# Sick guppy? Help...



## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

I have recently purchased three new guppies. They are the only fish in the tank. I had cycled my tank for about 8 weeks prior to adding these fish and all water parameters are excellent. The temp is 76-78 degrees. I even have a little bit of aquarium salt added as suggested for livebearers. It's a 10 gallon tank. They have all been acting just fine until today I noticed, when I was feeding them, that one is just hanging around at the top of the tank next to the glass and occasionally he'll drop down for a little while with a little encouragement from the other guys...the other two guys are just fine (or at least not acting any different than they have been). Every time he tried to eat a piece of food that came his way he just spit it back out. Looking at him nothing seems unusual. When he does move, his swimming appears sluggish. What could be going on??


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

how long ago did you purchase them?.I had the same thing happen to one of mine. He died of stress. Yours could be stressed too. But not eating could be something different h


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

I bought them 4 days ago...it's just weird because he seemed to be one of the healthier ones until now. I have a red one that I assumed would be a problem but that's not how it's turning ou.t...You know of any way to keep the stress to a minimum? If that is a possible cause


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Maybe try leaving the tank light off and staying away from the tank other than to feed.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

haha WOW...the nerve of this fish! So I turned of the tank light and all the light in the room other than a lamp by my bed and I can still see the fish and he started swimming around like normal. Now he is just hanging around the bottom by the heater...hopefully that's better than the top...


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

UPDATE: now he has made his way back to the top...poor thing I hope it is just stress and that he pulls out of it soon...


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## Pandapop (Dec 29, 2009)

From my experience with guppies, I've learned to NEVER put all males into one tank. I have to keep it 1 male to every 3-4 females... because without females, the males will... well. They'll pretend the smaller, weaker looking males are females. Typically the males with the shortest/smallest tails. Which causes loads of stress on the fish that's being harassed. 

If there were such a thing as the 'rapist' fish, it'd be another name for guppy. 

Right now I've got two young males in with an older male of mine, and I've only got two females. One of which isn't even large/old enough to concieve (I've never had female guppies successfully spawn at her size). I need to make a trip to the fish store and grab some more girls, because very soon this will be a problem.

At one point in time, I had all males in a 20g. There were 7 of them... no two looked the same, and the tail/dorsal fins varied greatly. My two larger males (with the larger tails) immediately took to my poor pink boy (who had the smallest tail). I tried everything I could to get them to stop harassing my pink guppy, and eventually had to add a divider into the tank to seperate them. Poor guy was so stressed out, it really didn't surprise me when he passed on three days later.

After that, I got fed up with the rape-fest and gave my guppies away to the LFS. 
The only guppies I have now are from one or two pregnant females I happened to pick up.

tl;dr -- males will stress each other to death.


lol, this might not be the case with other people, but I've had guppies for a few years and I've never seen any different behavior than what I have described. Sometimes there were males that just weren't interested in any of the females I had, and felt like picking on the only other male in the tank. 

My suggestion is, add more hiding places. Floating plants (real or fake, but plastic will shred their fins. Go with silk if you can) or sinking plants work great. 

I'm thinking that your guppy was more active with the lights off because he probably felt safer. Being able to swim freely with less worry.

I'll shut up now.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

New guppies often have diseases, too. i would separate in hospital tank(maybe a 5 with a sponge filter) and watch for symptoms you can search on. Spitting out food could indicate an internal parasite. What size is your tank? Guppies will indeed sometimes harass each other to death in small (<=10 tanks). I see people going home from the store with 3 guppies and a 2 gallon tank and I am not optimistic.

In general, when in doubt change water. Clean water is good medicine for about everything. 

When one fish is acting stressed or sick, take it out. QT tank is best, but a breeding trap is better than nothing.

For guppies and mollies only, when they look sick, add salt. But keep track of the amount and be careful it doesn't drop suddenly when you do a water change.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

I live in a dorm and I'm only allowed one tank so I have nothing else...so separating him isn't possible. Today I noticed he looks like he has swim bladder. I'm thinking I'll try the shelled pea thing? He's pitiful really...as for the bullying thing I have a large tailed male and the other two guys have shorter tails. I haven't noticed any bullying or anything from any of them (I have in the past with some other guppies I had). It is a 10 gallon tank but I have 3 large fake plants and a real one and also a decorative cave type thing...I already have salt in the tank and I just changed the water about 5 days ago right before I got them...I'm assuming what he has is swim bladder, as stated, mainly because when he swims his tail stays up and he has trouble staying balanced in the water...he still looks like he is trying to pick around at the bottom but gets tired and just floats back to the top...Confirmation on swim bladder? or something else?


