New guppy in distress

[Lajos_Detari]

What is your tap water hardness(GH)?
Guppies don't do well in soft water as they need hard water.
Sometimes it can cause Shimmies(with body shaking) when a hard water fish is kept in soft water.

 

[emeraldking]

Keep an eye on the weaker one. Stress can do a lot to a fish. Personally, fancy guppies will do fine at room temperature. I f you keep them at higher rates, they'll still do fine but their lifespan will be shorter and they do multiply themselves faster. But that's all to it. At room temperature 20-22°C they will be much stronger and live longer than kept at higher rates.

 

[Familyfishny]

What is your tap water hardness(GH)?
Guppies don't do well in soft water as they need hard water.
Sometimes it can cause Shimmies(with body shaking) when a hard water fish is kept in soft water.

The Shimmies sounds like a good description of her behavior when stressed, but our water is quite hard at 180GH. My understanding is that they should be pretty happy in the hard water.

 

[Familyfishny]

Keep an eye on the weaker one. Stress can do a lot to a fish. Personally, fancy guppies will do fine at room temperature. I f you keep them at higher rates, they'll still do fine but their lifespan will be shorter and they do multiply themselves faster. But that's all to it. At room temperature 20-22°C they will be much stronger and live longer than kept at higher rates.

Thank you, that’s good to know.

 

[Essjay]

180 ppm (10 dH) is not hard water, it's sort of middling. It is at the lower end of guppies' hardness range so by itself it shouldn't cause any issues. But if there are other issues, the GH might stress the guppy further.

 

[Familyfishny]

That’s great to know, thank you! I am still learning about water hardness and the scales used for it. Maybe the stress of acclimation added to changing water hardness (that batch of fish was purchased 40m away in a different water service area) set something off. She’s still alive, still on the bottom of the tank unless she works hard to get up into the water column, still no visible damage. The other fish appear stable. If there are no further suggestions for intervention, I will just wait and see.

 

[Familyfishny]

Keep an eye on the weaker one. Stress can do a lot to a fish. Personally, fancy guppies will do fine at room temperature. I f you keep them at higher rates, they'll still do fine but their lifespan will be shorter and they do multiply themselves faster. But that's all to it. At room temperature 20-22°C they will be much stronger and live longer than kept at higher rates.

Emeraldking, what temperature would you suggest to best suit fancy guppies, bronze cory, and a BN pleco? Would they all be happy at a lower temperature? I’m fascinated by the range of opinions on this topic!

 

[emeraldking]

Emeraldking, what temperature would you suggest to best suit fancy guppies, bronze cory, and a BN pleco? Would they all be happy at a lower temperature? I’m fascinated by the range of opinions on this topic!

All should be fine between 70°F-73°F. I've got those fish as well and they do fine all these years. Those BN plecos and bronze cories even reproduce fine at these rates at my place.

 

[Familyfishny]

All should be fine between 70°F-73°F. I've got those fish as well and they do fine all these years. Those BN plecos and bronze cories even reproduce fine at these rates at my place.

Thank you, that’s very helpful. Our guppies and cories have also reproduced at 72; we only have one pleco b/c it’s only a 37gal tank. I appreciate your feedback.

 

[emeraldking]

Thank you, that’s very helpful. Our guppies and cories have also reproduced at 72; we only have one pleco b/c it’s only a 37gal tank. I appreciate your feedback.

My pleasure...

 

[Familyfishny]

Final update: I’m happy to report that after a couple of weeks being a bottom fish, the little white guppy is back up in the water column, hanging out with the other guppies again. She seems to have recovered from her problem and is able to float again. Thanks for the help, everyone.