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Fishnet

If you have a fish pond, fish tank or are seeking advice about keeping tropical fish, you can find advice on our Fish forum.

Original poster

Newbie to tropical fish - 3 dead!

24 replies

loopydoo · 01/08/2012 18:40

Hi - we were given 6 baby guppies by a friend and before they arrived, bought the tank (19litres) and did everything it said to do.

It has an inbuilt pump and seperate heater. Two live plants and roman ornament and blue gravel.

We're feeding them 1-2 drops (as recommended on bottle) of Liquifry 2 although might reduce this on advice from friend.

This afternoon, we found 2 sitting on bottom half in filter slits and another gone a bit grey on gravel. The other three - two older guppies and one smaller guppy, seem to be swimming (slowly) near surface a lot.

What do you think could be the problem? The lady in Pets at Home seemed to think 4 days was enough to set up and leave the tank before introducing the fish. They were added with their own previous tank water as well.

OP posts:
Furball · 01/08/2012 19:02

They actually need bacteria in the water to survive - so how much of their own previous tank water was added?

The woman in pets at home is taking rubbish - just leaving the tank for 4 days does nothing for nobody, it should have been properly cycled - have a read of this page

I'm no expert and not sure what you should do for your current fish who are obviously in need of help, but the water needs to be correct for them to have any hope. It might be worth taking a sample back to pets at home and asking them to test it and see what they say. Or buy your own kit (at least £30) and try and sort it yourself.

Hopefully someone will be along in a minute with more help Smile

Original poster
loopydoo · 01/08/2012 19:07

Oh poo - I feel awful now. The people we had the fish from told us lots of info and I thought the tank set up would be okay.

DD and her friend were so adament it would be okay but I've obv. not read up enough on it all - especially the cycling bit!

The other 3 are now swimming slowly at top of tank.....shall I change some of the water?

The tank water they brough was perhaps about 1 litre.

OP posts:
Furball · 01/08/2012 19:15

I don't know what you should do loopydoo for the best

Have you been using Tapsafe? or similar? as another factor is the chemicals in tapwater need neutralising

It really is a minefield Loopydoo and like I say I don't know enough to advise

Original poster
loopydoo · 01/08/2012 19:18

yes - used tapsafe.

OP posts:
MamaPizza · 01/08/2012 19:46

Can you go back to the people you got the guppies from and ask for filter media? They can safely cut you up to 1/3 of their sponge off and you can add it to yours so you are cycled. The water does nothing, so you didn't need to use theirs. They should actually know better, the good bacteria are in the filter only. If you can't get filter media, I'm afraid to say, the babies are most likely going to die as they are being posioned and they haven't got the strength to fight it yet. What you should do right now (and I know it's getting late but has to be done ) is a major water change, at least 90% to get most of the toxins out. Don't forget to dechlorinate the new water.

MamaPizza · 01/08/2012 19:47

BTW, if you manage to keep the guppies alive and they grow, they'll need a bigger tank than 19l.

thisisyesterday · 01/08/2012 19:48

yep, the tank either needs cycling, or you would want to fill it mostly with water from the tank they've come from plus some filter media and gravel or something- the bacteria will be all over the gravel so that's a good wahy of getting some into the tank

a 19 litre tank is not really big enough for 6 guppies either though

Marne · 01/08/2012 19:56

Never listen to pets at home (always look online for advice rather than a pet shop).

When we started out we were sold a tiny tank and 3 guppies, told to cycle the tank for a week, luckily we only lost one guppy. At the time i had no idea that it took 4+ weeks to cycle a tank. I then bought a bigger tank as looking after a tiny tank was more tricky and i wanted to save the guppies that were still alive, i cycled the tank for a week using some of the media from the old tank, the fish in the small tank were looking poorly so i risked putting them in the big tank. They are now in a 60ltr tank with some more guppies and tetras. We have had a couple deaths in the past 6 months Sad but not as bad as i expected.

I think all you can do is use 'tap safe' keep doing water changes and hope for the best, do not add anymore fish until the tank is cycled and the fish you have are healthy.

