guppies keep dying??? - Page 2

Hepcat021 · 10-07-2006, 02:55 AM

Well I went through a lot to keep my orginal batch of guppies alive. Though I know it was because I had got them before I knew about the nitrogen cycle. Only one of my orginal 3 survives, but the other females I got to replace them thrive. I heard from the fish specialist (as they call them) at the store I have been training at and he said many have had problems with guppies. I swear they stock those guys like the stock feeder goldfish. I think the problem in inbreeding and overstocked conditions. If you try hard enough though you might just save a few. Look for the ones who are strong and free of any signs of disease or parasite.

Good luck and sorry to hear of your loss,
Bill

trust-e-man · 10-14-2006, 02:02 PM

im sure the other are right but i had the exact same problem but also what is the size of the gravel that you are using

msemanuel · 10-15-2006, 09:40 AM

the wife cheated on seeing babies born. she exchanged two guppies for two that were pregnant. with in hours one had babies and now a week later the other one had babies. the fry seem to be doing well. as for the moms one has died. were down to two adults and about 30-40 fry. we will see if they survive. the wife is excited to see what the fry look like as they mature. any sugestions on keeping the fry alive since the adults seem to keep dying on us. the water checks out good on all test and is were it should be.

Loman · 10-15-2006, 02:44 PM

msemanuel,
One thing I would suggest is the special food for fry. It is either a fine pwder or liquid. When they are really little they simply can not handle big flakes of food.

penna32 · 03-14-2007, 10:22 PM

i agree with loman,
fry are too small for flakes, but ive heard if you crush the flakes into a powderly like substance, they will eat it ..

but ive had some bad experiences with guppies too .. what lfs did you buy them from?

kensett · 03-14-2007, 11:22 PM

I have never been ableto keep guppies alive and I love them. I use the propper ph for them and Ican check the ph the next day and its back up to where ciclids like it and the guppies die. I use the propper ph that is supposed to last a month, My water can prove it dont. The guppies do not have any signs of sickness, they just die. I would love to hear any suggestions I might try. All my other fish are doing fine its just the guppies and the ones that have live babies.

jlogan2664 · 03-15-2007, 10:44 PM

I have kept and bred various strains of fancy guppies for several years. I only buy them from well known breeders as I had very poor luck with mass produced pet store guppies. Yes, they are more expensive initially than store bought guppies but you are paying for quality strains. Once you have them, the upkeep is not any harder or more expensive than cheaper, inferior quality guppies. Look in the classified sections of the major aquarium magazines and you will find listings for championship quality guppy breeders. Review their stock online and find a color strain you really like and purchase one or two trios. Set them up in a tank by themselves and let nature take it's course. Guppies purchased at pet stores are often poorly bred and raised in less than optimal conditions prior to sale. Something reputable breeders never do.

I started with a strain of half black blues from a well known breeder. I bought three trios and put them by themselves in a 55 gallon tank. Within a couple of years I had a tank full of beautiful, healthy guppies that I was more than willing to share with family and friends whenever I needed to thin them out. I never had a decline in the quality of the guppies with each successive generation. When I moved across the country, I had to get rid of all my fish. I've started up again but this time with red deltas for a change of color.

As for foods, I feed finely ground dry foods as well as frozen baby brine shrimp and freshly hatched brine a few times a week. I buy good quality flake food, place it in a ziplock bag, squeeze out all the air and then knead the bag in my hands to reduce the flakes to a fine powder that the babies and adults are able to eat. I've tried the various fry foods but I have not noticed an appreciable difference in either the growth rates of the fry or a difference in the quality as adults.

I know some people think guppies are boring and common but high quality fish from a reputable source can bring you years of pleasure. I never tire of the joy of watching a female give birth or finding the latest batch of babies hiding among the plants and watching them mature and start the cycle all over again.

MandyMolly · 05-22-2007, 10:38 PM

I went through dozens of guppys and Mollys before I got down to the ones I have now. I have fish in my tank and will bring home 3 more and I am lucky if I get a survivor out of the bunch! But I rarely lose a single baby!!!! I think the babies born are just tougher than thier parents...LOL

pappyy3 · 06-23-2007, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msemanuel

yes the tank is cycled. the substrate is gravel bought from the fish store. decorations are plastic plants. the only chemicals we use is chlor out by wardly and methyblu for a stress coat. the methyblu is used sparingly. once a month if that. the ph out of the tap is 8.6 to 8.8. we run a bubbler for o2. i have thought of water quality everything is fine except the ph is on the high side. the research we have done on guppies indcate that guppies can handle a ph up to 9 so we're at a lost on this. the guppies are the only fish in this tank. any ideas? thank you

Hi

I've been keeping and breeding Guppies for the last 10 years so hope to be able to answer this for you.

1. Your Tank parameters seem fine for keeping guppies.
2. One quick piece of advice - Stop using the methyblu as a additive to your tank. Really no need to use this unless absolutely necessary. I only use it in quarantine tanks and I, and then only for new fish I get from the LFS.
3. Try adding some marine salt to the tank water. (About 1 teaspoon for every 10 gallons). This tend to add minerals to the water that are beneficial to the guppies.
4. Seems that the stock of fish you're buying may be sick / stressed. Try getting some fish from another source and see how you go.

Hope the above helps.

Gene · 06-25-2007, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msemanuel

I have a 10 gal. fresh tank with guppies. started 2 months ago with 5, 2m 3 f. they all died within 2-3 weeks. got 6 a week ago, 2m and 4f. since yesterday 2 f have died and 1 is close. the other female has red around gills. I cant see anything else wrong. they seem to stay at the top of tank just before they die. temp is at 76. only feed once a day. I did find one baby guppy yesterday morning, have him separated but still in same tank.

ph 8.4
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
kh 11
nitrates 20
gh 20+

Just use water out of the tap with dechlor. do water changes every 2 weeks. I don't know what to do, please help.

the problem could be where you are buying your fish.
where I live there is one store whose fish will not live more than two, three
weeks.
Their tanks look very clean, Their fish look good, I have checked their water and I don't see any thing wrong but their fish just will not live, they all die within three weeks.
I would try a different store
I have guppies also.
Gene