# Guppies keep hemorrhaging!



## PersonalityUnknown (May 3, 2013)

My first batch of female guppies all hemorrhaged and died within a week of having them. Both my males didn't show any signs of sickness after everything was said and done. Now, a few weeks later, it's starting again with guppies I bought at another store. So far I only see one of the females with obvious hemorrhage spots and I'm really worried about the rest of my tank. This is my first illness I'm dealing with in my own personal tank. )=

Tank stats:
29g, semi planted w/ driftwood. 
Gravel substrate
~86 degree F
Tank age: Approx 3 weeks

Stock:
6 female Guppies
2 Male guppies
3 Female Bettas
1 Male betta
2 Ghost Shrimp
1 Bamboo shrimp
2 Clown Loaches
1 Fancytail Goldfish (Rescue)

What should I do to remedy this?


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

Oh my, I think you may have an overstocking issue. Have you tested all of your water parameters; ammonia, nitrites, nitrates? 3 weeks isn't long enough to fully cycle a tank & with that many fish you probably have ammonia and/or nitrite issues. Unless of course you got seeded filter media from somewhere. Additionally, the fish you have shouldn't be mixed, Goldfish are NOT tropical fish & they have a large bio load, Male & Female Bettas should not be housed together. If ammonia or nitrite poisoning is not the problem it is very possible the Bettas attacked the other fish. Hard to say without seeing your dead fish. The Gold fish needs a tank all to itself or needs to be rehomed. The male Betta needs his own tank away from the females.


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## PersonalityUnknown (May 3, 2013)

Shockingly, my male and female betta's are doing just fine in the tank. The male dominates the entire tank, only showing /some/ aggression when the females get a little too close. When he first entered the tank he flared at everyone of his tank mates, but they backed off and he's just Mr. Macho man. 
Everyone has their respective area's for rest. There's plenty of hiding spots, plants and fake plants to stop chase when things get a little feisty (Which is only with my female bettas and 1 (now quarantined) female guppy). My females show their breeding stripes more often than their stress stripes that are usually hierarchy related.

The original guppies were just them, no one else. 1 female is extremely aggressive and after they all passed she was quarantined after watching her attack my males for no reason.

I haven't tested them yet, but I've done ~20% water changes every week so far I think I'm actually due for one. I've been kinda using my shrimp as clear indicators of when my changes should be.

The goldfish is a rescue, like I stated. He was in a feeder tank in another store I was filling in for and I couldn't stand for him to be lunch. He was super thin and unhappy and now he's happier than a pig in.. yanno. He's putting on weight and looking 100% better. He's barely an inch and a half so I'm not too worried about his bio-load to be honest. Once he gets around 3-4 inches I'll be re-homing him either at my store or seeing if anyone wants to adopt him.


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## Chevko (Nov 15, 2012)

It could be a combination of the male guppies' harassment and potential attacks from the bettas, male and female, when you're not looking or are at work/school. From what I've heard when I was thinking about females, even a 3:1 ratio with sexes can cause the females to get over-stressed and die, so the male guppies could well be singling out a lone female or two and that could be the cause. And I do agree with Shellica, males and females shouldn't be housed together, there is the risk that one side will wind up killing the other, especially with breeding.


Edit:
Some reason I thought you said two male bettas. Somehow mixed up the males and the ghost shrimp o.o


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

OK, I've said my piece. You asked for advice/opinions & I have given mine. Good luck.


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## PersonalityUnknown (May 3, 2013)

shellieca said:


> OK, I've said my piece. You asked for advice/opinions & I have given mine. Good luck.


Actually you didn't tell me anything I didn't already know... My question was surrounding what I should do about the hemorrhaging and nothing more. Which is one point you didn't really step foot on. =/


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## PersonalityUnknown (May 3, 2013)

Chevko said:


> It could be a combination of the male guppies' harassment and potential attacks from the bettas, male and female, when you're not looking or are at work/school. From what I've heard when I was thinking about females, even a 3:1 ratio with sexes can cause the females to get over-stressed and die, so the male guppies could well be singling out a lone female or two and that could be the cause. And I do agree with Shellica, males and females shouldn't be housed together, there is the risk that one side will wind up killing the other, especially with breeding.
> 
> 
> Edit:
> Some reason I thought you said two male bettas. Somehow mixed up the males and the ghost shrimp o.o


But what would cause the hemorrhaging........
Wouldn't fins and scales be damaged if there were attacks? Everyone looks pristine other than my 2 male guppies and their chewed up fins from the evil guppy that's in quarantine.


