Guppy HELP, PLEASE!

WTFx kimmm · Jul 8, 2008

so, recently things have been going awry in our tank. we have guppys, platys, and tetras but the guppys are the only ones having problems!

we just lost a pregnant female guppy this weekend, july 5th. we don't understand why she died. she was healthy and about ready to give birth but suddenly she started slowing down and being less mobile ... the day she died we noticed her body was turning a black color. within an hour or so she died ... her body had turned a deep shade of blue - black. we removed her immediately. can anyone explain what happened?

also, after jodi's [^that female] death things have gotten worse in the tank. a blue female fish [possibly pregnant] is losing her color. she has a yellowish-red color now. her gravid spot is yellow-red. a yellow male fish has also started to lose his color. his dorsal [or the top part of him, from head to tail] is fading and losing color. it is NOT white, but it's more bleached ... like he's see-through. once i noticed the male i saw that this was also on the female; it is possible the female spread it.

i have now isolated the two infected[?] guppies.
any ideas about what's going on.
i hope we don't lose them ...

mulder · Jul 8, 2008

Maybe test the water? You can usually take a sample into a pet store and they'll test it for you I believe.

WTFx kimmm · Jul 8, 2008

i plan to do that ASAP, the petco isn't exactly right next door - thanks though.

if it helps: the aquarium is only a month old and we clean it and do water changes every other week.

Kendalle · Jul 8, 2008

you don't want to start having fish that are going to have babies that soon, it throws EVERYTHING off. i had a guppy that had babies and with in days all but one fish died from the levels being thrown off. Now we stick to males but i think we would be ok having babies now, but really it throws things off fast.

my guess its the levels, guppies aren't the hardiest fish when it comes to that

WTFx kimmm · Jul 9, 2008

Kendalle said:
you don't want to start having fish that are going to have babies that soon, it throws EVERYTHING off. i had a guppy that had babies and with in days all but one fish died from the levels being thrown off. Now we stick to males but i think we would be ok having babies now, but really it throws things off fast.

my guess its the levels, guppies aren't the hardiest fish when it comes to that

They weren't pregnant to start, it just happened within days of the purchase. o__o" You know ... male guppies. You're supposed to buy 2 females for every 1 male. There are no fry in my tank by the way, only pregnant fish.

Sasami · Jul 10, 2008

The color changes sound stress-related to me, your water parameters are probably off (this seems especially likely because your tank is so new).

emmzie87 · Jul 23, 2008

do a half water change and get some internal batcteria, its called pimafix or mellafix. one is for external parasites the other is for internal...
saddly guppies arnt the hardiest of fish, how large is the tank? i used to keep them in a 3ft tank but the moved them down to a smaller tank and they seem to be thriving..
the secret to growing babies is low nirtate levels, new tanks are gonna have their ammonia spikes in the beginning but one the nitrogen cycle begins ,the waste will break itself down.its up to do fornightly 20%water change,proper declorination and once a month wash the filter sponges out in TANK WATER NOT TAP while you are doing your water change.tap water kills all the good bacteria breaking down the waste

Guppy HELP, PLEASE!

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities