cichlidsmad

Hi i had 5 guppies 3 feamles 2 males but down to 1 female 2males and about 60-70 fry but my adults are losing colour then when colour is nearly gone they die?

i cant figure out what is happening?

thanks

Mollies forever

hi there,
You really need to get a test kit to test your water parameters. Most common one being the API Master Test Kit. Sounds to me, there may be a water quality issue. How long has the tank been set up and has it cycled?

cichlidsmad

its been set up 1.6 years now and that is fully cycled.

its had a clean last friday.
but it was happening before then and now its still happening

i have no clue what it is?

agabr123

i'm sorry that you lost your guppies

of the fish in your aquarium info, do you have one of each or more than that? it says that your tank is 105 liters, if so then you are definitely overstocked. clown loaches need at least a 75 gallon (approx. 280 liter) tank to be happy, and they really need to be in groups of at least 5 (which requires a MUCH larger tank, IMO 250-300 gallons would be the minimum).

is the kissing fish a kissing gourami? also, if you can post a picture of the unknown fish then the members here can help identify it.

you should definitely look into getting a test kit, although your tank has definitely been through the cycle, with that many fish it's possible that the cycle can't keep up with their bioload, or that your cycle crashed or that you are in a mini-cycle for any number of reasons. knowing your water parameters will help to either diagnose or rule out certain problems that could be affecting your guppies and possibly your other fish.

cichlidsmad

yes it is a kissing guarami and i think its 105l matbe 130l but not sure
i was going to get a kit but we are low on money at the momment.

it would be a big loss just buying a test kit

'

agabr123

if you can, i would take a sample your water to your LFS to have it tested, the readings may not be the most accurate (or they could surprise you and use a liquid test kit) but it will at least give you an idea of where the levels are in your tank. you'll rarely get a false negative with the paper strip tests, so if they show any amount of ammonia or nitrite then go ahead and do daily water changes until you can get that under control. if the nitrate looks like it's higher than 5-20, go ahead and just do an extra water change, but daily changes aren't necessary unless you have ammonia or nitrIte.

also, i'd watch while they're doing the tests and make sure that you see the readings for yourself.

cichlidsmad

lol ok so they might tell me false readings?

NanoTank

It does sound to me like you're overstocked (I made this mistake myself recently), which will no doubt affect your water quality, and I believe that is causing the deaths. In my experience, fish loose colour when there is a build up of toxins.

I'd do water changes every other day until you can either re-home some of your fish, or get a larger, or additional tank.

Hope this helps, and you stop loosing some of your enthralling guppies.

agabr123

they won't necessarily tell you false readings (the people at the LFS i mean, not the strips), but they could just say that all your levels are "okay" but their definition of "okay" probably isn't, you really should have 0ppm ammonia 0ppm nitrIte and 5-20ppm nitrAte, but if you have something other than that they still may tell you that your water is fine.

AlyeskaGirl

I am sorry your fish are dyin. I found the info below, just tryin to help you.

"Oxygen Shortage:
A shortage of oxygen can be diagnosed by rapid gill movement and fish hanging just below the water surface. Later, the fish may lose color and die. An oxygen shortage can be caused by several ways: insufficient aeration, a buildup of organic wastes, a high temperature, or through plant respiration. An oxygen deficiency can be solved by a partial water change, an increase in aeration, and removal of dead or dying fish and vegetation."

Is the temp 80 degress? I would turn it down to 78 if it is. The higher the temp the less oxygen.

Source link:
http://fish.mongabay.com/diseases.htm

AlyeskaGirl

They grow up to 12 inches.

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-KissingGourami.htm

cichlidsmad

its nearly fully grown and is always harrasing the balloon molly its killed the last 3 of the four of them!!!!!

got nowhere to rehome the thing!!

cichlidsmad

the tank has had brocolli in it and it clouded the tank up bad but it smelt really bad as well my mum put way to much in.

catfishlover123

Sorry you lost your guppies and mollies.

AlyeskaGirl

Oh, I am sorry. Take it to a fish store.

cichlidsmad

we have already tried they have no room and apparently its to big to fit into their tanks even though they have a blue dohlphin which is nearly two times the size of the kissing fish so i dont see the problem.



p.s they have 3 spare tanks completely set up and running
they have been there for nearlt two months?

cichlidsmad

at the moment we are selling it online only one bid but they thought it was a coldwater fish

its been there for 5 weeeks now?