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

Pandapop said:


> From my experience with guppies, I've learned to NEVER put all males into one tank. I have to keep it 1 male to every 3-4 females... because without females, the males will... well. They'll pretend the smaller, weaker looking males are females. Typically the males with the shortest/smallest tails. Which causes loads of stress on the fish that's being harassed..........


I'm just worried about adding females because I really don't want fry. I just recently had 2 female Mollies and one was pregnant gave birth and I had 15 fry and the mother died...my other molly got ich I'm guessing the loss of her friend and the addition of the babies was a bit stressful...I'm really hoping that if this is swim bladder he'll get better and they'll all live happily ever after lol


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Have you noticed any difference in the size of the guppy? When a fish spits out food, that could indicate an internal parasite. The other symptoms of internal parasites are loss of weight and white poop. Praziquantel is the recommended drug to treat internal parasites.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

So you have fish in the new tank 3 days with no water changes and you've been feeding them? Change water. Ammonia spike is due. Read the 'cycling' and 'new tank' stickied threads. You could buy a test kit, but just changing water is cheaper. Ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning will make everything worse.

Do try the pea thing (nuke a few peas in the microwave in a little water, remove the skin and chop or mash up). It won't hurt guppies to eat peas and it could help. Watch and see if the fish poos and what is looks like (should be fish-food colored). Sunken belly is another sign on internal parasite.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

It's not a new tank...I've had fish in it about 2 months ago but they all got sick...LFS said to cycle the tank so it's been cycling for about 6 weeks and had regular water changes. The little guy died earlier this evening. I'm planning on a water change later on tonight just in case but I don't see that being the issue. I got peas today so I'll probably just feed the other two guys those 1-2 a week...


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

What does that mean, LFS said to cycle the tank? If you put fish into a tank, it will cycle whether you want it to or not. Have you been taking water parameter measurements?


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Pandapop+1. I have the same problem. Doct worry bout fry the will get eatin and if any happen to survive ya get a new fish. Trust fry wont last long with the adults definatly do a water chane


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

Fishpunk said:


> What does that mean, LFS said to cycle the tank? If you put fish into a tank, it will cycle whether you want it to or not. Have you been taking water parameter measurements?


Basically I did a fishless cycle. I've had my water checked multiple times, I took it to Petsmart where they tested the levels and they have showed me each time the spikes and drops that happen during the cycling phase. The last two times I had it checked the water was excellent. I made sure of that before I added fish again.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Were you feeding the tank all along? If you took a break, even a few weeks you can starve the filter bacteria and have a 'mini-cycle' when you add fish again. Its something to watch out for.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

emc7 said:


> Were you feeding the tank all along? If you took a break, even a few weeks you can starve the filter bacteria and have a 'mini-cycle' when you add fish again. Its something to watch out for.


so other than routine water changes what do I need to do?


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

I noticed when the other two poop it's a very light almost transparent brown and not very long strands (if that matters). Is that a healthy color? I heard white means there is a parasite but is what I'm seeing white? I there is a parasite present what do I need to do to kill it? 
Thanks for all ya'lls help so far  I'm still learning and I really love my fish so I want to know all I can so I can care for them properly.


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

White CAN mean parasite, but it can ALSO mean something that isn't thought of very often, and seems to be a common problem in guppies.
Most guppies that are bought from a fish store have a mild case of something that most people call 'hole in the head' but is actually a parasite that lives in the intestines, and doesn't always mean that. The WHITE, in this case, is your fish shedding part of the intestinal lining. Most fish have this, to some degree, and healthy fish can combat it very easily. But when the fish's environment is changed, the fish becomes stressed, its enough to kill it. 
Only way to really fix this would be a medicated food. Petsmart has a 'anti-parasitic' fish pellet. Anything that says it will treat 'hole in the head' will kill this parasite. A good way to make sure your fish survives, would be to buy a 'liquid plant fertilizer'. (again, petsmart has bottles for like, 2 bucks) This puts nutrients in the water that your fish can't get otherwise, such as calcium (big killer of fish with this parasite).

