guppy help!?

Question

i have 10 gallon tank, and i just bought like 3 females and 1 male guppies. but now 2 of the 4 guppies are swimming fine but the other 2 are swimming towards the top. why is this? i have a filter and a airator. whats wrong? the temp. is like 75oF

Answer 1

Get a heater, guppies are tropical fish and like it a little warmer. around 78-80 degrees. Over time a few degrees really make a difference. Do they have hiding places like caves and plants in the tank? If they get stressed out they tend to swim close to the surface. Also when they are tired they swim at the top of the tank. At least mine do. How is their feeding behaviour, do all of them eat the same and are active at feeding time? If they are acting normal at feeding time, they should be okay.

J

Answer 2

Maybe nothing. Are they swimming normally? They could be looking for food (ever notice how a guppy's mouth is pointed upward - they're surface feeders). Do they swim at the top all the time, or just when you're near the tank? Guppies like to "beg" because they've come to associate people with food. Don't give in no matter how hungry they look - give what they will eat in 1-2 minutes a few times a day and that's it!

Try a little experiment (or two). Go to some point where you're out of site of the tank (or at least fairly far away). Wait a few minutes and take a look at the tank. Are the top swimmers still there? Now walk toward the tank. What happens?

The filter is okay as long as it doen't prevent them from getting food easily (you can turn it off a few mintues when you feed) and the temperature is fine - they don't need a heater unless where you have them is really cold.

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Guppy.htm

Answer 3

The bubbles are not doing much to keep the fish alive, they just help to keep the surface free of slime. The exchange of bad oxygen and good oxygen takes place at the surface, and if the slime film was not being broken up by the bubbles, there would be low levels of dissolved oxygen available to the fish in the water.

What may have happened is that the fish could have gone into a slight shock due to the rapid change of water conditions in your tank to the pet shop bag they were in. Did you let them adjust? You have to add a little of your water to the bag a little bit at a time before you just dump them in. The fish need to adjust to your temperature and ph or they will feel uncomfortable, and maybe even get stressed to the point of dying or getting ick.

Good luck.