ok here's the deal. I only had 4 guppies in a 10 gallon tank so i decided to get more fish after my vacation to Canada (yay!). I looked it up and found online that any small tetra goes with blue neon guppies so i went out and bought 4 tetras (i have forgotten the species that they are). Anyway i decided to drug up the tank before i left so that it would be amonia free, clorine free, etc. so after my vacation i added the fish. I just got home from seeing Transformers (2 thumbs up!) about 20 minutes ago to find 3 of the four guppies dead! i have no idea why! That's where you come in. the water is slightly acidic, but they like it that way! But it can't be something wrong with the water bc/ then they ALL would be dead! The guppies lived about 3 months before hand so they were not sick. there were no marks on the guppies that showed an attack by another fish and 2 of the dead 1s were babies so it couldn't have been old age! Help!
2007-07-10 17:06:36 · 4 answers · asked by .:+Japanic☻Goth+:. 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
THere are several possibilities here. You don't say how long it has been since you added the tetras and that could be a key factor in figuring out the problem.
First is indeed water quality. If the tetras have been in the tank more than 24 hours, it's possible they have contributed enough ammonia to be a problem for the fish and those 3 guppies were simply a little more sensitive than our other fish. In addition, whatever you used when you drugged up the tank could have damaged the nitrogen cycle in the tank causing more ammonia than you would see in a typical cycled aquarium. I would suggest you test the ammonia and nitrite levels or have the water tested at a pet store to rule out this possibility.
The second possible cause is disease. Any time you add new fish to a tank you run the risk of also adding diseases. Just as with people, there are certain fish diseases to which some fish can become basically immune and the fish becomes a carrier. It's quite possible the tetras were carriers for a disease and the guppies that died are the first to die of this disease. What the tank and the fish very carefully for any signs of disease especially strange or unusual behavior from the fish such as odd swimming or not eating. Any odd behavior could be the signs of a disease.
Given the two choices, I would suggest that the water quality is by far the more likely problem for you.
MM
2007-07-11 03:58:55 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It can be a lot of reasons
1. did you check your ammonia levels?
2. you mentioned that you drugged your tank before you left, it might have been way to much for your guppies to handle, they are extremely sensitive
3. your temperature might be to high or to low
hope that helps
Good luck
EB
2007-07-10 18:57:12 · answer #2 · answered by Kribensis lover 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
guppies are inbreed read into it, I like guppies my self but they are hard too keep because of there genetic weekness. Some strans are easyer than others chose fish with smalller fins.
2007-07-10 17:47:04 · answer #3 · answered by chingow 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
guppies are small fish and can't survive that long! try getting bigger fish
2007-07-10 17:28:31 · answer #4 · answered by Fat 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