Hopefully, this isn't what your fish have, but with it having that waste, not eating, and lethargy, it seems likely. Here's a good article.
http://www.guppyhobby.com/hexamita-white-feces-refusing-food/

In this article it lists some of the symptoms (along with a video that at 0:18 shows what white stuff to look for in waste) and it lists the different ways people have combated it. I dealt with this for a good 4 months before finding this article. Had a good 4 deaths a week in this time, tried every medication under the sun and it turns out all I needed was a combination of plant fertilizer and the anti-parasite food. >< Now my tanks are healthy as a clam and no deaths since completing treatment.  I hope this helps.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

Sorafish said:


> Only way to really fix this would be a medicated food. Petsmart has a 'anti-parasitic' fish pellet. Anything that says it will treat 'hole in the head' will kill this parasite. A good way to make sure your fish survives, would be to buy a 'liquid plant fertilizer'....


even if the fish don't have this, would treating them with the food and fertilizer be ok? The guy that was being sluggish and spitting out his food died and was removed immediately, my other two guys are fine other than the poop thing as far as I can tell...


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

If you think the other fish are okay maybe just do a treatment of the water with praziquantal to kill off any chance of it spreading, then monitor for changes in the fish over the next couple of weeks/months.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

Fishpunk said:


> If you think the other fish are okay maybe just do a treatment of the water with praziquantal to kill off any chance of it spreading, then monitor for changes in the fish over the next couple of weeks/months.


I have Tetra™ Parasite Guard would that do the same thing?


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

Treating them with the food and fertilizer would be a extremely good idea. The fertilizer is something that all guppies need regardless, as they REALLY like high GH. (you'll see them perk up like no tomorrow with anything you put in the water that includes calcium and magnesium) The medicated food would be a good precaution. Like I said, a lot of them will get it simply by being in tanks that are already infected with it (buying from petstores like petco/petsmart where all the pumps run through the same system almost guarantees this)


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

ok so any aquarium plant fertilizer will do? and any medicated food for parasites? I plan on going to petsmart tomorrow and getting these things. Thank you so much for the help.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

barbiegrl75 said:


> I have Tetra™ Parasite Guard would that do the same thing?


One of the active ingredients of Parasite Guard is Prazi, so yes it should work.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

ok thank you


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Before you start dumping in fertilizers, what is your tap water like? Mine is like liquid rock and my guppies do great with no additives at all. I'd be more inclined to say add some marine salt rather than ferts unless you have plants in need of them.


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

Fishpunk said:


> Before you start dumping in fertilizers, what is your tap water like? Mine is like liquid rock and my guppies do great with no additives at all. I'd be more inclined to say add some marine salt rather than ferts unless you have plants in need of them.


Water being hard and water having the proper nutrients are two different things aren't they? I can't imagine tapwater having a calcium and magnesium. And guppies like a GH of 10-18, so fertilizer can't hurt.


And barbie, a fertilizer that has a higher calcium and magnesium would be best, but if it has any, it will help.

Not meaning to be argumentative, but if Hexamita IS what her guppies have, then the fertilizer will most certainly help.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Sorafish said:


> I can't imagine tapwater having a calcium and magnesium.


I scrape calcium off my glass lids every couple months or I get a crust. That's why I have healthy nerite snails with no additives. But then, my tap water is liquid rock.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

i don't exactly know how the tap is in general but I do have a live plant in the tank and I already have the proper amount of aquarium salt in the tank....I'm not entirely sure anything is wrong but since I do have a plant ferts were in the future anyways


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Aquarium salt and marine salt are not the same thing. Marine salt has trace elements, aquarium salt does not.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Parts of N. IL have water like that, it is literally sucked out of a limestone cave by a well and delivered to the tap. It clogs coffee pots and shower heads within a week. The only calcium supplement needed is a water change. My guppies and goodieds thrived in it way back when. 

