Lost two fish already

[RandomTask]

I have a guppy that has what looks like shimmying, and finrot. I was on vacation and got a call from my friend who was watching or fish, and she told me that one of our fish did not look good. We got back and she had moved out of the tank becasue it died.

I have a 10gal tank that has been running for about 3 months now.
Nitrite : 0 ppm
Nitrate : 0 ppm
Ammonia : .25 ppm
PH : 8.2 - 8.4
Temp : 76 f

I have 1 male guppy, he is sitting in the corner not swimming around, and it looks like he has finrot. I have 1 male platy, 1 preggo female platy, and 1 otto(very small). The other fish that died was a female platy. I did a 20% water change. I usually do them 1/month and do 25%.


-The guppy died, what shoudl I do about the tank, should I medicate it? All of the other fish look fine, no sign of finrot yet.

 

[Tolak]

If tests show ammo & no nitrates on a tank that gets 25% w.c. monthly you are having a cycling problem. What are you using for dechlorinator, and how are you cleaning your filter media?

I would do 20% water changes daily until you detect no ammonia. Many times fin rot can be cured with fresh water. After that do 20 to 25% weekly water changes.

Tolak

 

[RandomTask]

I use Kordon AmQuel+ for the water. I run old tank water over the filter to clean it.

I will try daily water changes too.

 

[Angel Lady]

That ph is awful high for guppies, they should be kept in neutral ph around 7.0. This could be some of your problems.

 

[RandomTask]

I don't like the ph being that high, but I'm really nervous about messing with ph.
Suggestions on getting it down?

My two platys, and ottot, seem fine. No sign of finrot or wnything on those fish.

Do I need to medicate the tank or just wait and see what happens?

I will also be adding at least one more female platy becuase of the male harrasment.

 

[Tolak]

Driftwood will help lower the ph some. Peat in the filter will help also. Chemicals will alter the ph for a short time, but it will be back up to where it was in a day or 2. That is bad for fish.

From what I've seen, folks with high ph also have hard water, while those with low ph have softer water. It's easy to change the ph in very soft water, near impossible in very hard water without a ro unit.

Tolak

 

[RandomTask]

Thanks, off to the LFS in the AM

 

[dwarfgourami]

Are you sure about that, Angel Lady? All my books seem to say ph 7-8 for guppies. Our ph is really high too, and that's how they keep them in the shops around here; I haven't noticed any problems with that in the 6 months I've kept guppies, both adults and fry seem fine.

That ph is awful high for guppies, they should be kept in neutral ph around 7.0. This could be some of your problems.

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I wouldn't mess with the ph, as Tolak says it's likely to be hopeless, but just keep the ammonia under control with frequent water changes, and be prepared to medicate IF someone else shows signs of finrot. Watch out for white spots on tails and fins (larger than ich) or the fins beginning to look grey and frayed round the edges. If you catch it early enough it should be treatable. You may also want to add a little salt to the water BUT ONLY if the tank does not contain fish sensitive to salt (such as catfish).

 

[Gourami Girl]

That's right, Guppies do like hard water and high pH, as do many of the live bearers, i would recommend a 10-15% water change every day, until the ammonia is zero. The fact that you have ammonia and no nitrite means that your tank is not cycling properly.

I would add plenty of bacteria to your filter and ensure you continue cleaning it with mature tank water, in fact don't bother at all unless the flow goes down to nothing.

Make sure you're vacuuming your gravel as this could be where the problem lies, rotting food and poo could be causing the ammonia.

Lay off the food or only feed a small pinch daily as there are no bacteria to break it down.

To buck the Guppy up a bit, i would add some tonic salt, and if the finrot continues after all this, i recommend the Waterlife products, i think Myxazin is the one for finrot. Also increase the heat a bit to aid his recovery, this may be why he is shimmying if he has a chill.