Help!! I hv got a guppy problem

[Newbie3141]

hello guys,
Ummm.....so I hv got a female guppy problem.....
So, here's a lil timeline of wht happened....I bought 4 female guppies frm the store on the sunday mornin....as soon as I got home one of em inside the bag wasn't movin...she was breathin tho....I acclimated em n put em inside my tank....the othr 3 were doin f9 but that one wasnt movin n jus layin at the top of the tank...she died within like 12 hrs.....the othr 3 were doin f9 the ntire day but today whn I woke up I saw of em already died n the othr 2 ain't movin n jus layin at the top...they all hv lost their tail colors...n their tail seems a lil ripped too....
This mostly happens...nearly 50-60% of the fish I buy die within 2-3 days of I buyin em.....n the rest r still alive....what do u guys assume is going wrong? Is their somethin wrong at my side or the stores r keepin em in bad condition?
I hv 5 male rosy barbs, 2 male guppies in a 12 gallon tank....

 

[jaylach]

Sounds like your tank is not cycled and the fish are dying from ammonia. Can you give the water paramaters such as PH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? Also the tank size and water temperature?

 

[GaryE]

It doesn't sound like ammonia to me. The established fish survive.

I'm assuming it's a new tank and you haven't seen full grown rosy barbs yet. If you have, you wouldn't add any fish to a 12 gallon, and you'd be planning for something three or four times that big. They get large and are super active swimmers. They are ideal pet fish because they interact with you and are so enthusiastic about life, but in a 12, their lives will be very short.

So problem one - you already have too many fish in the tank.

Problem two is what I just noticed when I looked to see where you are. You recently posted about a disease in that tank, so adding fish a week later when you hadn't resolved the problem is sending them to their deaths. Nothing new can go into a tank until several weeks after all medications have stopped, and there have been no signs of any disease.

Usually, people say their rosys or other decent sized fish are small now so it's okay to put them in small tanks, but if you have any ability as a fishkeeper, they will grow. It's isn't a day to day hobby - you have to think ahead. If I had 5 rosys (I used to and I loved them - great fish) I would not keep them in less than 30 gallons/115 litres.

There is a good chance that rosy barbs, when kept in small tanks where they can't swim and burn off energy, could shred the sick guppies you're buying. They aren't mean fish, but are probably very bored and bored rosys are frantic fish.

 

[Newbie3141]

It doesn't sound like ammonia to me. The established fish survive.

I'm assuming it's a new tank and you haven't seen full grown rosy barbs yet. If you have, you wouldn't add any fish to a 12 gallon, and you'd be planning for something three or four times that big. They get large and are super active swimmers. They are ideal pet fish because they interact with you and are so enthusiastic about life, but in a 12, their lives will be very short.

So problem one - you already have too many fish in the tank.

Problem two is what I just noticed when I looked to see where you are. You recently posted about a disease in that tank, so adding fish a week later when you hadn't resolved the problem is sending them to their deaths. Nothing new can go into a tank until several weeks after all medications have stopped, and there have been no signs of any disease.

Usually, people say their rosys or other decent sized fish are small now so it's okay to put them in small tanks, but if you have any ability as a fishkeeper, they will grow. It's isn't a day to day hobby - you have to think ahead. If I had 5 rosys (I used to and I loved them - great fish) I would not keep them in less than 30 gallons/115 litres.

There is a good chance that rosy barbs, when kept in small tanks where they can't swim and burn off energy, could shred the sick guppies you're buying. They aren't mean fish, but are probably very bored and bored rosys are frantic fish.

Yup, I didn't knew it b4....For a complete thing, my dad decided to keep fish and an aquarium...he bought the barbs n the rest of the fish as well...they never asked or lemme know bout it b4...never cycled the tank n kept adding the fish...It's not their complete fault either as the pet shops never educate the customers bout the complete process n jus look for selling the fish....they never knew that their wud b additional maintainance and cost associated with keeping fish and here the poor fish has to suffer...I m tryna learn on the way of the journey and would like to educate more people like my dad about the hobby....
We r definitely planning to get a bigger tank...
Thank you so much for the help....
Unfortunately, all the 4 guppies died this afternoon....the rest r doin f9...the one barb still has the white....infact he got a red spot this mornin on one of his fins(idk wht it is) I m tryna do some research....Apart from that they r active n eating....

