My guppy died.

mel_20_20

mel_20_20

AC Members
Sep 1, 2008
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Deep in the heart of texas
My guppy died during the night, night before last. I did water changes, got the temp up to 78, vacuumed, did everything you guys suggested. I really do appreciate your helpful suggestions, but he didn't make it.

I guess he had gone through too much. I had him since June 10; one of the originals that I started with. He weathered the cycling of the tank, and I guess I added too many fish (2 guppies, an Emerald cory, and 3 ghost shrimp) all in one day couple of weeks ago, and ever since I have been trying to get the tank back to the stable condition it was prior to the new addidtions.

I am trying to keep the other guppy from dying. His tail is frayed and his dorsal fin is frayed. The neons look fine, and are playing in the bubble curtain of the new bubble wand I added to the tank. The cory looks good.

I am so sorry that the poor little thing died.
 
I am sorry to hear that, but trust me we have all been through it. It is not easy but part of fish keeping is the turmoil that you have after you lose a loved one.
 
Thats unfortunate.. sounds like a case of fin rot to me? where did you get the other guppies? :)
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement.

I got them from PetSmart. The remaining guppy seems to be better today. His tail fin, which did have a split in it all the way to it's base, at his body (I don't know the technical term for that area yet), seems to have knit back together. It's not seperated like it was. Also, he's swimming around at different levels of the tank, not just at the surface now. He does seem lost without his buddy that died. I want to get him a friend, but I'm afraid to until the tank gets fully cycled again.

The water quality is better now. Looks like less than .25 nitrite (barely any color on the chart), the nitrates at 15 approximately, the alkalinity around 115, the ph 7.2, temp at 78.1, ammonia 0, the GH 150. Do I need to do anything about the hardness of the water?

I'm going to try to attach some pics of the tank to my user site. I wish I had gotten natural colored pea gravel, instead of this pink, blue, and green stuff. Also, I want to do some live plants, but don't know what to use.

Of the original community I set up on June 10th I stil have 3 neon tetras, and 2 ADFs that are such fun to watch. With that last guppy that died, all the original 3 guppies are now gone.

The remaining guppy is one of 2 that I added 2 weeks ago, along with an Emerald "cat" (said the girl at Petsmart), and 3 ghost shrimp. I think adding all those things 2 weeks ago through the tank off balance and created a mini cycle. (someone from this site suggested that might this might have been the cause of the water quality struggles I've been having the last 2 weeks.)

Even with water changes I was having a hard time getting the nitrites below the caution level on the color chart. I do intend to get the more accurate testing kit for water quality checks.

I put stressZyme in when I did the water changelast nite. It says on the bottle that it helps with electrolyte balance for the fish when they've been handled or stressed, and helps the slime coat. I hope that's true.

I'm going to do another 25% water change tonight, and I did put some aquarium salt in there, although I know there are differing opinions on it. I've been leaving the light on only about 8 hours because I'm having a problem with algae; "hair" I think, from the descriptions I've read about on this forum. I'm thinking of getting a snail or two, of diff species so I won't be overrun. What snails do you think I should get?

I know they help with the glass walls, but what about on the plastic plants and other structures? I have a little treasure chest bubbler w/scuba diver (kinda cheesie I know, but I'm a true newbie.)

After seeing the really pro setups you guys have, I plan to get rid of the kitchy stuff and start a really nice setup in a larger tank, (that is after I get better at this). I want to get a 1 or 2 gallon for a quarantine tank.

I appreciate the kind words of comfort. It's amazing, isn't it, how we can get so invested in such a little creature. I really do feel pain at heart to lose him, especially after having him for 4 months, and then seeing him get sick and trying so hard to live.
 
I'm sorry to hear that, though I myself have suffered thru many many deaths as a result from popular pet store fish. I know a few might disagree but the main problem with these popular stores is they run almost their entire bank of tanks on one filtered water system. While economical the inherent risk is ghastly. One diseased fish can affect the entire population and those who aren't affected by the disease can and will bring it home with them into your tank. The result can be devastating especially if your caught unaware. Another problem that although has subsided greatly over the past few years but is still a problem is that many Suppliers of Guppies, Swords, Platy's and such raise their fry in heavily medicated tanks. When these little guys show up in pet stores they are subsequently dunked into non medicated, sometimes crowded tanks where diseases are often present cause of afformentiond filtering systems. The best bet when adding any new fish to established tanks is the quarantine tank. Depending on fish size can be 1-5 gallons, study the fish for any signs of sickness or such and medicate them there away from your community. After a a few days or a week <Use best judgment here> you can then add them into your main community tank. Sounds like old news but is sound Fish keeping practice.
 
Sounds like you're on the right track now. Yeah, you're right in not adding anything more until you get the water quality straightened out.

As for snails, probably the best option for you would be nerites. They're great for cleaning algae, and don't breed in freshwater so they won't overrun your tank.
 
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