more poorly fish :(

[Marne]

After almost a month sinse the last fish died (had treated the water and tested it each week) yesterday we decided to add 2 more guppies to the tank, all seemed fine last night and then got up this morning to find a dead tetra (no sign of illness) and a bloated guppy, also another guppy on the bottom (but still alive), the new guppies seem fine and the one on the bottom swims around for a few minutes and then returns to the bottom. Obviously the one whos bloated will die.

Keeping guppies seems to getting tricky, we stared very well (not deaths for months) and now they seem to be droping like flies. Is this normal for guppies? should i just wait a few months and see what happens? not add any more fish? What do i do with the lonley tetra (as theres only one left)? will he be ok living alone in a tank of guppies?

Guppies are very hard to keep, conditions have to be just perfect. Some treatments contra-indicate with guppies. Do a half water change now but don't add any treatments to the tank afterwards. In a weeks time, do another half water change and add some water conditioner (to take the chlorine out), wait 4 days then get more fish. Lone tetra will be fine, and can live with guppies.

Thank you, i wish i hadn't bought 2 more guppies yesterday (should have just waited until they had all gone and then try something different), i did a water change yesterday and vacumed the gravel but will do another water change tomorrow without pputting any teatment in (i had been treating white spot as one fish had a spot on his fin but am now thinking 'its not white spot'?).

The tanks only 60ltr so not sure what else i could keep instead of guppies? we have a bristle nose pleco but he seems healthy.

how do you change water?

when you added the new fish...did you net them and discard the bagged water they came home in???

very important to discard the water they come home in....when the bag is floating...do you add your tank water to the bag and acclimatize the new fish to temp and water conditions before releasing into your tank??

could just be unlucky and they were sick fish when you got them....happens

It wasn't the new fish that died (the new ones are fine).

I change the water by vacuming the gravel (i seem to empty half the tank whilst doing this) i then add tap water which has been treated with 'tap safe' (and have been adding the anti white spot treatment too), i let the water sit for a while so its not to cold (try to get it at a reasonable temp), i clean the filter sponges out using the old tank water and i give the sides of the tank a quick scrub with a brush.

Marne, how often do you change the water?

It's weird - guppies are the only fish I've struggled to keep as well. In fact, mine never lasted more than a month or so, when the rest of my fish were fine. Shame, as they were beautiful fish!

We have lost 2 more including one of the new fish (he didn't lok that great when we bought him but dd1 chose the worst fish). I still have the guppy who keeps lying on the bottom (he's the fish i thought had white spot and he still has a white spot on his fin). Waster is testing fine so not sure whats going on. I think i'm going to wait and see and not add anymore guppies (once they are all gone we will try something else). What else can i put in a 60ltr tank?

Dd1 is still asking for a fighter fish, can a fighter fish live with a bristle nose plec?

I happily kept a male fighter fish with platy's, loaches, gouramis, etc without problem ,but it was a v big tank. As they're a bit anti-social I don't know how things would pan out in a smaller one.

I think we will buy another tank for the fighter fish then (as dd1 would like one in her room). I still have 5 guppies and a tetra (1 guppy looks like he wont last much longer). I will wait untill all the guppies are gone before re-stocking (this will probably take a while and i will probably end up with one guppy that will live for years) .