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## Chevko (Nov 15, 2012)

Maybe. There's no guarantee that scales would be disrupted, fins usually suffer damage from biting and being ripped. I would look at separating everyone into smaller tanks, maybe turn the 29 into a sorority since you've got 3 girls already. It's got to be the fish in the tank that's causing this, and since it's a female guppy, I'd say it's the boys you've got in there.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

The hemoraging could be nitrate poisoning. The treatment is AQ salt which may need to be followed up with anti-biotics. If your other fish are unaffected by the conditions the AQ salt may not be good for them. I hear loaches especially don't fair well with salt. Petco is starting their $1.00 gallon tank sale this Sunday maybe you could get another tank or two and separate everyone out to better suit their needs and then you can treat the guppies only for the condition.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Nitrates would have to be super duper ridiculously high to kill guppies.

Look, it's either one of two things - the water, or the stock. Water is within your control to rule out, so that should be the first thing you do. If increased water changes don't do anything, then it's most likely fish related. I know you don't want to hear that, but there's really nothing else to point to....


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## PersonalityUnknown (May 3, 2013)

I don't have room or the money to get more tanks for everyone (I live in a studio appt with my boyfriend and our two dogs.), especially after this new rent fiasco... 

I did a 50% water change and added salt + stress coat plus another dose of bacteria. I'll be taking a sample of water to work with me to test my water. I'll post test results as soon as I can.

Just to clarify, I don't care if you say if it's stock related. If it is, it is. Nothing I can do other than trade my fish to the store I work for for something better suited. My issue was people attacking my stock options when I wanted an answer for my fish hemorrhaging. I understand that it's not kosher, it's highly not recommended but I am experimenting. I keep a very close eye on all my fish, their behavior and habbits. I notice any little thing wrong with my fish and I immediately ask someone more experienced for advice. I don't wait for weeks to roll by then go "oh, well heck.". If anything goes wrong in my tank, I'll notice it within a few days if I don't catch it right away.

From what I've seen from all of my fish is normal behavior of any community fish. Everyone lives in peace, the female betta's do their thing, my male betta stays on display 98% of the time within the first two inches of the front of the tank and my guppies and loaches stick to their respective [gender] groups with the random male guppy going "EY BEBE HOW U DOIN" If I see ANY true aggression or stress in my fish, I'd IMMEDIATELY quarantine them and exchange him/her for something more suited.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I'm all for experimenting - it's how we learn things. I have an experiment I'm conducting at the moment, and some others lined up as well. 


Sent from Petguide.com App


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## PersonalityUnknown (May 3, 2013)

Tested my water:
Ph 6.7
Ammonia 1ppm-2ppm
Nitrite and nitrates are zero.

Ill be doing another 50% water change when I get home. I can only imagine what my ammonia was at before yesterday's change


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I would change nearly all the water.


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## PersonalityUnknown (May 3, 2013)

Okay ill do that instead then.. I guess I will be buying that tubing to get it to go into my kitchen sink to drain... Lol


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

If you have 2 ppm of ammonia and do a 50% change, the lowest it will then be is 1 ppm, which is still way too high.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Definatly do a ton more water changes. I would look into adding biological filtration or rehoming some fish, 1-2ppm of ammonia is way too high.


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## bethyMT (Nov 24, 2012)

Those loaches get to be 12 inches long when full grown. Those might be good to rehome first. Although they might be small now, they will grow fast.


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Ammonia poisoning is what you are seeing. This tank is not cycled, so you will have to stay on top of water changes as the next thing to happen is the nitrites going up. Either one will kill the fish. I would consider a new home for the goldfish & loaches at least. Wishing you the best.


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## Lights106 (May 16, 2013)

A 20% weekly water change with that bioload would be far to little. I would do more water and more frequent water changes.


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

try removing some of those fish..goldfish dont go good..


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