]

That's good news then.

 

[iluvguppies]

Hi,

We had a bit of a blip when too much food got tipped in by accident (kids, eh!) but things are back on track and stats are again holding steady at 0 after a few very quick large water changes.

Thanks for all your help!

Nikki

 

[WILDER]

Glad everything ok.