# Dead guppy & pale looking neon tetra,long post



## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

Please note that these fish are not mine, they are my 12 year old brothers & I'm posting this as to possibly get some help/insight

I just checked on my brothers fish & found one of his guppies was missing(1 male and 2 females) and found one of the two females dead near the filter intake, had that one for about 10 days, my mom said that she wasn't being as active yesterday & wasn't eating

Now, we have 2 neon tetras(no idea if male<s> or female<s) and they are both looking lethargic and kind of pale, staying near the bottom of the tank and not moving as much, the blue isn't as bright as it once was, we had the neons for about 10 days too

Only thing I could come up with is that he may be over feeding them(tank had left over food from this morning/when he came back from school(it's 10pm here) from when he fed them)

My mom is going to get him ANOTHER female guppy which I don't think she should do as we don't know the root cause as to why the neons are looking sickly and the female guppy died, please note that before this he had two previous neon tetras die

I think on Friday,Saturday or Sunday he did a 25% water change, my mom plans on making him do them weekly, his tank is 5.5 gallon with a heater and a filter(temp is about 75-80 degrees)


So any advice? I don't know the water parameters but I'll be sure to bring a water sample in tomorrow to get it tested

Thanks


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## turtlebud20106 (Sep 7, 2015)

Alright, I have never actually owned neon Tetras or Guppies, but water parameter is very important, they possibly could have gotten ammonia poisioning. How much does your brother feed the fish? If there is a bunch of leftover food he is probably over feeding them, or they are too sick to eat. Could you post a picture of the tank and the fish so I can see their condition?

Also, I agree getting another guppy right now when the other fish may be sick is not a good idea. Are you all aware that if a male and female guppy are placed together they can breed very fast and the tank will have a lot of babies?

I am not an expert on neon Tetras or guppies, but I have three fish tanks, and have studied many different fish species, so I hope I can give you some helpful information.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

How long has the tank been set up? Is it cycled? I'm betting that in that small of a tank and overfeeding that the ammonia levels are high.


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

I'm not sure how much he's feeding them as he's using flake food, I'll be able to post a picture of his tank and try to capture his fish after I get home tomorrow, his neons tetras today though I noticed are being more active and looking much better

I'm aware that they breed fast, my mom however, is not when she got them(she initially got two males who one bullied the other & one neon tetra)she didn't do her research and I had to tell her that neons are schooling fish & a male guppy at least has to have 2-3 females as after we brought back one of the male guppies we bought a female so it was a male guppy and a female

I'm just kind of hoping that he'll lose interest in his fish and give them to me already, he's already not interested in them anymore & I'm hating my moms mentality of "it's just a fish" :/


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

jeaninel said:


> How long has the tank been set up? Is it cycled? I'm betting that in that small of a tank and overfeeding that the ammonia levels are high.


The tank was set up for about a week & it isn't cycled, I suggested she get him to either do a daily 25% water change or do a 25% water change twice a week but she never really gave me a reply, I feel like I'm the only one who cares about the fish to be honest :-(

I do have a API 5 in 1 test strips but it doesn't show me the ammonia levels, I'll try and get her to take me to petland to get the ammonia levels tested tomorrow though & give the info needed


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

> tank is 5.5 gallon
> The tank was set up for about a week & it isn't cycled


Ammonia poisoning, Ammonia builds up fast in a un cycled 5.5g.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I agree possible ammonia poisoning. There could also be a disease from the pet store, and the ammonia poisoning is making it worse.

I also agree that it needs more water changes. If at all possible, drip the new water in. Otherwise, make sure the temperature, temp, and hardness matches as closely as possible. 

I hope he gives you the fish soon. They'll likely all die with the ammonia in there or catch something from the fish store if they aren't quarantined.

If you happen to have some fast-growing aquatic plants and a good light for them on hand, they can help suck up some of the ammonia between water changes. Pothos cuttings in a small shower caddy like this http://www.amazon.com/LDR-168-1531-...462539502&sr=8-16&keywords=small+shower+caddy (but pick one in the store to make sure it's small enough for the tank). The pothos leaves have to be above the surface, but if you cut a piece and put the cut part in there, it will root in the water. Sweet potatoes are supposed to be good for that, too, but I've never tried one. I've read that only a small bit of the potato goes into the water so it doesn't rot and make things worse.


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

Sadist said:


> I agree possible ammonia poisoning. There could also be a disease from the pet store, and the ammonia poisoning is making it worse.
> 
> I also agree that it needs more water changes. If at all possible, drip the new water in. Otherwise, make sure the temperature, temp, and hardness matches as closely as possible.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the help, I just got back from school & the female guppy has taken the turn for the worse, I checked her on her yesterday and she was fine, now shes swimming with her face towards the gravel, her tail fins look off and her abdomen is swollen, the male guppy & neons are looking better 

I sadly don't have a quarantine tank and the only other tank I have is where my betta resides so she is currently in a bowl, took my brothers water parameters but won't be able to get the amonia tested until later today

GH- 30 KH- 80 PH- 6.5-7.5(had mixed colors) NO2- 0 and NO3 is 20

I have some API general cure on hand, should I give her some of that?

