Dead Guppy

[Hughesy]

Woke up this morning to find a guppy dead at the bottom of the tank, any ideas why?
He has been swimming at the top of the tank for the last 2 days and im concerned that another 1 may also be going the same way?

Is it a sign of stress?

 

[fish_frenzy]

I experienced the same thing with a guppy of mine and later found it to be swim bladder. He swam at he top of the tank for a couple of days and then the bottom. HOwever it could also be syptoms of stress. Have you got all community fish??

 

[natalie123]

ive just had a guppy die aswell it was always swimming at the top and i noticed it went paler than the other one,is there a reason they stay at the top then?

 

[kowgirl_kate]

All my guppies swim up the top and all are fine. They are top dwelling fish.
Turning pale can definitely be a sign of stress. Are they new to the tank or had anything done to it?

Do you know your Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate & PH? Cause guppies are very sensitive to water quality.
Were they acting lethargic or were they bloated at all? As mine hover and don't swim much when they're constipated.
Overfeeding is definitely easy to do & can definitely cause this.

So sorry for your losses.

R.I.P lil guppies

 

[Hughesy]

Only some of them were hanging around the top, some of them are still full of beans and whizzing around all over the tank – therefore if it was a problem with the tank would all the guppies act in the same way?
The one that died was just constantly at the top and he would often go off into a corner on his own. So any further ideas from that?

How can you stop a guppy being constipated or will it just happen itself?
How can I stop a guppy being stressed?

Don’t have the readings of PH etc but il be getting a tester kit soon.

 

[krishanu]

i have kept quite a few guppies and even they seemed to die of no particular reason. from what i believe guppies available at lfs' are inbred so much that genetic deformities show up, causing them to die for no reason. it's one of the reasons that i dont keep guppies any more.

my set of four guppies itsy, bitsy, teeny and weeny all died within a week of each other for no apparent reason.

 

[nmonks]

Guppies, like people, don't tend to die "for no reason". Even where bad genes are involved, this isn't likely to be the direct cause of death. Fancy guppies are certainly less hardy than their wild ancestors, but they are still fairly robust fish and shouldn't present any major problems.

First of all, 99.9% of all fish deaths are down to poor water quality or the wrong water chemistry. Guppies need hard, alkaline water. A pH of 7.5-8.0 is essential. If you live in a soft water area, then either mix in some calcareous substrate to the aquarium or filter (such as coral sand) or add a small amount of marine salt, around 3 grammes per litre (assuming your other fish are salt-tolerant).

In terms of nitrites and ammonium, there shouldn't be any. Nitrates are less of an issue, but you really don't want more than 100 mg/litre.

Diet is the other overlooked factor. These fish eat algae and insect larvae. Vegetarian flake food is ideal, and contains plenty of what they need. Regular flake is less than perfect for guppies because it is formulated for predatory fish such as tetras.

Finally, guppies are small, schooling fish. To a guppy, a larger fish like a big barb or gourami is a predator, even if that bigger fish is totally harmless. Guppies do best kept on their own in a group, perhaps mixed with fishes that stay close to the substrate, like Corydoras. Even mollies and swordtails, though often suggested as tankmates, are a bit violent for guppies.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[kowgirl_kate]

Only some of them were hanging around the top, some of them are still full of beans and whizzing around all over the tank – therefore if it was a problem with the tank would all the guppies act in the same way?

No not necessarily. If you're having just a slight ammonia or nitrite spike (from adding too many fish at once) then only the weaker guppies will be affected. Whereas if you're having a really big spike then all of them will be.

How can you stop a guppy being constipated or will it just happen itself?

A varied diet with vegetables. Boiled peas once a week

How can I stop a guppy being stressed?

Alot harder to do as male guppies love to have squabbles. If you can add salt to your water do it as this should help with that. I can't add salt cause I have cories but I put stress coat in every water change and when I notice the slightest thing not right I take them straight out into a QT tank and slowly add salt.

You don't have a strong current in the tank by chance do you? As this can wear a guppy out also & make him float at the top for some rest.

Even though they're not hardy I do love my guppies. I've had them on & off my whole life. I just wish they had a longer lifespan.
But don't worry with good water quality & a good diet you should have great guppies.

 

[krishanu]

Guppies, like people, don't tend to die "for no reason". Even where bad genes are involved, this isn't likely to be the direct cause of death.

oopsie! i didnt mean that guppies die for no reason. what i meant is that with all their bad genes, the reason for which they die might be so insignificant that it remains a mystery.

