Dying guppies

[Avinitlarge]

Well its all looking bad now, 7 have died and 3 are on there last legs, I know am 100% sure the temp isnt affecting them, The fish are not damaged in anyway, I have no idea what is going wrong here They seem to have a bit of a kind of fit on the bottom then start swimming nose up, Then they seem to loose use of there tail and then sink to the bottom and slowly die

More info here

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=99312&st=0

The pic below is stage 2, Sorry about the quality

 

[tttnjfttt]

Have you been able to get your water tested yet? that can be one big piece of the puzze. Also, test your local water, to see if it has drastically changed.

And I know this may seem obvious, but are you using dechlorinator with every water change? If you are using the let the water sit for 24 hour method, do you know if there is chloramine in your water, also what about heavy metals? Those definately need dechlroinator.

 

[WILDER]

Also has there been any flicking and rubbing against objects, are the gills pale or red and inflamed, any signs of white spots that look like grains of salt, or a yellow to gold dusting on them.

 

[Avinitlarge]

Also has there been any flicking and rubbing against objects, are the gills pale or red and inflamed, any signs of white spots that look like grains of salt, or a yellow to gold dusting on them.

Nope, nothing like that

 

[Avinitlarge]

Have you been able to get your water tested yet? that can be one big piece of the puzze. Also, test your local water, to see if it has drastically changed.

And I know this may seem obvious, but are you using dechlorinator with every water change? If you are using the let the water sit for 24 hour method, do you know if there is chloramine in your water, also what about heavy metals? Those definately need dechlroinator.

I am doing a water test this afternoon, I will post the results.

I do a 50% water change every month, It was about 3 weeks after the last water change when they started to die.

I use tap safe ever time I change the water.

Its only the guppies, We have a khuli loach, 2 sucking loach and a cory in that tank, Not of those seem to bee affected

 

[tttnjfttt]

What do you mean by they "have a fit on the bottom"?
Are these fish eating?
Do they look bloated?
Do they seem to be gasping for air or breathing really fast?
How long have you had the guppies, and what size tank?

Definately post your water stats when you get them tested, that will definately help figure out what is going on.

In my experience, guppies are so inbred that they ore realy weak fish. By this, I mean they are prone to disease, and really can't handle bad water quality. This might be why the guppies seem to be affected over other fish.

Also, a 50% water change is a very drastic change for the fish. The most water you want to change at once is 25%, unless something goes terribly wrong such as a chemical gets spilled into their water. Try doing bi-monthly changes, but if your nitrAte goes over 40 ppm, you are going to need to do weekly water changes.

 

[Squishiebabe]

My guppy has done that before, the nose at the surface thing...It wasnt gasping, just the head was "stuck" to the surface so it seemed...Watch them and if you see one hit the filter current, does it get swept under? If it does, do it float right back up trying to fight it? It is true that they are quite weak and inbred, even a slight thing can set them off into something, I noticed mine were the first to go, kind of like warning fish
I hope this gets sorted out, and no more fishy deaths

 

[Avinitlarge]

 

[Avinitlarge]

What do you mean by they "have a fit on the bottom"?
Are these fish eating?
Do they look bloated?
Do they seem to be gasping for air or breathing really fast?
How long have you had the guppies, and what size tank?

Definately post your water stats when you get them tested, that will definately help figure out what is going on.

In my experience, guppies are so inbred that they ore realy weak fish. By this, I mean they are prone to disease, and really can't handle bad water quality. This might be why the guppies seem to be affected over other fish.

Also, a 50% water change is a very drastic change for the fish. The most water you want to change at once is 25%, unless something goes terribly wrong such as a chemical gets spilled into their water. Try doing bi-monthly changes, but if your nitrAte goes over 40 ppm, you are going to need to do weekly water changes.

The start to twitch on the bottom, They stop eating, Not bloated, They do seem to be breathing really fast. Ive had the guppies for about 3-4 months and had no problems until last week, Not 1 fish had died, Then they started dropping like flys, 1,2 and once 3 a day. They seem healthy, Not doing any think odd at all.

I did a water test last night

Nitrite - 0ppm
PH - 7.6
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrate - about 10

I think that seems ok. Could the plants I bought have had some nasty bacteria on them

 

[Avinitlarge]

13 are now dead

 

[IMCL85]

if its lossing its tail it could be fin rot but it can also be the guppy disease . How u maintain ur tank?

 

[tttnjfttt]

This one really has me stumped.

Just recapping: begins by twiching on the bottom (not scratching on objects), then they stop eating. Next they swim nose up, until their tail becomes paralized, then they float to the bottom and die. Other Symptoms: Rapid breathing.

Other things: started 3 weeks after a water change, definately contagious, affecting only guppies. No other physical changes, no other obvious signs of disease. Your water looks great, you use dechlorinator.

Even after quickly recapping, I have no idea what might be going on. If you are jumping for some sort of medicine to use, you might try an antibiotic, simply because antibiotics are the main internal medicine that we can give our fish.

 

[sylvia]

Do another water change and in future change your water weekly - 25% each time. It's better to be doing these moderately sized water changes weekly than one big one once a month.

After you've done the water change (with de-chlorinated tap water), test again. In particular, I'm wandering if there was a change in pH. If you don't have your own liquid-based test kit, get one.

Have your ecently made any big changes to the tank besides the new plants?

BTW, sucking loaches don't make good community fish once they reach about 4-6".

 

[mlee0332]

Things like that have happened to me as well. I have given up on guppies. Everything was great for 3-4 months like you said, and they all dropped dead, just like yours. But the bad thing is, it spread to my other fish and I lost 7 (all 4 guppies, a neon, and 2 white clouds) And of course the females gave birth to fry, and I lost 1 fry of the same thing as the other 7. it's the darndest thing.

I really am sorry for you, I hope you can get it sorted quickly...

 

[Avinitlarge]

After you've done the water change (with de-chlorinated tap water), test again. In particular, I'm wandering if there was a change in pH. If you don't have your own liquid-based test kit, get one.

Have your ecently made any big changes to the tank besides the new plants?

BTW, sucking loaches don't make good community fish once they reach about 4-6".


Did a 10% water change last night, Im gonna test the water again in a bit, The pH has been the same for at least 6 months. I dont have my own water tester but I have borrowed one from a freind.

Changes to the tank, I changed a couple of plants, I added 2 females betta's for about 12 hours, Thats about it