I hope she makes it 

Picture of her and the tank-


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

I stand corrected, I got a closer look at the male guppy as I just did a emergency 30%-50% water change and he isn't looking good either

My brothers tank is so full on eaten food, there's no way I'll be able to get all of the uneaten food out unless I do a 100% water change and clean the gravel and everything he had in the tank

Here's a picture of the male guppy,his tail looks to have a hole in it(the white spot in the picture is the hole) and when taking him out of the tank one of his fins broke off(not pictured) he is now with the female in the "quarantine" bowl

What should I do?


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

It's hard with those little guys. Aquarium salt (1 teaspoon per gallon, dissolved and slowly added to their water) might help, and it might be too late to save them. The aquarium salt won't help the female if she's having swim bladder issues, too. 

I'm inclined to think some of the problem is overfeeding. If they'll eat for you, you can try some tiny, cut up pieces of defrosted peas and see if it cleans them out. They're omnivorous, so it won't hurt them like it can bettas. 

Do you have any seachem paraguard on hand? I've had luck with that product on guppies when used at half dose. Our stores seem to run towards internal parasites in the guppies, and it can also treat some bacterial problems.

Good luck with the guppies! It's likely too late, but I know you're doing your best to correct their situation. Keeping their water clean and warm in the hospital bowl will help out.


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

Sadist said:


> It's hard with those little guys. Aquarium salt (1 teaspoon per gallon, dissolved and slowly added to their water) might help, and it might be too late to save them. The aquarium salt won't help the female if she's having swim bladder issues, too.
> 
> I'm inclined to think some of the problem is overfeeding. If they'll eat for you, you can try some tiny, cut up pieces of defrosted peas and see if it cleans them out. They're omnivorous, so it won't hurt them like it can bettas.
> 
> ...


Some we'll get some aquarium salt and there's nothing I can get to help the female? 

I'll see if we have any peas and if not, I'll get some

I don't have any seachem paraguard, I'll see if my petsmart or petland carry it though

Should I leave their tank alone with the newly done 30-50% water change or clean it all the way?


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

I called and asked and they don't carry it, would the API general cure help at all? it treats parasite fish disease and if so should I only use it on the female and not the rest of the fish?

When I change their water tomorrow, which one would work better? a 25% or 50% water change and I'll use my API stress coat conditioner


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I would vacuum as much crud out of the bottom as you can. Maybe do 30% every day while vacuuming the rocks until it's not so cruddy.

The female might pull through, but the ones I've gotten from pet stores have all died when they got wobbly. I'm hoping the peas help and it was just overfeeding and ammonia poisoning.


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

I was vacuuming the rocks while I did the water change and there's just so much crud hiding in the gravel

Should I be fine to put the male back to the original tank & treat the tank with aquarium salt and keep the female in the quarantine bowl I've got while treating her?

Also, my mom in this ordeal is making me really angry, she basically said she's waiting them all to die so she can get him a cichlid(which wouldn't do well in a small tank) and she thought that having it "cycled" for a week was fine


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

Well it's ammonia poisoning,the levels were high, we went and instead of getting aquarium salt my mom decided to get Ammonia remover even though the clerk explained what aquarium salt does


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

Thanks for all of the help guys but sadly the female guppy has passed away


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

> PH- 6.5-7.5(had mixed colors)


Wow that is a lot of difference, Live bearers dont do well in low PH soft water.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I'm sorry you lost the female and that your mom isn't listening to your educated advice. The best way to remove ammonia is water changes.


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

Sadist said:


> I'm sorry you lost the female and that your mom isn't listening to your educated advice. The best way to remove ammonia is water changes.


Sadly the male guppy passed away a day after she died, she is going to get him to do a water change today but I really have no hope that the neons will survive as the water changes won't be a frequent as they should be considering how high the ammonia was(it was in the orange-red level)


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

And after that, they're going to put a cichlid in the same tank? :-( I'm sorry you have to go through this in your own home.


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## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

Thats what my mom said, she said only if he want another thing which I don't think he will when/if his neons die as most of his fish dying is really discouraging for a first time pet owner but you have to learn somewhere i guess

If he doesn't want any fish, I'll be getting the tank & yeah, it kind of sucks when you feel like you're the only one who cares about a small beings life


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## Hopefish (Feb 9, 2016)

Grrrrr.


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