Strange guppy behaviour

[corrieberry]

The female is chasing the male and biting him. I thought this was supposed to happen the other way around? I had another two females but one died and the other has a wierd white thing on her eye and can't swim so I'm thinking I will put her out of her misery. I'm wondering what it is though - could it affect my other fish?

[Fish-Addict]

Wow that second pic is amazing ;)

OK is the male smaller than the female? Is the female prgnant? How many other guppies? Does she only exhibit such behaviour to this one guppy?

As for the eye I think it is cloudy eye disease. They do meds specifically for that or you can get a fungal one that treats for it.

[mel_20_20]

Can you please tell us some things about your tank and post your parameters: ammonia, nitrite, nitrates, ph, temperature.

It will help to let us know also: Tank size, type of filtration, how long the tank has been set up, and when did you add your fish,
how many occupants in the tank, water change schedule, plants, lighting, substrate.

These things can help us figure out what may be happening.
You guppy's eye does look pretty bad and depending on what it is, yes it could affect the other fish.

You may be able to treat it; I'm not terribly knowledgeable about fish ailments. Someone may be able to suggest something.

If you decide to put your guppy down, there is a humane way to do that. Freezing is not the way to go: they feel their body freeze and scientists now know that it is very painful and slow.

You don't want to just flush either, but I'm sure you weren't planning that, since you care enough to want to end its suffering in need be.

Here is a really good link writen by one of our members on the subject of euthanasia. It is a kind, gentle, and very calm and peaceful way to help end the life of a fish that is suffering.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1370852#post1370852

Please look at that article. I have it copied and pasted into a document that I saved in my "Aquaria" folder on my laptop.

I have had to use this method just this week on a poor sick guppy, and on two other ocassions. It is a sad, but kind, task that unfortunately we do sometimes have to perform.

[corrieberry]

Wow that second pic is amazing ;)

OK is the male smaller than the female? Is the female prgnant? How many other guppies? Does she only exhibit such behaviour to this one guppy?

As for the eye I think it is cloudy eye disease. They do meds specifically for that or you can get a fungal one that treats for it.

I know - darn phone cameras! She isn't pregnant (I don't think - not fat at all and no black triangle thing :P) and is bigger than him, but not by very much. She only does it to him, and at the moment there are two other guppies - the male and the other sick female. I was planning to clear the tank and just keep guppies in it, so new ones are in the cards.


Can you please tell us some things about your tank and post your parameters: ammonia, nitrite, nitrates, ph, temperature.

It will help to let us know also: Tank size, type of filtration, how long the tank has been set up, and when did you add your fish,
how many occupants in the tank, water change schedule, plants, lighting, substrate.

These things can help us figure out what may be happening.
You guppy's eye does look pretty bad and depending on what it is, yes it could affect the other fish.

You may be able to treat it; I'm not terribly knowledgeable about fish ailments. Someone may be able to suggest something.

If you decide to put your guppy down, there is a humane way to do that. Freezing is not the way to go: they feel their body freeze and scientists now know that it is very painful and slow.

You don't want to just flush either, but I'm sure you weren't planning that, since you care enough to want to end its suffering in need be.

Here is a really good link writen by one of our members on the subject of euthanasia. It is a kind, gentle, and very calm and peaceful way to help end the life of a fish that is suffering.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1370852#post1370852

Please look at that article. I have it copied and pasted into a document that I saved in my "Aquaria" folder on my laptop.

I have had to use this method just this week on a poor sick guppy, and on two other ocassions. It is a sad, but kind, task that unfortunately we do sometimes have to perform.

OK the tank has been set up since September, it's planted with oxygen weed which the guy in my local LFS said would be OK. It's 7G and has the three guppies and five neon tetra that I'm planning to give to a friend so I can get more guppies.

The Cl2 is 0, pH 7.6, kH 6 d, GH 8 d, nitrites and nitrates zero. I don't have an ammonia test as I was told nitrites and nitrates give a good enough view of it?