 

[BleuTheBetta]

the one barb still has the white....infact he got a red spot this mornin on one of his fins

If it was contagious, all other fish in your tank could catch it and die as well! I would create a thread here about that, it doesn't sound good. If you include a picture and information like water parameters, people will get back to you with what they think about it (usually) within 24 hours and can help you with next steps, instead of you playing guessing games off of the internet and dumping meds into your tank.
Hope I helped!

 

[emeraldking]

Well, there's a lot going on in your tank. First, test your water and see how the parameters are doing. And there's fish and there's fish... You could be having fish that have a better tolerance in the margins of the water parameters and fish that ain't that tolerable. Last ones mentioned can be bothered by that which can make them stress, sick or even kill them.
So, there are fish that can survive without a problem in an uncycled tank. But to put the risk on such problems down, better cycle that tank first.

 

[Newbie3141]

Thnks fr the reply guys,
I still don't have complete test kit....
The pH is around 7 the hardness about 120 ppm....
I searched all the pet shops in my town as well as a few neighboring towns....none of them keep a complete test kit....most of the good brand test kits online are outta stock/non deliverable...the rest r of poor quality....the only option now is to import the kits from sketchy websites and heck Lotta shipping charges or to visit a big city to get a hold of em....
Till then I will continue to do frequent water changes.....
If somebody has any suggestions, you can lemme know...

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Thnks fr the reply guys,
I still don't have complete test kit....
The pH is around 7 the hardness about 120 ppm....
I searched all the pet shops in my town as well as a few neighboring towns....none of them keep a complete test kit....most of the good brand test kits online are outta stock/non deliverable...the rest r of poor quality....the only option now is to import the kits from sketchy websites and heck Lotta shipping charges or to visit a big city to get a hold of em....
Till then I will continue to do frequent water changes.....
If somebody has any suggestions, you can lemme know...

I've talked to other hobbyists in India before, and have heard the same thing, that certainly the liquid water testing kits are incredibly hard to get there, super expensive if you do find one, and it's not as easy as just ordering one on Amazon and it arriving in a day or two!

So @Newbie3141 , yes, do continue to do frequent water changes. If there's ever doubt, water change it out! Especially if fish are sick or dying, don't get more fish until you've resolved the problems.

Do any fish keeping stores there have the dip strip water testers? Not always as accurate as the liquid ones, but will at least give you some idea of the water parameters as you balance out this new tank and try to get it established and stable. If not, no problem, people did manage to keep fish before we had testing kits after all.

So @Newbie3141 really needs help to try to manage this without really being able to just easy test the water and know the numbers, those kits really aren't common, affordable or accessible there.

@Essjay @Byron @Back in the fold @GaryE Hopefully one of these people can offer more practical advice, like if the pH is 7 and GH is 122ppm, sounds as though it's likely on the middle-softer side? So not ideal for guppies or other livebearers like mollies, but perhaps should stick with softer water fish?

 

[Newbie3141]

I've talked to other hobbyists in India before, and have heard the same thing, that certainly the liquid water testing kits are incredibly hard to get there, super expensive if you do find one, and it's not as easy as just ordering one on Amazon and it arriving in a day or two!

So @Newbie3141 , yes, do continue to do frequent water changes. If there's ever doubt, water change it out! Especially if fish are sick or dying, don't get more fish until you've resolved the problems.

Do any fish keeping stores there have the dip strip water testers? Not always as accurate as the liquid ones, but will at least give you some idea of the water parameters as you balance out this new tank and try to get it established and stable. If not, no problem, people did manage to keep fish before we had testing kits after all.

So @Newbie3141 really needs help to try to manage this without really being able to just easy test the water and know the numbers, those kits really aren't common, affordable or accessible there.

@Essjay @Byron @Back in the fold @GaryE Hopefully one of these people can offer more practical advice, like if the pH is 7 and GH is 122ppm, sounds as though it's likely on the middle-softer side? So not ideal for guppies or other livebearers like mollies, but perhaps should stick with softer water fish?

Thnk y so much fr the reply....
Yup, they are hard to find in most small cities and towns like ours...Probably they r available in big pet stores found in most big cities...It's definitely expensive though cz according to my knowledge most pet stores import them from manufacturers in the other countries.....
I m not sure bout pet stores having the test strips...but there r a few test stripe available on amazon but then they ain't complete tests either....some of em lack ammonia test...some lack tests for nitrates..... I m still tryna find the best option we cud get out here with max possible tests....
Till thn I m definitely not buying more fish and will continue to do the frequent water changes....