I have been keeping fish as a hobby for almost two decades now. I have had great success. One of my goldfish died last year at the age of 18. I am really not use to high mortality rates. This is why my high losses from a recent addition of guppies is so troubling.
The males and females are all spectacularly colored. I had them in a 2:1 female male ratio. Water at 75 degress F, and an average 7.2 PH (PH changes occur daily due to large amount of plant in 25 gallon tank). Since I have permanently hard water, so I use deionized water with electrolytes and trace minerals carefully added, and Ph regularly checked and maintained. The tank is heavily planted, and I have high neonate survival. The guppies are fed tetra tropicolor fish flakes twice daily, and a cube of freeze dried tubefex once every two weeks. The tank had nine guppies, five white clouds, five neon tetras and four coolie loaches. No other fish have died.
Unfortunately seemingly healthy females seem to develop burst blood vessels on their bellies crumple up and die. The illness and death can occur in minutes from the onset of symptoms, or take as long as two days. The fish that survive more than a few hours, tend to hover in a dead spot behind the air pipe from the under gravel filter. They tend to tip on their sides and then return to normal until they expire. I am down to only two females now (excluding about twenty fry that have been born since the guppies where added last month). Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Any ideas on how to treat it? I have never seen fancy guppies this beautiful, and have never had so many problems with any kind of fish. This isn't anything I have seen before and I am at a loss.
The males and females are all spectacularly colored. I had them in a 2:1 female male ratio. Water at 75 degress F, and an average 7.2 PH (PH changes occur daily due to large amount of plant in 25 gallon tank). Since I have permanently hard water, so I use deionized water with electrolytes and trace minerals carefully added, and Ph regularly checked and maintained. The tank is heavily planted, and I have high neonate survival. The guppies are fed tetra tropicolor fish flakes twice daily, and a cube of freeze dried tubefex once every two weeks. The tank had nine guppies, five white clouds, five neon tetras and four coolie loaches. No other fish have died.
Unfortunately seemingly healthy females seem to develop burst blood vessels on their bellies crumple up and die. The illness and death can occur in minutes from the onset of symptoms, or take as long as two days. The fish that survive more than a few hours, tend to hover in a dead spot behind the air pipe from the under gravel filter. They tend to tip on their sides and then return to normal until they expire. I am down to only two females now (excluding about twenty fry that have been born since the guppies where added last month). Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Any ideas on how to treat it? I have never seen fancy guppies this beautiful, and have never had so many problems with any kind of fish. This isn't anything I have seen before and I am at a loss.