Fancy guppies are certainly less hardy than their wild ancestors, but they are still fairly robust fish and shouldn't present any major problems.

i do agree that fancy guppies are less hardy than their wild ancestors, but i also think that since breeding of fancy guppies is not done by each and every hole-in-the-wall lfs, they are genetically more robust and are not as prone to mysterious deaths as their more common cousins.

 

[Hughesy]

2 more were dead when i returned home yesterday.

Checked my levels with a standard kit. Comes out at:

Ammonia - 0.8mg/l
Nitrates - 0 mg/l
Ph - approx 7

Any further ideas to the deaths now?

 

[nmonks]

OK, the ammonia is bad and the pH is bad. So fix those too. Nitrates (with an A) are the end product of the biological filtration process. Nitrites (with an I) is one of the intermediates. What you're aiming for is:

Ammonium = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0 to 100 mg/l in freshwater tanks with ordinary fishes

If you don't have these readings, then the filter is either immature or too small for the nuber of fish being kept.

For guppies, you want hard, alkaline water, ideally a pH of 7.5 to 8.0. Are there just guppies in this tank? If so, seriously consider adding about 3 grammes of marine salt mix per litre of water. It has to marine salt, not tonic salt. Tonic salt is merely sodium chloride which has no effect on pH or hardness. Marine salt contains calcium carbonate and other chemicals that raise the pH and hardness. The "saltiness" of marine salt is incidental and harmless to guppies, mollies, and most other livebearers.

If you have other types of fish, such as Corydoras, in your tank, then adding salt might not be an option. In this case, you will need a proper hardening agent, such as a chemical buffer. You can either add chemicals to the water with each water change or put something in the tank (like coral sand) that slowly buffers the water continuously. Your retailer will have some of these.

Cheers,

Neale

Checked my levels with a standard kit. Comes out at:

Ammonia - 0.8mg/l
Nitrates - 0 mg/l
Ph - approx 7

 

[Hughesy]

I have 3 platys, 3 guppies + 6 baby fry and also 4 dwarf frogs.
Will the marine salt be ok with these?
Wont the slat effect any further fish I get in the future?

 

[nmonks]

Guppies are fine with salt, anything up to seawater (though they don't NEED salt per se). Platies will tolerate the salt at this concentration. The frogs will not.

So, your solution is more complex, and you need to find a way to chemically buffer the water. Adding coral sand to the aquarium substrate and/or filter will help. Please note though that once coral sand is covered with bacteria, algae, and detritus, it can no longer buffer the water. It is therefore critical to clean and/or replace the coral sand periodically. Adding some to the filter works well, and it is no trouble to remove the coral sand once a month and run it under a hot tap until it is spotlessly clean.

Otherwise, buy some "pH Up" type chemicals from you pet store, and follow the instructions. Your guppies and platies will not do well at pH 7.0, and you will likely be plagued with problems unless you raise the pH and hardness (which you should test, but is likely fairly low if you have pH 7).

Cheers,

Neale

I have 3 platys, 3 guppies + 6 baby fry and also 4 dwarf frogs.
Will the marine salt be ok with these?
Wont the slat effect any further fish I get in the future?

 

[Hughesy]

5 of the 7 guppies have now died. So left with 2 and both seem to be getting a tinge of yellow/ green colour within their body – any ideas?

The last one found floating was cloudy in colour and even the eyes had gone like a frosty cloud over them – any further ideas to whats happening?

All 3 platys are still ok, touch wood! And also the baby fry was still ok this morning.

 

[nmonks]

Do you still have ammonium in the water? Is the pH still 7.0?

It's likely your fish are simply dying off one at a time until the population reaches the level the filter can currently support. It's important to understand that fish die 99.9% of the time because of water quality and chemistry issues -- just like humans that die from lung cancer or heart disease, it isn't simply that the cigarettes or the red meat crept up unannounced and killed them, it was their lifestyle choices.

So, you need to stablise conditions in the tank, mature the filter, and then ensure the water chemistry and quality is appropriate for the fishes being kept. Until you reach that point DO NOT add any new fishes!

For guppies, platies and most other livebearers, you want:

ammonium 0
nitrite 0
nitrate <100 mg/l
pH 7.5-8.0
hardness HIGH

Cheers,

Neale