Guppy behavior question.....maybe ick?

J

jayslub

AC Members
May 17, 2006
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we just adopted a few guppies and they are behaving strangely. They swim to the bottom and slap their bodies on the substrate and swim upwards real quick. what I need/want to know is... is this normal behavior or is this a sign of ick or some other sickness? both our males and females are acting this way and they are in seperate tanks. please help. we want to do what right with the guppies.....


tank parameters...
guppy tanks
5 gals
ammonia 0
nitrate 5.0-10
ph 7.6-7.8
 
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This is called "flashing", often a sign of ich. Do you see any white spots on the fish, like grains of sugar?
Go ahead and try the salt method described here:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39759

Its much safer than meds and easier on your fish if done properly.

Theres a chance that the fish were doing it for some other reason, and I have heard of guppies flashing occasionally for no apparent reason, but all of them doing it, and repeatedly, is definatly not "normal" behavior.
 
As my husband describes it, it's not often, just occasional. And since the guppies are still fairly small, we can't really see any spots on them. He would try the salt method, but since there are snails in the same tank, we don't think it's wise. We were thinking of getting the ich treatment and putting it in just in case they are showing early signs. Is the meds going to bother them if they do not have ich? Maybe the nitrate levels are too high for them? Or maybe the Ph levels?
 
it's most likely ich, but can you provide your params? it could be an excess of a nitrogen compound, you never know...
 
jayslub said:
As my husband describes it, it's not often, just occasional. And since the guppies are still fairly small, we can't really see any spots on them. He would try the salt method, but since there are snails in the same tank, we don't think it's wise. We were thinking of getting the ich treatment and putting it in just in case they are showing early signs. Is the meds going to bother them if they do not have ich? Maybe the nitrate levels are too high for them? Or maybe the Ph levels?
Click to expand...

Dont medicate "just in case", espceially with actual meds rather than salt. Ich medications are hard on your fish, may dye any silicone in your tank, and mostly worthless. Salt is much better. I havent heard of salt in ich-proportions causing harm to snails, but Id wait and see what others think about htis (or repost, asking about snails). In any case, do a large water change, observe them for awhile for any more flashing. If they are doing it every day, theres a problem.
 
Some ich medications have copper in it and will kill snails. As for salt harming snails, I think it said in the dave's ich article that it didn't harm snails, so salt should be fine with them. I'll go skim through the ich article to make sure I'm right.

EDIT:
daveedka said:
Will salt kill my snails, shrimp, and plants?
I know for a fact that pond snails, ramshorns, and MTS’s will not even notice the salt.
I am not a shrimp expert, but have not heard any horror stories of salt use with shrimp, and many shrimp will live in brackish water, so it shouldn’t be an issue. If you are keeping particularly delicate or rare species, I would ask the experts before using salt or meds.
As far as plants, I am not a plant guru at all yet. I have used salt with plants in the tank, and have had no trouble myself. The plants I have are reasonably tough, easy care plants, so Delicate plants may be a different story. I have seen so many conflicting reports on salt and plants that I hesitate to take a steady stance here. I do know that long term salt use is not good for most freshwater plants. But short term I wouldn’t hesitate to use it in my tanks with my plants. Once again I would defer this to the plant experts if you have rare or particularly delicate plants.
Click to expand...

So yes, salt is safe with snails.
 
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Thank you so much for all your help. We do have aquarium salt on hand. Each tank is 5 gallons, how much should I be adding?
 
Read, and all will be explained:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forum...ead.php?t=39759

You want to eventually have 2 tsp per gallon (for 5 gallons that would be 10 tsp), but go slow. Start off by adding 1/2 tsp per gallon (2.5 tsp total for you), moniter the tank for awhile. You can take a day or so to get up to salinity, I know I brought my tank up to almost 2 tsp in a days time, but I was rushing it. Just remember to add the proper amount to bring it back up after you do a water change. If in doubt, post here!
FYI: you can use table salt, iodized or not, kosher salt, sea salt, anything NaCl will work.
How many guppies are in each tank?
 
Oh, and you'll want to keep the salinity up for at least 2 weeks, longer if you dont have a heater. Remember to redose after your water changes!
 
If ya'll look up at the 2nd post, you see TheZoo has given you a link to daveedka's article, which has very clear, detailed directions for the salt/heat treatment. Good luck!!
 
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