Dying guppies

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Ok...where to start!

a. How many gallons does your tank hold and how many guppys does it have and did have 1month ago?
b. Your tank is experiencing alot of big temperature fluctuations, enough to make any fish sick, you should try to avoid your tank temp fluctuation more than 4degrees a day max. Also you tank gets very hot into temps which are more suited for short term parasite medical treatment use and you should try to avoid them rising so high all the time.
c. You need to keep a much more balanced water change scheduel, i would suggest a 30% water change with dechlorinator per week. Also are you making sure the replacement water during water changes is as close to the current temp of the tank? Do you pour it in slowly or in a big whoosh?
d. Do the guppys have any white/stringy poop or inflamed bums? Are they looking particualy thin or anorexic and are they lethargic at all?

 

[Avinitlarge]

a. How many gallons does your tank hold and how many guppys does it have and did have 1month ago?

12.46 UK gallons, We got about 20 guppies from a freind, They were only a few weeks old and were way too small for the big tank, We did expect a few to die but we were hoping to put some in our big tank when they were bigger

b. Your tank is experiencing alot of big temperature fluctuations, enough to make any fish sick, you should try to avoid your tank temp fluctuation more than 4degrees a day max. Also you tank gets very hot into temps which are more suited for short term parasite medical treatment use and you should try to avoid them rising so high all the time.

It did go up a few degrees for a few hours last week, Apart from the the temp is usually 80-81

c. You need to keep a much more balanced water change scheduel, i would suggest a 30% water change with dechlorinator per week. Also are you making sure the replacement water during water changes is as close to the current temp of the tank? Do you pour it in slowly or in a big whoosh?

When changing the water, The replacement water is about the the same as the tank temp, I is poured in slowly

d. Do the guppys have any white/stringy poop or inflamed bums? Are they looking particualy thin or anorexic and are they lethargic at all?

Poo, Hmmm, Well if for example they eat a blood worm, A whole blood worm seems to come out, I did notice a white string looking poo coming out of one of the fish, It was really thin. They dont look thin all at and dont look lethargic.

EDIT- I did a water test today, pH 7.6, nitrite and amonia 0ppm But the nitrate is 40 or 80, Cant tell, Result card has the same colour for 40 and 80. I did the nitrate test wrong the other day

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Thats not a bloodworm coming out of their bum, it sounds like internal parasites to me- if the remaining poop is white you could also have internal bacteria on your hands which guppys are particualy prone to.
Internal parasites is the most serious by far in some senses, any fish that don't seem to be behaving well or have red worms protruding from their bums or are passing worms, isolate imediatly in a separate tank(breeding nets are useless).

This would certainly explain your large loss of fish, everytime a fish infected with internal parasites dies, the parasites leave the dead fishs body and infect other fish, each time multiplying. The best meds are medicated foods but once the fish has got to the red worm stage they are pretty much intreatable and euthanasia is advised to help prevent other fish from getting the parasites.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Any news on your fish?

 

[jollysue]

Yeah! Please update us. Let us know what is happening and keep in touch with these folk that are trying to help..

 

[Avinitlarge]

Yeah! Please update us. Let us know what is happening and keep in touch with these folk that are trying to help..

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1 more dead and 1 dying, 6 to go and then thats it, All gone

I am hoping to take them all out of the tank tonight to isolate them, I am just hoping they wont die, Not gonna hold my breath though

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I think euthanasia of any infected fish is your only means of controlling your internal parasites now, every time a fish dies in the tank from them the parasites leave the body and infect more fish.

 

[WILDER]

Yes i agree with tiokis and they are very prone to them, only thing meant to work is pig worming tablets, if you can't get hold of them, best to strip the tank down, put the affected fish down,i no it sounds awful but internal parasites are very hard to cure.
http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/nematodes.shtml

 

[Avinitlarge]

Yes i agree with tiokis and they are very prone to them, only thing meant to work is pig worming tablets, if you can't get hold of them, best to strip the tank down, put the affected fish down,i no it sounds awful but internal parasites are very hard to cure.
http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/nematodes.shtml

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HOLY ####!!!!!

That is all bad, So the cory, sucking loaches and khuli loach could have it too, NOOOO!!! Not my Khuli loach Can this parasite be transfered on a net?? I REALLY hope not

 

[WILDER]

I'm afraid so, that's why you should have a net for every tank, and sterlise after every use, sorry had them they are awful.

 

[Avinitlarge]

I'm afraid so, that's why you should have a net for every tank, and sterlise after every use, sorry had them they are awful.

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OH MY GOD, I may have passed it out to the other tank too, I think I will kill myself now

So With the other tank and stripping it down, What can be salvaged, Gravel, Filter, Plants, Stones, Bog wood??

 

[WILDER]

Don't worry to much about the other tank it might not of got it, the one with the parasites, you have to sterlise everything, remove everything wash tank in hot water and salt, rinse well and let dry out, sterlise gravel ornaments and plants, through sponges away or boil them a couple of times, put filter in a bucket of hot water with alot of salt in it and run it for a while, then refill bucket with clean water and run it again to remove the salt, then if other tank is ok, you could get some mature bacteria out of that one to restart the other one again, good luck.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You may have excaped passing it to the other tank as long as no guppys have died in it yet, as to stripping everything down;

1. Empty all the water in the tank.
2. Dowse the filter(including sponge), gravel and tank ornements in boiling water- don't use any cleaning chemicalsor soap when cleaning all this stuff.
3. Put everything back in the tank and fill it up with clean dechlorinated water and cycle the tank via a fishless cycle(more info on fishless cycling in the pinned articles in the beginners section)

Nothing has to be thrown away, but the parasites have to be killed off via boiling water. If any fish get infected with parasites in your other tank, euthansia is your best option of the infected fish to stop it from spreading.

 

[Avinitlarge]

Thanks for your help guys, I Took the last 3 guppies, the 2 sucking loach, khuli loach and cory out last night, I put them in the isolation tank, Im just gonna see what happens, 1st sign of illness and they are gone, There are no guppies in the other tank, I did use the net once but it hadnt been in the infected tank for a couple of days and it had dryed out, I am hoping it hasnt been passed on.

My biggest question now is, Where did the problem come from??

I bought 3 female bettas from 1 shop and 2 guppies from another shop, Now the day after buying them 1 guppy and 1 female betta had died, I took the female bettas straight out and put them in another tank, They are still alive and are doing fine. I also bought some plants at the same time from yet another shop.

 

[jollysue]

Hunt the bad man down and shoot him with a harpoon!



I am so sorry