Help! Guppies are barely moving.

[PropMan]

Help! I just got guppies and they are just staying at the top and not moving at all.

 

[PropMan]

wish someone can reply quick

 

[mrsjoannh13]

Are they new fish? Can you tell us about your tank size and water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)? What is your water source? If you are using tap water did you dechlorinate?

 

[PropMan]

they are very new fish i got from pet smart. I used dechlorinated water from the tap. From what i last checked my ammonia level is 0.25ppm. I have not tested nitrite or nitrate(yet). I am attempting to do a fish-in cycle.

 

[mrsjoannh13]

Have you tested your tap water? Most tap water in the US probably has chlorine in it, in which case you need to use a water conditioner to make it safe for fish. The ammonia level should be 0. I'm guessing even .25 can be toxic to small fish like guppies. Do you have a test kit or the quick strips to test for nitrite? A high level there can also be toxic.

Since your ammonia is .25 you might need to do a water change to get that level down quickly (if you have a safe water source or a water conditioner).

 

[PropMan]

i used Seachem Prime to dechlorinate. i will do a water chnage soon

 

[PropMan]

thanks for the help

 

[mrsjoannh13]

Seachem Prime is a good product. Just make sure you are adding it to the water before it goes in the tank. I am not sure how big your tank is but do a large (50% or more) water change to get rid of the ammonia. If the fish and food have been in the tank a while you may need to vaccuum the gravel as well.

This is just my opinion from personal experience, but I had very good luck with Tetra Safe Start Plus bacteria in a bottle. You can add it with fish in the tank and it will quickly build the beneficial bacteria to start reducing ammonia. Since you are doing a fish in cycle, you'll need some way to keep the ammonia from getting too high. You might need to do daily water changes. Adding the bacteria in a bottle should jump start the process for you.

Keep us posted on how your guppies are doing!

 

[PropMan]

yeah I got seachem stability and it said it had beneficial bacteria too. I am going to do a water change right now but do you know. if i should keep the fish in the tank while doing it, or remove the fish first

 

[PropMan]

btw my guppies are starting to hang out at the bottom sometimes which is i guess good.

 

[mrsjoannh13]

It is usually more stressful to move the fish vs. keeping them in during the water change. How are they doing today?

 

[PropMan]

they are scurring around happily . or maybe its because i just fed them

 

[mcordelia]

Good news! Make sure to test your ammonia about every 12h if you are able to, and do a water change when your levels of ammonia or nitrites get bad. Because you are doing a fish-in cycle I would HIGHLY recommend floating plants (hornwort, frogbit, water wisteria, water lettuce, etc). It will protect your fish from the toxins and will probably help your cycle along drastically ("silent cycle" instead of classic cycle). @ITViking recently did a fish-in cycle and is really knowledgeable on how the chemistry works in terms of when it's toxic to fish.

 

[ITViking]

When fish stay near the top of the water, it sometimes because they are having trouble breathing. Oxygen/CO2 exchange takes place on the surface of the water. One quick way to get more oxygen into the water for them is to create more surface disturbance, agitating the surface water more. If you're using a filter that returns water into the tank at the surface, you can lower the water level a bit to ensure the water pouring back into the tank is creating greater agitation of the surface. This increases the rate of oxygen/CO2 exchange. You can also add a bubbler or pump that introduces bubbles or flow that in turn creates more surface disruption.

The next step would be to test the water conditions to see where the water is at, in comparison to the water conditions that the fish need.

 

[corylover5]

Could you please post a full pic of the guppies and tank? Thanks