The light is just a white light, and there are two filters running at the moment - I'm pre-cycling one. I don't know the names of them, one is a Tetra filter that came with the tank, and the other is a cartridge filter. I got both from the lfs and the guy in there said they would be OK for the tank. I change water once or twice a week depending on my schedule - I do about 30% each time.

I use a blue gravel as the substrate.

The fish have been in for a week - the tetra came first but my friend wants them and I am ready to try something else. I think that's everything!

[mel_20_20]

So to understand completely, you set the tank up in Septermber; did you have fish in it then to cycle the tank, or did you do a fishless cycle?

Have you ever found nitrites in the tank?

Please don't be offended by my questions about cycling if they are unnecessary and you have already cycled the tank.

You have to have ammonia in the tank, from poo and pee and decaying food, for a time to develope the bacteria that breaks down ammonia into nitrites, when the nitrites are in the tank for a time then the bacteria that breaks down nitrites into nitrates appear and do their job.

Then the tank is considered cycled with parameter readings of ammonia at 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates somewhere between 0 and 40 depending on plants that soak them up like fertilzer.

You may have used filter media or substrate from an established cycled tank to get your bacteria growing in there to cycle your tank.

Did your tank go through the nitrogen cycle I described?

I don't know if you mentioned what kind of testing equipment you have, but the test strips are not accurate and the majority of fishkeepers here use a good liquid test kit, such as the API Master test kit. It tests for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and ph.

Your routine looks really good, but I've learned that most of the experienced fishkeepers here would say you are overstocked.

They told me that and I had less fish than you do in my 10 gallon. The problem is the bioload is pretty big and small tanks are more subject to spikes in the ammonia and nitrites, even once the tank is cycled.

If possible, you really do need to test for ammonia. There can be a significant period of time where ammonia is present in dangerous levels and yet the nitrites can read 0.

[corrieberry]

Ahh thanks that's very helpful - I have a problem though, as I'm a student and can't afford anymore tanks (I have three already). The others have goldfish and fry in them so I can't touch them and I don't really want to go giving my fish away to people who won't look after them. I would take them to my LFS if I thought they would get good homes, but I don't - they sold them to me when I was utterly clueless, and they knew the size of the tank as I bought it from them. Also, I've had to go back every single day this week as I was trying to give my fry a fighting chance. They are from the goldfish and I knew nothing about raising them, but have been doing as much research as possible and keep finding out more stuff I need - like freshly hatched brine shrimp. If the people in the LFS had told me all the stuff I needed the first time I went in and told them I had fry, I wouldn't have to keep going back! They are useless. Rant over.

I use strip tests from Tetra - same money problem getting liquid tests, but I'm working on it. I'm doing the best I can at the moment - when I got them in the first place I had no idea all this testing was necessary and if I'd known how expensive it is I probably wouldn't have started until I had a job etc. My experience of fish keeping before has been limited to a tank of goldfish when I was 12 that miraculously managed to stay alive for about five years, then went into the pond and multiplied in number until a builder dumped a load of cleaners into the pond.

The tank is cycled - I did a fishless cycle then stocked.

Wow, this turned into a monster post - sorry!

On a side note though, which kind of kills this thread, the guppy died when I was cleaning out the other tanks (Saturday is cleanout day) so I can't do anything more for her. I will keep watching the rest of the fish and see if they get ill as well - and start thinking about getting more guppies. I read something that advised waiting a month between stocking each set of male and three females - does this apply now? I'm worried the leftover female will get harassed (even though she is still the one doing the harassing!)

[huffmagx]

I know thats not what you wanted to hear but guppies breed more readily than goldfish and way more frequently! They are also ( at least from my experience with them) more subceptable to water conditions. You really can't expect to keep guppies for any length of time in that small of a tank, its just not practical. That size tank can work as a fry grow out tank for a while though but not a good breeding tank (at least thats my opinion). I think you will spend your money replacing fish if you try to keep them in small tank. :)

[cellodaisy]

If you aren't trying to breed them, you could re-home the female. I kept a group of all males for a while and they were fine.