# Worried: Guppy sitting at bottom and hiding a lot



## bookachicken (Nov 22, 2016)

Sorry for another guppy question, my betta's are doing great and Sapphires fins are finally growing back in his new 10 gal tank but these new guppies are giving me a bit of a hard time! I hope someone with guppies can give me some insight. I just set up a 10 gallon tank with 1 male and 2 females as a surprise Christmas gift for my husband. 

After the first purchase, one female was super bloated and I took her back because she looked sick and didn't have signs of pregnancy (possibly dropsy, not 100% sure though). I got a new female about 2 days ago and at first she seemed to be doing well adjusting to the new tank but now I notice for many times during the day she hides in the plants or at the bottom of the tank. I literally have to search all over the tank as she blends in so well. I have freaked out a few times wondering where she was. She does not like to hang out with the other male and female who always are side by side in the top portions of the tank. My water parameters were checked the day I got her and everything was good. She is not pregnant (or if she is its very early) because she is skinny still. She does swim fast and comes out to eat. I am just worried that there is something wrong with her too! I am getting tiered of going back and forth to this pet store, wondering what is wrong with these poor fish. I have tried to look up what it could be online but I haven't found anything useful so that is why I'm hoping someone here can give me some insight. Is she sick? or being bullied? My other female might be pregnant so maybe my male is harassing her trying to mate? I'm not sure but I just don't have a good feeling about her acting like that so much. Please help!

Here are the parameters from a few days ago:

10 gal, filtered and heated tank (78F), It is a new tank and I am trying to do a fish in cycle
Ammonia - 0
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Hardness - 75
Chlorine - 0
Alkalinity - 120
Ph - 6.8


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## bookachicken (Nov 22, 2016)

She died. When I got home she was stuck to the filter. *Sigh* I'm going to take her back to the store and try to get a refund and then buy a female from somewhere else. They obviously have an issue with their guppies. I am doing a water change today just in case. It's so sad. She was pretty too. This sucks.


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## MysticSky22301 (Apr 16, 2016)

Add a little aquarium salt to the tank something like ¼ of a teaspoon per 5 gallons, it honestly helps prevent disease and doesn't hurt the little guppies


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## bookachicken (Nov 22, 2016)

Thank you for the advice. I do add the salt already when I first set up the tank and also with water changes. I also use water conditioner and bacteria starter. I did a 50% water change and tested the water and the parameters were fine. I have a filtered and heated tank and am not overfeeding. I have a feeling my other female is going to die too. She is doing the same thing as the other females (hiding and staying at the bottom). My male is doing well. I am not sure if there is something wrong with what I am doing or the pet store truly has an issue with there female guppies. I got my bettas from a different location and they are doing great. I haven't had any issues other than tail biting when they were in the small tank. Now they are doing great in the 10gal. These guppies are making me second guess my decision to buy them. They are a gift for my husband and they are all sick and dying. It just makes me feel awful. I think after I return the fish I will go to a store that focuses just on fish. It's a little far from home, but it will be worth it if I can get some healthy fish.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Definitely buy from a reputable source any time you can. I've found that as said above, keeping a small amount of AQ salt in with them and adding crushed coral to the substrate to keep the pH good is really awesome and does wonders for them. Another thing I always do is dose with Seachem Paraguard for two full weeks whenever I get new fish, especially with live bearers. It's gentle enough to be used as a caution thing without symptoms, but effectively takes care of a huge area of illnesses from fin rot to ich, both of which very common in guppies. Keeping lots of live plants is great too for stress. Can I have a pic of your tank?


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## bookachicken (Nov 22, 2016)

Hey I have horrible news! My females died and now my male is on death's doorstep. I feel so awful. My male is bloated, is pooping this clearish-white stringy poop and now has fin rot! I have been checking the parameters everyday and they have been fine! I'm so upset. I keep thinking what did I do wrong? I think I will move him to my 2.5gal and see if I can save him some how but he's doing awful. All the guppies had that same stringy poop stuff before they died. I think that first female that I took back gave it to them all. I read that it could be a parasite??? I'm so sad about these guppies.

Oh, and other than the fin rot is there a way to cure parasites?


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## Hyunjicho (Nov 8, 2016)

Try Jungle's Parasite Clear or the API Fungus treatments. I personally haven't used them, but a lot of people love those two meds.


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