wonderfulge

I put stress zyme plus in my 10 gallon tank yesterday and i got 6 guppies today, 2 male and 4 female, i looked now and one of the males was spazzing out swimming then stopping and floating then i looked later and he was stcuk against my filter intake, dead what was wrong? the water does not look cloudy was he sick from the store?

Nick G

Hi Wonderfulge, Welcome to Fishlore! How long has your tank been set up for? Knowing this could help determine what might have happenend to you guppy.

peacemaker92

Hi Wonder and WELCOME TO FISHLORE!

There could be many possibilities from this case. Your Guppy could've been sick when you bought him at the store. Or could be ammonia poisoning? What are your water readings? It will help if you could update your aquarium info so members can help you. Keep us updated yeah?

aquarist48

Hello Wonderfulge and Welcome to Fish Lore. So sorry to hear about your new fish loss. Once you answer the questions above we'll be able to help you more.
I hope you enjoy the site!
Ken

wonderfulge

my ammonia level is good and my tank has been set up for 3 days previously

i also put in some small and one big piece of corral at the bottom that i got from scuba diving in hawaii is it ok that i put it in my tank? the rocks have holes i them so i figured they would be good baceria filters.

Just to let you know I've merged your two threads to save some space. You can use the "edit" key at the bottom of every post for corrections and additional thoughts. Thanks!
Ken

aquarist48

The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle
Hello Wonderfulge. I'm afraid your tank isn't cycled. The above link will go into great detail and it's crucial to fish keeping. The Stress Zyme that you've added does not contain the correct bacteria for cycling your tank. You say that your ammonia reading is good, however, if it isn't 0 then I'm afraid your fish may be suffering from ammonia poisoning. If this is the case then daily 30 to 50% water changes, adding some Prime or Amquel + to detox the ammonia for 24 hours until it's time for the next water change.
What type of test are you using? Test strips or liquid tests?
Ken

Shawnie

welcome wonderfulge!
unfortunately stress zyme isnt the right bacteria needed to cycle a tank..it wont self sustain and be strong enough without adding it all the time, to keep the cycle going....at this point, you need to find some amquel+ OR prime and do daily water changes....what test kit are you using and what were the last readings you got for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates?

as far as using the coral, as long as you boiled it and your pH in your tap isnt too low (coral will raise the ph in your tank) you should be ok...but if your tap is low on ph, when you do water changes, it could be a ph shock for your fish....good luck!

Diggly

Did you acclimatise the fish by slowly adding tank water to their floating bags first? It might have been a ph shock if you didnt.

I would also recommend reading up about the nitrogen cycle to ensure the rest of your fish stay healthy . Dont worry you are in good hands here!

wonderfulge

lol thanks everyone but i think the tank cycled already the rest of the fish r healthy

ynaggo

First of all what are your ammonia readings when you meant "The ammonia level is good"

And your tank cant cycle in 3 days even with stress zyme.

So please tell us what the reading of ammonia was, if you have a test kit.

Tony G.

Helo Wonderfulge an Welcome!

What are your exact readings?
We often go to a LFS and get our water tested and we get the usual " fine" LOL

Also, you mentioned using stress zyme, as shawnie said it contains the wrong kind of bacteria, making it seem ike your tank is cycled, but it is actually starving the good bacteria which is generating. You see, the bacteria needs the ammonia ( its kinda like its food ) so if something else is using up the ammonia ( Stress zyme) it wil kill it.

If you woud rather use a product that will speed up your cycle, then most of us reccomend TETRA SAFESTART it is the only bacteria in a bottle that will ACTUALLY cycle the tank.

Also, if your fish died of ammonia poisoning, then i would suggest you do 40-50% water changes daily to keep keep the leves down, as wel as adding Prime. Prime is a detoxifying product that will detox the ammonia and nitrites for the first 24hrs, so the enxt day when you do a WC you dose again, and so on.
Hope i helped

wonderfulge

where could i find safestart? would bio-spira also work? i checked in petsmart and they gave me the stress zyme plus...

wonderfulge

also could i do no waer changes and just add a full dose of the stress zyme plus every day?

peacemaker92

Bio-spira is the same product of safestart according to some members. Correct me if I'm wrong. So bio-spira should work. You could order TSS online

Nick G

Over here in NZ, Tetra Safestart is called Bio-spira.

wonderfulge

ok thanks and also i thought it had to be refrigerated but it says none needed, dont they say that because all the bacteria is probably dead inside if it doesnt need to be refrigerated?

wonderfulge

also should i leave my top aquarium lights on all day for the 2 peackock ferns i just got in my aquarium? thanks

jdhef

There used to be two different versions of BioSpira, BioSpira for Fresh water and BioSpira for Salt Water. Then a new version of BioSpira for Fresh Water was created that did not require refrigeration. This new version was bought out by Tetra and was renamed Tetra SafeStart.

So as far as I know, BioSpira for Saltwater is still available, but and BioSpira for Fresh Water that you see in a store would be over one year old.

Shawnie

+2 do not use any freshwater bio spira...its way out dated and probably wouldnt work properly...they havent made any FW bio spira in almost 2 years... tetra safestart is the only one currently thats been successful...stress zyme will not work ....

redlessi

Welcome to the forum I would suggest only leaving the lights on for about 8-10 hours a day so you do not experience an algae outbreak.

Good Luck with your tank

thorpbrian

I'd stop using the Stress Zyme immediately until you can get a hold of some Safe Start. In the meantime I'd do daily 50% water changes.

wonderfulge

omg is it possible for a guppy to eat another smaller guppy? i came home today and one of my female guppies is totally missing from my tank!! i checked everywhere and under every rock and plant and there are only 3 females and a male left. it was the smallest of them all. is that possible??

Tony G.

if she could fit in their mouth then yes, she could´ve been eaten. BUT she could have died also and could´ve been eaten by the others once dead and decomposing. check your substrate ( vaccume) if there are leftvoers... they should be removed asap since they will pollute the water.

wonderfulge

lolomg i found it it was hiding in my cave thank god!!! how can i tell if a female is regnant?one of my female guppies has a bloated stomach but no dark spot i can see can it still be pregnant? how can i be sure?

Tony G.

good to know. You coud grab a flashlight and hod it above her, you should see a dark spot near the anal fin.

are there any raised scales?

wonderfulge

should i get the safestart thats just enough for my tank or bigger... will i everuse it after this one time?? should i get the bigger one t be safe?

wonderfulge

and no raised scales and i see dark areas under them but idk if those r supposed to be there or not...

thorpbrian

You really can't overdose your tank with it. I used the bottle for up to 30 gallons for both my 20 gallons with success. You shouldn't have to use this again unless you lose your cycle for some reason.

Tony G.

I would use up the whole bottle, eventually the bacteria in the bottle will die, so oyu shouldnt really keep an open one for a while, most buy the appropriate sized TSS and add it all to the tank.

jdhef

You can get the smallest bottle that will treat a tank of at least your size. But be sure to use the whole bottle. As stated above you cannot overdose, and if using a partial bottle the bacteria may not be evenly distributed in the protion you would use, meaning there may be more bacteria left in the bottle than in the tank.