Guppy's not good: Help Please

[purple_drazi]

I've got two guppies, 10 neons and two panda cats in this planted tank.
One of the guppies is hanging out at the top of the tank with a clamped tail. He doesn't look well at all. No sign of ich, velvet, paracites or anything else definative. All of the other fishies look & act fine.

Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
ph 7.2
temp 80F
Bio-wheel stirs up the water nicely. Tank is cycled.
I'm feeding a bit of flake crumbled up, or freeze-dried brine shrimp, or a couple of crushed pellets only what they can eat in 2 minutes

I'm going to do a bit of a water change, clean up the gravel etc but this one's a mystery to me.
HELP!! any ideas anyone?

 

[WILDER]

I can't understand why you don't have a nitrate reading, a reading of 0 it can't be.

 

[kev_kb]

I can't understand why you don't have a nitrate reading, a reading of 0 it can't be.

Why not? If its planted they will use it all/most of it up surely?

 

[purple_drazi]

I'm using a Hagen Nitrate test kit, it's only 2 or 3 mths old so it can't be past use date. I really dislike it btw because the chart only shows colours from 5-110mg/l. at 110 I'd expect any fish to be dead but that's another story.
Anyhow, as far as I can tell the reading is 0. There might be a slight tinge of colour but it's unreadable.
Is there another make of test that is more accurate? I'm using Aquarium Pharaceuticals tests for everything else but the salesperson put this one in my hand when I asked for a nitrate test kit.

btw: I did 16% water change a couple of hours ago and he's still got a clamped tail.

any suggestions?

 

[WILDER]

When did you last test for ammonia and nitrite.

 

[purple_drazi]

10 minutes before I posted the msg.
The tank cycled in September and I've had steady, clear test results since the beginning of October at least.

 

[WILDER]

Did you use the guppy to cycle the tank, if so their immune system shuts down causing desease and death.

 

[kev_kb]

Did you use the guppy to cycle the tank, if so their immune system shuts down causing desease and death.

Does this just apply to Guppies? I've never heard of it using fish to cycle.

 

[WILDER]

Fish that are not good for cycling this happens to,you can use fish to cycle the tank, or a fishless cycle, platies and danio's and a few other are meant to be good for cycling tanks, as they are a hardy fish.

 

[purple_drazi]

No, I didn't use the guppies to cycle. I did a fishless cycle in September, then I put 3 platys in for 3 weeks before I added any other fish. As for plants, the tank has got 1 Anubias barteri, 2 Ambulia, a Tropica Crypt and a Windelov in it.

It's just too bad. I watched him moping around the top of the tank all day. I had to take the kids horseback riding and when we got back he was dead. I examined him when I got him out, I looked closely at his anus, gills, mouth etc. but I couldn't see anything wrong.

I guess it's not going to happen, but I really wish I at least knew why he died so if something is wrong I could fix it.

 

[NickT]

old age maybe?... ive had gupps die like this but i think it hadtodo with ammonia (befor i knew about the cycle)... sorry about your luck tho

 

[purple_drazi]

I don't think it could be old age. I'd only had him for a week and a half. I called the fish store and the guy there said it may have been bacterial. He didn't advise medicating though because we don't know what it is and he said it wouldn't do my tank any good. whatever that means.

The neons and the panda cory cats are behaving normally but now the last guppy is swimming up & down and back and forth in an agitated manner. If it was water quality wouldn't the other fish be behaving in an agitated fashion as well? They're just hanging out, doing their normal stuff. I'd suspect ich but I put ich preventative into the tank and he's got no spots, nobody has spots, and the other, even when he died, didn't have a single spot.

it couldn't be diet could it? These guys get crushed nutrafin tropical fish pellets, nutrafin flake, freeze-dried bloodworms and brine shrimp. not all at the same time of course! Is there some special guppy-craziness preventative ingredient he is missing in his diet?

jeeze, I hate watching him going up & down, up & down, up & down....
it's making *me* crazy!

 

[purple_drazi]

Since he was all alone I went and got another two pingu guppys to keep that one company - and he's stopped going up & down and up & down.
Now he's just hanging out with the new guys. He's parked himself beside their bag but it's going to be awhile before they've finished acclimatising to the new water (the water temps have to equalise then I'll be only adding 1 ounce every 1/2 hour or so) so it's going to be a bit of a wait for him before they can play.
I think he feels better already.


Next Day Report:
This is so cool. The three pingu guppys are hanging out together and the one that had been acting wierd is fine now! YAY!!