It is good to know what your water has before adding anything. Be careful to read ingredients in anything added to a tank. "liquid Calcium" will indeed be helpful to guppies in softwater or that are having trouble absorbing minerals, but some plant ferts just add nitrate and phosphate and will turn you tank green with algae without helping the fish.

I keep my pH > 7.5 (7.8 is more normal) & TDS 150-200 ppm for livebearers with "Malawi buffer" and "Cichlid salts". I think the salts are more important than the buffer (I just use my Mbuna water) and I absolutely agree with the article about bent spines being an indication that you need to supplement. Aquarium salt will get the conductivity up and so is better than nothing, but marine or cichlid salt will supply calcium and magnesium and carbonate whereas aquarium salt just has sodium chloride (neither is needed in quantity by non-brackish fish)


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

emc7 said:


> It is good to know what your water has before adding anything. Be careful to read ingredients in anything added to a tank. "liquid Calcium" will indeed be helpful to guppies in softwater or that are having trouble absorbing minerals, but some plant ferts just add nitrate and phosphate and will turn you tank green with algae without helping the fish.
> 
> I keep my pH > 7.5 (7.8 is more normal) & TDS 150-200 ppm for livebearers with "Malawi buffer" and "Cichlid salts". I think the salts are more important than the buffer (I just use my Mbuna water) and I absolutely agree with the article about bent spines being an indication that you need to supplement. Aquarium salt will get the conductivity up and so is better than nothing, but marine or cichlid salt will supply calcium and magnesium and carbonate whereas aquarium salt just has sodium chloride (neither is needed in quantity by non-brackish fish)


so would my best bet be to get the salt and do a routine water change with it substituted for the aquarium salt or to get a fert high in calcium and magnesium?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Either would work. I would slowly swap out the Aquarium salt for cichlid salt (marine salt would work also) in water changes, but if the fish look bad you could do the additional dosing too. The only thing wrong with this, IMO, is you won't necessarily know how much you end up with in the water. I like using the cichlid salts because the concentrations are given. The bottle will say how much to add to 10 gallons to get to 200 pm TDS or maybe a gH or kH number. 

At this point I will suggest you look into TDS pens or hardness (gH, kH) test kits. I find my $20 TDS pen to be really useful when I am trying to prepare water of the same conductivity so as not to shock fish. 

If you can't measure, be somewhat careful with water changes. Take water out fast, but add new water slowly, with fish observation.


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

Would Cichlid salt alter the PH at all? (never heard of it before and is extremely curious)


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

It is mostly calcium and magnesium salts so it will up your hardness and pH usually also goes up. But not as much as if you also use a buffer. Guppies do fine in 7.5+. I've read of them thriving in 9.

Its nothing magical, just a commercial blend of minerals to mimic lake water. many people use a DIY sea salt + epsom salt, etc. blend.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

so if my two guppies don't really swim around a lot (like they actually look depressed) they either stay at the back top corner of the tank or nearly lay in their favorite spots, where they normally stay at night, on the gravel...They eat fine and I just did a water change yesterday because my ammonia and nitrate were a little high...put they haven't really changed the activity level...what could this be?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

As long as ammonia and/or nitrite are present, fish can be uncomfortable. Its like being out in smog, it burns. Add some Prime or other "ammonia and nitrite detoxifier"


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

should I do another partial water change? of just add Prime straight to the tank ( if so how much surely not a full dosage...)


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

A partial water change is almost never a bad idea. I would do 25% before adding anything to the tank. If you are going to be putting salt in your tank, go get a hygrometer at the store so you can measure the salinity and hit a target rather than just doing this trial and error. Use some method, do some reading online and on paper, use this board if you still have questions, and don't be afraid to make mistakes. We all make mistakes. So long as we learn from them, it isn't wasted experience.

Aquarium salt is not worth very much other than just to add a tiny concentration to fresh water. I use marine salt exclusively in my brackish tanks and it's more readily available than cichlid salt, at least in the stores I visit. 

Two or three plastic picnic spoons per gallon produces about a 1.005 SG, which is low-end brackish. Your guppies can handle that SG easily, but you have to ease the salinity up, not just dump it in all at once. Also, if you have other animals and plants in the tank, you will not want to up the salt level anywhere near that high.

Go here and look around for a couple hours. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ Pretty much every aquarium problem ever encountered is covered there, but you have to dig for the info or do a search on the site.

