# more dead guppies.



## benjaminleebates (Dec 27, 2011)

So, two more guppies dead.
A month and a half ago, my fishless cycling was done, and I added 5 guppies. One died within a week, but he was damaged when we got him, then the other male died a week later, from nowhere. Then this week-end, from nowhere, two more died.
All my levels are fine. I have not added anything new to the tank for 3 weeks or more. My wife is guessing at the type of food, etc. I feed generic aquaeon fish flakes, twice a day, but very little, then once a week some (thawed) frozen bloodworm, and they like to pick at the bottom feeder food, that I feed a couple times a week. The other fish in the tank are 5 cories and a 8-10 shrimp.

I think it was the fact that we got these from a department store, who knows how old they were?
Any ideas for the deaths, Or I should just shrug and go get some more, this time, from petsmart...? We don't have any LFS for quite a distance.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

it's hard to say...have you tested the water to ensure it's not going through a mini cycle for any reason? what's your water change schedule? tank size? are the fish showing any signs prior to death?


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Guppies are very tough fish and hard to kill. Guppies don't usually live long than a couple of years so yours may have died of old age. The best water conditions for guppies are 7.5+ ph, 70-75 temp, low Nitrates and a little salt. Like any fish, guppies don't like to be shocked by sudden temp, ph, or hardenss conditions.


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## benjaminleebates (Dec 27, 2011)

Here's some more info.
By damaged, I mean, that my wife pick them out, and we didn't notice, but one of the males had a little tail damage. When we got them home he stayed in the upper right corner of the tank, and didn't venture any where else. I checked with many sources and no one felt it was fin rot, just damaged from being kept in a mixed tank at the store. He died in a week, the other male and the 3 females acted fine. None of them appeared odd. Then out of no where, one week later the other male died. Then we've had almost one month of nothing new added to the tank, no odd behavior, no change in any condition, then BAM, two of the 3 females died at once.
My conditions are PH 8.3, 0 Am, 0 NI, 20 NA, and I keep the tank at 78 degrees.
So, I should wait before adding more fish?
The remaining female guppy, 5 cories and 10 shrimp seem to be fine.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Guppies need veggie type food in their diets. Try a veggie flake and try feeding green peas at least once a week. How do you acclimate them to your tank?


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## TheBigFish (Mar 5, 2012)

Maybe store had ick? I went to an LFS once and they said all our fish have ick, so don't buy them


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Fin rot is a secondary infection. When you see it on one fish in a store tank, it should become a signal to buy nothing from .0that tank. Where there is a secondary infection, what's the primary problem?
I expect there was a bacterial infection in the guppies, and it simply played out. 
Neon's right that guppies are hardy, if you get them healthy. From another aquarist or from a good batch in a store, they are tanks. But my best lfs stopped selling guppies a few months ago as the stock they were getting was dying a month or so after sale, and hurting their reputation. Unhealthy guppies are becoming a problem in the hobby, and you may have hit one of those 'batches'. 
You can accept the gamble and try again, with a reasonable chance of success, or try another species. Just make sure every fish in the tank looks perfect.


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## em1y386SX (Apr 10, 2012)

How did you acclimatise the fish to your water chemistry when you bought it home?

My technique is to float the bag for 20mins, then untie the bag and roll the sides down to create a lip, don't release the fish at this stage, add a little tank water every 10mins until the bag is full, then leave the fish in the bag of mixed water for an hour, after an hour has passed you can now release the fish, either by sinking the bag and letting the fish swim out, or by using a net, then discarding the bag of water in a bucket, not your aquarium.


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