When to put a fish to sleep?

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guppygal

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Jun 30, 2006
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I have a guppy that is not happy. He is not eating and just breathing really fast on the bottom of the tank. I've had him about 4 weeks but he went through the first 4 weeks of cycling.

Twice I have gone in with a net thinking he was dead.

Do I just leave him alone or should I take him out of the tank?

He has no obvious signs of sickness (white spots, red spots, fin rot).


My water temp in the 10g is 78
Ammonia - 0
PH 7
nitrite - 0
KH - 35 ppm (no idea what that means)

Thanks!

10g
2 happy male guppies and 1 not so happy guppy
 

liv2padl

cichlidophile
Oct 30, 2005
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north carolina
if he's definitely not feeding, then he's definitely not a well fish. i'd euthanize it. the likelyhood of being able to cure it is almost zero.
 

TheZoo

Curiouser and curiouser!
Apr 12, 2006
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melting in Houston, TX
How long has he been ailing? If its been awhile and youve tried the water change remedy, there may not be much you can do. :( Good luck to your fish!
 

guppygal

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Jun 30, 2006
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TheZoo said:
How long has he been ailing? If its been awhile and youve tried the water change remedy, there may not be much you can do. :( Good luck to your fish!
He has been sick for about 3 days :(

I wish there was something I can do.

I have done water changes the last 2 days with no change in his health.
 

plah831

Am I mod enough?
Apr 29, 2006
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Monterey Bay, CA
KH of 35 ppm (=1.96 degrees) seems really low to me. But I have pretty hard water (KH = 8 degrees, 143 ppm; and GH=14 degrees, 250 ppm).

What's your GH (General hardness)? Do you have super-soft water with almost no solutes in it? Fish, and other living things, need some stuff in their water (minerals, salts, ions) otherwise it may affect their health adversely. Are you using RO or distilled water?
 
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Ms.Bubbles

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Sep 26, 2005
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I let nature take it's course, and don't interfere. I'd feel too guilty ending a life. The way I see it, my job is to keep them alive as best as I can.
 

guppygal

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Jun 30, 2006
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plah831 said:
KH of 35 ppm (=1.96 degrees) seems really low to me. But I have pretty hard water (KH = 8 degrees, 143 ppm; and GH=14 degrees, 250 ppm).

What's your GH (General hardness)? Do you have super-soft water with almost no solutes in it? Fish, and other living things, need some stuff in their water (minerals, salts, ions) otherwise it may affect their health adversely. Are you using RO or distilled water?
I think I need to get new tests -- I put in 23 drops of the GH and no color change -- they are old tests.

I will go out and get new KH and GH (or should I even bother with testing these???)

I usually test: Ammonia, PH and Nitrite.
 

guppygal

AC Members
Jun 30, 2006
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Ms.Bubbles said:
I let nature take it's course, and don't interfere. I'd feel too guilty ending a life. The way I see it, my job is to keep them alive as best as I can.
Yeah - I have a hard time scooping him out when he is still breathing!
 

plah831

Am I mod enough?
Apr 29, 2006
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Monterey Bay, CA
guppygal said:
I will go out and get new KH and GH (or should I even bother with testing these???)

I usually test: Ammonia, PH and Nitrite.
I would test for hardness, but that's just me, I like overkill. If you just want to know what's in your tap water (or whatever water you fill your tank with), maybe the store can do those for you?

As for the other tests you usually run, those are good. If you can get a nitrate test, that is helpful, too. Ammonia and Nitrite are the most essential, because they are toxic, but nitrate at high levels is not desireable, either. It's the end product of the nitrogen cycle in fish tanks, and high levels of it indicate not enough water changes.
 
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