Guppies Gasping.

[laingdda]

I have checked my water conditions and my everything is fine apart from my water hardness is too low. Co2 is fine. What else to check?

 

[Glass368]

Do you have a bubble wand? And by gasping do you mean staying at the surface?

 

[JuiceBox52]

We need the exact numbers, fine isnt always good enough

Do a 75% water change immediately

 

[laingdda]

The tank smells of burnt rubber. Checked electrics and seemed fine. Down 50% water change and guppies swimming fine but corries are not particularly active.

 

[JuiceBox52]

The tank smells of burnt rubber. Checked electrics and seemed fine. Down 50% water change and guppies swimming fine but corries are not particularly active.

Have you added anything new to the tank recently? @Byron @Colin_T @Retired Viking

 

[laingdda]

I added a very small bit of java moss?

 

[Retired Viking]

The tank smells of burnt rubber. Checked electrics and seemed fine. Down 50% water change and guppies swimming fine but corries are not particularly active.

Did you check your air bump or filter?

 

[laingdda]

Yep.

 

[Retired Viking]

The burnt rubber small is troubling. If the fish act the same way again turn off the Co2 for awhile and see if that has an affect on the guppies.

 

[laingdda]

Yeh fish have returned to more like their normal. And the smell has gone after my water change. I am going to keep an eye on them and check the smell regularly. The Cory are active again. It may have been an unsettling of bacteria in the gravel when I planted the moss? Tomas it is 10:34pm here I will try and get to a pet store to get a second make of test strip and ask if they know of any causes as early as possible but it’s hard with lockdown to get there.

 

[Retired Viking]

Usually bacteria issues have a rotten egg smell to it. I was able to go to the LFS today but much is closed down here too, Good luck.

 

[Byron]

If you are adding CO2, turn it off. Do a substantial water change, 70-75%, only use conditioner [you may already have, another tomorrow won't hurt]. Make sure there is good water surface disturbance.

And I agree with above, please always give numbers no matter what they read. We must know the technical stuff.

If you go to the store, check with us on any advice they give you before implementing. Stores will frequently sell you "x" to solve "y" and it can make things much, much worse. Clean water is crucial, and often all that is needed. Cories are highly sensitive to any chemical/medication.

 

[Colin_T]

You don't plant Java Moss. Just tie it to a rock or wood.

If you ever have a problem in the tank, test the water, do a big water change using dechlorinated water. Take pictures and video of the fish and post them here along with a description of the problem.

The following link has information on what to do if your fish get sick. It's long and boring but worth a read when you have some spare time.

What to do if your fish gets sick

If your fish ever looks sick or unwell, then the following steps might help. Test the Water and Clean the Tank. Test the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and write the results down in numbers. Check it for general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH) too if you can, but...

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