No beginners luck!

[billythefish]

Micheal,

I can refer you to many books, many website and many postings that say you can have Guppies and Neons together.

Research had been carried out so where's the ignorance in that

 

[Tatya]

Have you measured your Ammonia and nitrite again? Hows it all going?

 

[billythefish]

I'm going to measure tonight so I'll let you know.

No deaths this morning so I was very happy. (5 guppies and 2 neons left)

I've read the article from Rose and realise that there is a lot more to it than I first thought, but all good stuff.

Cheers

 

[William]

Glad to hear it Billy, the only problem I have ever encountered with guppies is after years of interbreeding to get the best colours they just aren't very strong. I found that over a few months all my adult guppies died However they left some young ones, and these have gone from strength to strength! I read somewhere that the lifespan for a guppy is normally 1-2 years (please confirm ??) Either way guppies breed so fast (called millions fish) that you should have plenty of young ones when your fish are on their pensions.

 

[billythefish]

Okay -

Amonia seems up between 0.4 & 0.8 on the colour scale.
Nitrite <0.1 (the lowest colour on the scale).

Used a gravel cleaner and couldn't believe the amount of dead food that was sucked up. It was minging. Is this normal?

 

[adeyc]

G.L. I didn't think you'd need that much salt!!

Micheal Deason

Mixing guppies and tetras is a fatal mistake. I will excuse your ignorance as you claim to be new to the hobby. Next time you may wish to research your fish purchases.

Exactly how experienced are you and where do you get such information? And who are you to excuse peoples ignorance?
People have been mixing guppies and neons for years so as to it being a fatal mistake you must have done something else wrong if you had this problem.

 

[Dragonslair]

Dear Michael
As I will reiterate, I have 26 Neons and 12 guppies living together in harmony. Neither species fight and they occupy their own space. Feeding time presents no problems. It everyone for themselves. :laugh:
I appreciate you are trying to impress, but I feel that you are doing the complete opposite. The people on this forum are passionate about their hobby and remember no one person knows everything about everything. No even you.

 

[Alien Anna]

Amonia seems up between 0.4 & 0.8 on the colour scale.
Nitrite <0.1 (the lowest colour on the scale).

Used a gravel cleaner and couldn't believe the amount of dead food that was sucked up.  It was minging.  Is this normal?

Hi,
there's your problem. Your tank is not cycled and the ammonia and nitrite are killing your fish. The good thing about this is that at least you know and can take action to solve the problem. It's a hard way to learn the lesson, however


In answer to your question about gravel. No, it is not normal in a properly cycled tank, especially if you have scavengers in your tank like snails, shrimps or certain types of fish (like plecos). You obviously need to clean your gravel more often in future, although don't over-do it until you are certain your bacteria are properly established.

Keep changing 25% of the water every time you detect any nitrites or ammonia, up to twice a day if necessary and test frequently. If you have an air-pump, stick an air-stone in the water (nitrite and ammonia reduce the oxygen content of the water). Keep your fish on reduced rations and be careful about the use of any chemicals or medications (they can also reduce the oxygen saturation of the water). Keep the temperature down for the same reasons (about 77F is about right).

In a little while, your tank will start to cycle and you can start to relax. In the meantime, you shouldn't lose any more fish as long as you keep going. Good luck!

 

[Tatya]

How much are you feeding your fish? It sounds like you could be over feeding.

 

[Great Lakes]

Adeyc, try dissolving 50 pounds of salt into 100 gallons of water sometime. New meaning to the word patience

 

[billythefish]

How much food is too much!!!!

I put in a half a capful of flake food twice a day?

Ammonia is up again 1.2, nitrate is the same.

Carried out 10% water change.

Everthing's hanging in there.

 

[Rose]

You just need a small pinch of food to start with. For now I would not feed for a few days (this will not hurt the fish, in the wild they don't eat every day anyway.) On Monday evening feed one small pinch. They will want more but dont give it to them. Tuesday don't feed. Wednesday feed just like Monday. Continue that till the water peramiters settle down. That feeding schedule will help settle things down. Rose

 

[whacky]

It seems like so many of you i am also confused about the "fatal mistake" of keeping guppies and neons together. I have done this never with any problems if this is so bad can michael all talk please direct me to the one paragraph that the rest of us seem to have missed.

 

[Macquatic]

It ain't there whacky!! Gosh......why am I not surprised. :laugh: :laugh: Mac.

 

[Micheal Deason]

Guppies and neons need very different water parameters to be truly healthy and happy. While mixing them is possible it is not recommended if you are attempting to achieve good specimens and lively thriving schools. Deaths can occur from weaker specimens due to improper conditions for either species.