sudden unexplained guppy death

A

Amanda Killops

guppy lover
Jan 3, 2010
55
0
0
The New Forest, UK
Hi guys

I got in from work tonight and 2 of my 3 guppies were dead. They haven't exhibited any signs of illness, and there wasn't a mark on either of them! I recently added 6 Cherry Barbs (all internet sites and LFS said they would be fine with guppies). I have never seen any aggressive behaviour, and the dead guppies had no signs of fin nipping whatsoever. Tested my water and all params are as they have been for the last 6 months. (nitrite 0, nitrate around 30). No recent diet changes, and completed my routine 15% water change 3 days ago. Any ideas?

Surely if it was the barbs harassing them they (a) would have had nip marks and (b) wouldn't it be a coincidence for them to die within the same 6 hour period? The remaining guppy is fine, and is even schooling with the barbs.

Help?
 
I have a "6 in 1" test kit that only tests GH, KH, PH, NO2, NO3 and CL2. Are any of these ammonia (sorry to sound dense). NO3 is around 30, NO2 pretty much zero. GH is 8, KH 6, PH around 6.8 and CL2 is 0.
 
What size tank? How old are the guppies? ANd how long has the tank been established?

Those multiple test strips are not very reliable in many folks opinions.
 
Amanda Killops said:
...NO2 pretty much zero...
Click to expand...

In an established tank, NO2 (nitrite) should be zero. If it's not actually zero (just "pretty much" zero) then you may have had an ammonia spike. The bacteria would have handled it pretty quickly, but perhaps not quickly enough for your fish. Now as to the cause of the hypothetical ammonia spike, I don't know.

I'm sorry for your losses. :(
 
Tank is 95L (25G), established about 6 months by way of an upgrade from a year old 26L, all media etc was transferred from smaller tank to new one.

Guppies have been with me around 3 months. If I had an ammonia spike would I not have seen signs of distress/cloudy water? How would you know?

All fish have seemed fine with no abnormal behaviour at all. I take you point about the test strip, which leads me to my (sorry!) vague comment about nitrite being "pretty much zero". As you're judging the colours on the test strip against reproductions of those colours on a plastic container it is really difficult to be accurate. The NO2 colour is only half a shade above the zero. Can you recommend a better test kit?
 
Ammonia would not necessarily cause cloudy water---I think that's more indicative of a bacteria bloom. You might or might not see symptoms in the fish. As we all know, they can be very good at hiding their distress. I'm not saying for sure that it was ammonia, it's just one idea based on the "not quite zero" nitrite reading.

The liquid API tests are generally easy to find and regarded as accurate.
 
Along with water quality, there may have been a lingering problem not detected before. It could be from any number of reasons. The age and quality of the guppies could also be a contributing factor. If there was disease or compatibility problems you would likely have noticed before now.

Sometimes they can die for no apparent reason. I have had very few deaths of them but it does happen. Thankfully it is rare. You should do about 25-30% water changes weekly as not the 15% you mentioned. Ideally, you want the nitrate down to about 20 even though they can still survive at 40.

Sorry for your loss. Sure wish we could have given you a more definitive answer.
 
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