Fish Forums is a good resource and has a lot of people who know what they are doing, but don't limit yourself to just asking questions here.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

Thank you. It's just hard to know what to do...I have books and I read forums and webpages and I even talk to a few fish owners that work at petsmart but I get different answers from every one which just makes me more confused. Especially when I figure out what I need or want to try and then go the the store and the guy tells me I don't need that and what I have is fine ( which it obviously isn't if my fish are like this) I would love to do all my fish stuff through an actual fish store that actually know what they are talking about and have quality fish but there aren't any around here...so I'm stuck with what I have. Plus I don't have a trained eye to know what I'm looking at...sometimes something may look wrong with the fish but what do I know and it's not like I can just bag them up and take them somewhere with me to figure it out. It's all just very frustrating and sometimes makes me want to give up...not bc I don't like keeping the fish but fish are living things and knowing that something I do or don't do is causing them discomfort or to die bothers me...I keep doing research but like I said that often leaves me more confused than what I was to begin with. *sigh*


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

Just had my water checked and everything is perfect...one of my guys seems to be constipated...I fed them shelled peas again today still haven't seen that guy poop. While at petsmart the lady working recommended melafix (he appears to have maybe a fungal or bacterial something) so I'm treating him with that now. Hopefully they hold in there..and maybe this will work...


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

and now he died...why do these things happen so fast? He seemed just fine just this Tuesday now he is dead...Like I said water parameters where always fine never high enough to kill the fish...I feed them like I should....I just can't seem to keep them alive...I feel as though I'm doing everything right...I'm sure it's the provider but then again who knows....thanks for all the help and advice...I'll continue researching and continue my fish keeping later when I'm feeling more confident.


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

Livebearers can be very touchy if they aren't good quality! Don't be discouraged! We can always help by process of elimination.
Guppies are a pleasure to keep once you get the hang of it.
Everyone is learning new things everyday, you just need to hang in there.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

2 fish, refusing food, non-pooping and dying? I suspect you got sick guppies from the store with internal parasites. Maybe try adding metronidazole to their food and put Prazi-Pro in the water. The first month or two is the hardest ever. Between "cycling" issues and diseased fish from the store, a lot of newcomers give up and quit. If you hang in there and get a healthy tank and fish (always QT new fish and plants), you can often enjoy it for years with no problems.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

I am about to go home for Christmas break Tuesday so I'm going to do more research and see what I can find out. I also found another place near by that sells fish so I may try there; they are a small store and I imagine their major income is brought in by the quality of their livestock so I think my next batch will be from them instead of Petsmart (Nothing against Petsmart just haven't had any luck with the fish I've been purchasing from them.) 
The only thing about QT is that I'm in a dorm and we're not allowed but one tank, which as I've found out is an issue bc I can't have a hospital tank nor a QT...
I'm certain that this last batch I got did have parasites, looking back but hindsight's 20/20. As I mentioned I'll have a few weeks to really research in depth and figure out what I am going to do. 

I guess I still have one question and that is: Since I have no fish and I'm going to be gone for a little over 3 weeks can I turn off my filter/heater/etc. or should I leave them on? (I understand either way it's going to require a lot of attention when I get back before I can just throw some more fish in.)


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

If you leave them on, you will continue any unfinished cycling your tank hadn't done. If you leave them off, the water could become stagnant and you'll have to recycle your tank.

As for the hospital tank the site I'm going to link below sells these really nifty little 'hospital tanks' that attach to the side of your 10 gallon tank. May be able to get by the rule  Their decently priced too!

http://www.kensfish.com/breeding-traps-tank-dividers.html


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

Sorafish said:


> If you leave them on, you will continue any unfinished cycling your tank hadn't done. If you leave them off, the water could become stagnant and you'll have to recycle your tank.
> 
> As for the hospital tank the site I'm going to link below sells these really nifty little 'hospital tanks' that attach to the side of your 10 gallon tank. May be able to get by the rule  Their decently priced too!
> 
> http://www.kensfish.com/breeding-traps-tank-dividers.html


wow that really will be of help later on!! I don't know why I didn't think of that..Thanks


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If you turn it off, you lose your cycle. But if you've lost every fish in a tank, its a good time to break it down, rinse everything in bleach solution (1 unscented bleach:4 water ), and let it get all the way dry. For parasites, I might also throw out the substrate and filter media and start fresh. Recycling is a pain, but possibly easier than fighting parasite in the next fish you put in.


