Losing One Guppy A Week

[seachubbs]

For the last few weeks i have lost one guppy a week. I have 60l tank with now12 guppies and a similar sized common plec, water tested frequently and all zeros, ph7, nitrate 5-10. Temp 22 as many of your forum posts say guppies do better at this temp. So each guppy goes listless and quiet, swims in one spot, then swims one side or does occasional somersaults. No other symptoms and perk up at feeding time. Each time it is at the weekend so i've done a large water change in case there is something in the water even though my tests are clear. But none recover. So this week i tried a course of myxazin thinking it might be bacterial since doesnt seem to be a one-off but this weekend i have a couple of slightly lopsided fish again. I read up on swimbladder problems from your forums and will try fasting and peas next but i tried treating with myxazin before peas as it seemed to be recurring and no specific to one fish. Any suggestions? Should i try a different treatment? Thanks

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Depending upon what you are calling a "common plec", that catfish should reach close to the lenth of your tank and consequently needs a 5-foot tank at the very least. Needs to be rehomed, put upload a photo to get a definite ID.

You have not mentioned ammonia or nitrite readings, which need to be from a liquid test kit rather than less than useless test strips. I suspect your filter is not coping with the waste from 12 guppies and the pleco, if that catfish is indeed a Hypostomus plecostomus or Pterygoplichthys pardalis.

Adding medications without a definite disease diagnosis is a risky business, many contain lethal compounds that do damage to the fish as well as the infecting organism.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

It seems that the toxins are building up to lethal levels over a week, you then 'reset' the water quality with a water change and another week has to pass for the levels to become toxic again and you lose another fish. So, as NOTG said, it looks like a water quality problem.

 

[seachubbs]

Liquid test kit used every few days, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5-10. water stable. Yes plec will grow but only currently 5cm same as guppies and fish shop want him back when he gets too big for 60l tank. He was the best type to match the temp of my guppy tank and is a hardy type, he is very happy. I read a lot of your posts with swimbladder/guppy connections last week and my symptoms are similar and others had used myxazin so i tried it as i thought it likely to be some sort of infection since not a one-off problem. My name seems connected to a 'Newbie' label but i'm not quite as ignorant as the label suggests - just not very good on ailments yet as been ailment free until recently. So assuming not a water issue (unless someone can tell me how with stable clear parameters) all suggestions welcome please. Filter is coping fine with only 12 guppies and a tiny plec.

I test the water before i change it and still all zeros.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

So you know and the shop who sold you the common plec all know it is not suitable for your 60l tank... So at what point are you going decide it is too big? When the body has barely grown but the internal organs are growing at a normal rate, becoming increasingly crushed by stunting growth? Do the fish a favour and rehome it now, there are so many fish species out there that can temperature match guppies and be suitable for your 60l tank.

As for your stats (0,0, 5-10), what is keeping the nitrates so low? Are you using RO water? A forest of fast growing plants with high intensity lighting and daily carbon/fertiliser?
How did you cycle this tank, fish-in or fishless? If fish-in, what fish have been in there from the start?
How much water are you changing and how often?
How old is the test kit, as in could it be giving false readings?

 

[This Old Spouse]

NOTG, that's just about everything I was going to ask. Well done.

I would like to smack up side the head of the LFS idiot who sold the common pleco to you. Not only are there size issues, but they are the biggest poo producers in the animal kingdom!

 

[seachubbs]

Nitrates are so low because for the last couple of weeks i've done large water changes because i too thought there must be some toxins in the water affecting one fish a week (although odd only one at a time). I've changed 70% ish each of the last 2 weekends. Nitrates do rise higher if less water changed. Normally change 15-20% every 1-2 weeks. Fish in cycle done last september, nitrite spike last nov which was sorted by 2x daily 80% water changes and water been clear since then. Tank started with guppies and the 2 original guppies still remain. Testing kit only 3 months old and checked vs LFS in nov.

And on the plec front which algae eater would you suggest for a coolish tank? I only really want one small one so i can have more guppies. Bristlenose maybe? It is hard to find many other types locally. LFS called it a spotted plec so maybe not a true common plec? But i couldnt find spotted plec as a variety on the web.

 

[seachubbs]

Having another think - maybe they are constipated from overeating as they eat the plec's sinking pellets which i have tried using a couple of times. Some of the unaffected guppies are quite fat, but the ones which i've lost have not been at all bloated or fat. Guppy poo is not orange like it normally is but is much paler. I might try peas for tea tonight ....

 

[This Old Spouse]

That almost sounds like some kind of bacterial infection. But try the peas and see what happens.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

If you have a digital camera, take a load of photos and upload the best few (including at least one with the whole fish side on) to a site like Imageshack.com, which can link to or embed in this thread. Otherwise this is like playing "pin the tail on the donkey", one possible fish is perhaps Chaetostoma milesi, sometimes called the spotted rubberlip pleco, which again is too big for a 60l as it reaches ~15cm and needs specialist tank setups with major water circulation (read torrent).

BN catfish need more space than a 60l, but one possibility is a Florida Flagfish, who are fine as singletons and relish hair algae.

 

[seachubbs]

Thanks all. Have done 50% change just now and will try peas for tea and then fasting. There was almost no orange fish poo from guppies when i cleaned the tank which is surprising. I only feed the guppies once a day and only 2 granules of tetra prima per fish so not overfed but they have been eating 2-4 pleco granules each week between them. will upload photos of fish if any deteriorate as currently they only look odd every now and then, or maybe just because i've been looking at them all weekend!

 

[seachubbs]

Yes i think it is a spotted rubberlip pleco from some online pictures. They seem to be in a lot of shops, probably coz they look so cute. Guppies went mad over the pea!