Hello again,
Tank size: 5 gallons
Temperature: 78° F
Filter: Regular carbon
Heater: Yes
Water changes: 10 to 25% weekly
Treatments: Tetra SafeStart+ (initially), API Stress Coat+ (regularly)
Tank mates: 4 (down to 2) guppies
pH: Stable 6.6
Ammonia: Less than 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: Somewhere between 2 to 5 ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm
I owned four guppies who, up until recently, had been living together for about six or so months now. About two months ago, one of the guppies appeared lethargic; I wasn't sure if the fish was ill or if his tank mates were attacking him as he was noticeably smaller than the others. I decided to isolate him to another tank just in case he was ill. However, almost immediately after being moved away from the others, his lethargy disappeared. He had been living alone in that tank up until last week. Since guppies are schooling fish, I felt terrible about leaving the little guy isolated. He seemed to have grown a bit in the months that he was on his own, so I figured it couldn't hurt to move him back to his old tank. Worst case scenario, I could always isolate him again if the others started picking on him.
Things appeared to be going great for the first few days. The four were swimming around together as if I had never separated them. Until Monday, when I discovered one of the fish dead around noon. I removed him from the tank immediately. His carcass showed no signs of any disease or injuries. I figured that it must just have been old age as I have had these fish for six months now, plus they could have been at the pet shop for a while before I picked up my group. I noticed that the remaining three guppies were acting a bit strangely. They were hanging around the top of the tank, not swimming around much. To be safe, I decided to change a good portion of the tank water. After a few hours, they appeared to be moving around normally again. I figured that all was well at this point.
This morning I woke up to find another guppy had passed away. This one was the smaller one that I had introduced back into the tank just a week ago. This carcass also showed no signs of disease or injuries. I am now afraid that whatever killed these two fish is now coming for the last two. These two are still acting a bit strange, hanging around at the top of the tank, not swimming around as much as they usually do.
What can I do to save the last two guppies? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. If needed, I could configure a new tank (or tanks, if they were to be isolated) on the off chance there is disease floating around in the water that a simple water change cannot remove.
PS: One of the remaining guppies has a mild case of fin rot (I think), but he has had this for the past few months. I have been hoping that the regular water changes would clear this up, but they have not.
PS II: I took the water parameters after writing the post. I was shocked to find that the Nitrite levels were as high as they were. I do not test Nitrite regularly, so I am unsure whether these high levels are due to the dead fish or are what caused the fish to die. If the Nitrite levels are poisoning the fish, how do I go about fixing this before it's too late?
Tank size: 5 gallons
Temperature: 78° F
Filter: Regular carbon
Heater: Yes
Water changes: 10 to 25% weekly
Treatments: Tetra SafeStart+ (initially), API Stress Coat+ (regularly)
Tank mates: 4 (down to 2) guppies
pH: Stable 6.6
Ammonia: Less than 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: Somewhere between 2 to 5 ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm
I owned four guppies who, up until recently, had been living together for about six or so months now. About two months ago, one of the guppies appeared lethargic; I wasn't sure if the fish was ill or if his tank mates were attacking him as he was noticeably smaller than the others. I decided to isolate him to another tank just in case he was ill. However, almost immediately after being moved away from the others, his lethargy disappeared. He had been living alone in that tank up until last week. Since guppies are schooling fish, I felt terrible about leaving the little guy isolated. He seemed to have grown a bit in the months that he was on his own, so I figured it couldn't hurt to move him back to his old tank. Worst case scenario, I could always isolate him again if the others started picking on him.
Things appeared to be going great for the first few days. The four were swimming around together as if I had never separated them. Until Monday, when I discovered one of the fish dead around noon. I removed him from the tank immediately. His carcass showed no signs of any disease or injuries. I figured that it must just have been old age as I have had these fish for six months now, plus they could have been at the pet shop for a while before I picked up my group. I noticed that the remaining three guppies were acting a bit strangely. They were hanging around the top of the tank, not swimming around much. To be safe, I decided to change a good portion of the tank water. After a few hours, they appeared to be moving around normally again. I figured that all was well at this point.
This morning I woke up to find another guppy had passed away. This one was the smaller one that I had introduced back into the tank just a week ago. This carcass also showed no signs of disease or injuries. I am now afraid that whatever killed these two fish is now coming for the last two. These two are still acting a bit strange, hanging around at the top of the tank, not swimming around as much as they usually do.
What can I do to save the last two guppies? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. If needed, I could configure a new tank (or tanks, if they were to be isolated) on the off chance there is disease floating around in the water that a simple water change cannot remove.
PS: One of the remaining guppies has a mild case of fin rot (I think), but he has had this for the past few months. I have been hoping that the regular water changes would clear this up, but they have not.
PS II: I took the water parameters after writing the post. I was shocked to find that the Nitrite levels were as high as they were. I do not test Nitrite regularly, so I am unsure whether these high levels are due to the dead fish or are what caused the fish to die. If the Nitrite levels are poisoning the fish, how do I go about fixing this before it's too late?