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

emc7 said:


> If you turn it off, you lose your cycle. But if you've lost every fish in a tank, its a good time to break it down, rinse everything in bleach solution (1 unscented bleach:4 water ), and let it get all the way dry. For parasites, I might also throw out the substrate and filter media and start fresh. Recycling is a pain, but possibly easier than fighting parasite in the next fish you put in.


Agreed actually. It WOULD be a good time to recycle, especially if you'll be away and won't have to watch and mope that your tank is recycling. 

(My mom just unknowingly recycled her tank by adding bleach to get rid of algae, rinsing everything thoroughly and thinking it would be safe to put her fish back in right away. After she started having a lot of die-offs and some giving into diseases we were previously fighting, I separated the remainders into goldfish bowls, 1 gallons and hospital tanks for her. From 20 Adults down to 12, and 54 fry down to 9. That's one way to solve overcrowding. ><


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

barbiegrl75 said:


> and I even talk to a few fish owners that work at petsmart but I get different answers from every one which just makes me more confused.


I pretty much never ask advice at PetSmart.

Also, if I were you, I would start poking around here: http://www.raleighaquariumsociety.org/

There are probably other Greenville fishkeepers on that forum (like we have Tucson fishkeepers in the Phoenix forum). It's really good to be active in a local forum because you can get healthy fish from people who know what they are doing. And you interact with the same people all the time. Somebody near you could be breeding prize-winning guppies for all you know.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

Sorafish said:


> Agreed actually. It WOULD be a good time to recycle, especially if you'll be away and won't have to watch and mope that your tank is recycling.<


How can I cycle my tank if I'm away? Like seriously (I feel like I sounded like a smart a** but is that possible?)

And thank you "Fishpunk" I never thought of that...like I said in one of the previous post I just recently found another little pet store that sells fish and I may give them a try next especially if I can't find any one else


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

hmm, cycling while away. never tried it. you could try an autofeeder.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

I think since I'm emptying the tank any way I may just take it with me to get it started...


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

someone mentioned a uv sterilizer...any thoughts on that idea?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

It does a good just of preventing or slowing spread of water-borne diseases such as ich and controlling algae in the water with ferts like a planted tank. It won't stop fish-to-transmission like eating parasite eggs in poop and they can be expensive to get and you need new bulbs every 6 months or so.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

oh okay....like you said earlier I believe I'll just clean out the tank and start over...at least I know sort of what I'm doing this time.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

okay so I also have a question about this fish...he was the second guy to go. He seems bloated but I fed them shelled peas one night and starved them the next day before this picture was taken and I never saw him poop but once and it was just a little bit of white string and that was all...he also looked like he had some kind of fungus or something maybe? (That's what I circled in the one picture.) All this showed up over night and he was gone within 48 hours...any clue what this could be symptoms of? He was the only one that seemed bloated and had a weird patch pop up...

if you can't tell anything from the pictures I understand just thought I'd give it a try.


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## Sorafish (Sep 15, 2011)

Honestly, I can't see anything abnormal with him. Looks like a normal yellow moscow(name up for debate). Though, I can say, that with this particular guppy, I have had BAD problems with the males. As in, they will chase ANY other fish out of a tank, making them do a suicide thing and jump out of the tank to get away from him. (had one beat up a male betta of mine pretty bad)
Not saying there isn't a white patch, just that I can't really see anything. 
On the other hand, if there was white string/feces coming from him, he most likely had an internal parasite. With my fish that experience white feces a while back, they would gain a white fuzzy patch just behind their eyes on their head, shortly before succumbing to it. As said earlier, the conclusion I came to was hexatimia, which I gave the cure to. I haven't had any further problems with my fish dying since I added the fertilizer and fed them the anti-parasite food.


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## barbiegrl75 (Oct 5, 2011)

ok thank you...and that's odd that you say that about yours being a bully mine really got along with the one who last died...they never left each others side and they were definitely both males haha.


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