# guppies wont stay alive



## karatechic007 (Jan 28, 2005)

i have a 15 gallon tank with 1 female guppy, 1 pleco, 1 blueberry tetra, 1 plain little tetra, 1 gourami, 2 albino cories, and one blakc molly in it. I have tried adding one or two male guppies a few times and they each die within a few days...any idea why? the only guppy that has stayed alive so far is that one female....


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## Courtney (Jan 18, 2005)

well for one, it depends on where you get your guppies if its walmart, fish from there are sick and always die, but, they may also be stressed cause you can only have a certain amount of fish in a tank, and adding a couple more Might be to many, im not sure, though, i do know you shouldnt & Cant keep a fish that is gonna get a foot long in a 15 gallon tank, that would be the pleco...


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

Courtney @ Wed Feb 02 said:


> well for one, it depends on where you get your guppies if its walmart, fish from there are sick and always die,
> quote]
> 
> I dont agree with that at all. I work in Pets at Walmart and it depends on the Walmart. I have bought almost all my fish from walmart and they have lived. I have had more die from Petco than anything. In fact to bring up another point... our Petco and Walmart recieve the same fish from the same vendor so therefor in certain cases you would have to say Petcos fish suck too. It is too much of a generalization.
> ...


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## karatechic007 (Jan 28, 2005)

yes i have gotten them from walmart, and i have also decided not to get any fish from walmart anymore....whenever i go there, there are dead and dying fish in the tanks, and my fish have gotten tail rot from a fish i bought at walmart....that probably is part of the reason that they dont live...i plan to get the next ones from petsmart....the fish in their tanks are in way better condition...not saying all walmarts are like that, just the one around here. i dont know waht to do about the pleco....i have had him for a long time and he hasnt gotten any bigger, and i dont know of any way to get rid of him....he is only about 3 inches long...anyways, about the overstock thing, the last few times i bought some, i had at least 4 more fish in my tank before i bought them than i do now....do you think i should try getting just one and seeing how it does before i get a few more?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Guppies are stressed to begin with. They are bred so much that they are a very weak fish (when compared to the wild strains). All the inbreeding has weakened their immune systems. 2 males with 1 female is more stress and fighting. 2 females to 1 male is a better ratio.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

More females compared to males would be a safer ratio.


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## doggydad38 (Jan 18, 2005)

Most Guppies sold at "petshops" are imported from the Far East. They are raised with aintibiotics almost from the beginning. This doesn't allow the fish's immune system to kick in naturally. When they are shipped to the states, they are usually drugged heavily to slow the metabolism which get more live fish to the wholesalers. This severly depresses the immune system further and even though they make it through quarantine, many will break down in the local petshops because of the added stress of another trip across country and the fact that our diseases may be different than what is encountered in Asia. I've stopped buying fish from petshops, except, of course the ones I sell my Guppy stock to. They only buy from local breeders so the fish are much healthier. As far as Guppies being less hardy, I won't argue that point. I have lines that have been linebred for 3 years since I received them, but liberal outcrossing keeps my lines strong, fertile and healthy. The best advise anyone can get is to buy from local breeders. That way you will have similar water conditions, less stress in transport and you have someone to contact if you have any questions or problems. I'll get off of my Soap Box now. LOL
Tony


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

my original guppies were from walmart and they were excellent fish. I say that Big Als near me has more weak fish than anyone in the livebearer line. I get my platys at petcetera as well as my bettas. All good for those particular fish.
mouse


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## Funran (Feb 6, 2005)

karatechic007 @ Thu Feb 03 said:


> yes i have gotten them from walmart, and i have also decided not to get any fish from walmart anymore....whenever i go there, there are dead and dying fish in the tanks, and my fish have gotten tail rot from a fish i bought at walmart....that probably is part of the reason that they dont live...i plan to get the next ones from petsmart....the fish in their tanks are in way better condition...not saying all walmarts are like that, just the one around here. i dont know waht to do about the pleco....i have had him for a long time and he hasnt gotten any bigger, and i dont know of any way to get rid of him....he is only about 3 inches long...anyways, about the overstock thing, the last few times i bought some, i had at least 4 more fish in my tank before i bought them than i do now....do you think i should try getting just one and seeing how it does before i get a few more?



Thumbs up man, all my fish from walmart die, almost hte next day. Stick with pets mart.


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## osteoporoosi (Jan 27, 2005)

your tank is a bit overstocked, and some of the fish prefer to be kept in groups.
I suggest that you keep one tetra specie and keep it in a group size 6 or more.
Also corys need a group of 6 or more.
If your "blueberry tetra" is a dyed fish, I would recommend not to buy dyed fish anymore. This procedure is painful, 80 % of the dyed fish die instantly, it reduces the fishes lifetime and is very unethical.
guppys and mollys prefer hard and alkalinous a water, gouramis,tetras,corys and most plecos live in soft and acidid water.
Maybe the reason for the guppies death is your water, maybe it is too soft and acidid?

here's a suggestion for your tank:
3 small gouramis, 1 male 2 females(honey gourami maybe?)
10 small tetras(cardinals maybe?)
6 albino corys

with these fish the optimal water rates would be ph 6-7,
soft water and temp around 25 celcius.
what do you think?


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

hmmm....i dont know if my tetra is dyed....that sounds nasty....i like your idea for my tank, but i dont know waht i can do with the fish in there now.....anybody have any ideas?


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## osteoporoosi (Jan 27, 2005)

you can sell (theres a selling-borad in this website) 
them to someone who can offer them a comfortable tank.
Or you could buy two bigger tanks for them, try to google your fish and find some information of their water/tank/etc. 
demands.


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## MB75 (Jan 24, 2005)

Maybe you local fish store can take back some of your fish?
Guppies should be kept in a hard alkaline water and gouramies and tetras like softer, acidic water. Tetras also need to be kept in proper schools per species.


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

i dont think my lfs would take back any of my fish, but i suppose i could try....thanks for all the help!


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## peanut_dimples (Mar 28, 2006)

Lydia said:


> i dont think my lfs would take back any of my fish, but i suppose i could try....thanks for all the help!


well, maybe someone can correct me if i am wrong..........
guppy is a brackish.......gourmi......freshwater........so what type of water would you have and have you check your ph , hardness.....ect.?
as far as walmart to some fish stores........well, walmart gets some fish from the same places as the fish stores .......so u cant always go by that from my experiences for buying fishes........


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