Original poster
loopydoo · 01/08/2012 20:44

Thanks everyone - a friend's husband just popped round and tested the water (thoroughly). Everything is normal within the parametres it should be. Amonia fine, PH, nitrates - everything. I'm going to get a aeriator tomorrow, even though O2 level was fine and defo won't add more fish.

So it says 5litres per fish so with three in a 19l tank, that's okay.

Oh and he also some biological helper liquid stuff - I know some dorums say it's not great but others have said it does work so at least it might help a bit.

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 01/08/2012 21:18

yeah, the problem is that guppies really like to shoal, so they may be unhappy in a small group of 3

but glad you're getting the water under control, and hopefully those 3 will be ok. what a nice friend to come over and test it all for you :)

Original poster
loopydoo · 01/08/2012 21:23

He looked overjoyed to be doing it - a very 'blokey' test kit. It was like GCSE science all over again!

OP posts:
lurcherlover · 01/08/2012 21:23

If you only keep guppies, and you have males and females, they will breed very quickly and you will end up overcrowding your tank rapidly. A bigger tank is actually easier to maintain as the toxins are more diluted.

MamaPizza · 01/08/2012 22:34

I love testing! I feel so sciency when I fill my tubes with water and add my little drops Grin

With 'fine' I assume ammonia and nitrItes were 0?

Are the guppies all male? Then you might be fine. Otherwise as lurcherlover says, you'll have loads of fry soon.

Original poster
loopydoo · 01/08/2012 23:36

Yes mamapizza - 0.
Think the last 3 are two male (defo) and possibly one female.

How long do they take to mature to start breeding?

We had asked them to bring all males but not sure about the smallest one - looks female to me. That one is younger than the two males.

OP posts:
MamaPizza · 02/08/2012 08:13

If the smallest one is female you'd better exchange / return her by two months. This is when they can start getting maturity. Well, I think it's 4 months, but you want to be on the safe side. The two males will pester her as soon as they can so it will be better for her too.

Original poster
loopydoo · 02/08/2012 10:45

Okay - now the two males are dead!!!

So don't know what's killed them. So now, there's only the little female left - swimming aorund on her own.

I'm so upset - the woman in PAH said 4 days would be fine for setting up the tank :( and the water is all fine and unless it's a fault with the pump, I don't know what it could be.

OP posts:
Original poster
loopydoo · 02/08/2012 10:46

Oh and I did notice that when I switch off the light at night, the temperature goes down by a degree.

I hadn't been switching it off at all but then read you were supposed to to let them rest for 8 hrs or so but this morning, the temp has gone down from 23 to 22.

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 02/08/2012 10:49

it's maybe just stress from being moved and the water changes?

MamaPizza · 02/08/2012 12:59

If Ammonia and Nitrite are truly 0 then it might have just been stress as they were so young. The thing is, you really need to check daily so there might have been a rise in those over night and the little bodies couldn't cope with it. 4 days is definitely not enough to cycle I'm afraid to say.

EauRouge · 02/08/2012 13:31

Did you check the pH? When you moved the fish over, did you acclimatise them slowly?

It's hard to say what it is without full water params. Personally I would never trust a fish shop that told me the water was 'fine'- that doesn't mean anything. You need to know what all the readings are to get an idea of what's going on.

The PAH woman is talking out of her arse, 4 days will do nothing. And if you don't add a source of ammonia then it doesn't matter if you leave a tank for 4 days or 4 weeks, it still won't be ready for fish. She obviously doesn't understand how cycling works.

Not your fault, you were given crappy advice from someone who acted like they know what they're talking about.

The best thing you can do is get a bigger tank (60-80 litres is a good beginner size if you just want a few guppies) and a testing kit and find a better local aquatic store!

Furball · 03/08/2012 18:08

Hows things loopydoo? is the little female ok?

Original poster
loopydoo · 03/08/2012 19:32

Yep - she's swimming around happily thanks furball.

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 03/08/2012 19:42

yay :)

glad she is ok

Furball · 03/08/2012 21:31

Phew! - Great news Smile

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