Meenu

you can use the edit button to add more thoughts or questions on your posts. A moderator will come along and merge your posts together, and it'll save them some work.

At this point, just wait until tomorrow to test again. If you show 0 ammonia and nitrites, I'd personally just wait and do water changes every 4-5 days until you are able to get the Prime.

The smaller tank may have more nitrates before it has less water, more waste. Lots of factors - that pleco you have is a huge waste producer... he may be the culprit.

I don't know if the guppies will have the babies. They may.

aquarist48

Good morning NorthernGuppy.

It's nice to see that you are doing the best that you can for your fish. I suggest that you keep doing what you've been doing until you have the means to get your tank cycled, without having to use the product "Cycle" to do it. Your readings are good as it stands right now. The problem will be when you stop using Cycle. If you stop now then be prepared for daily 30 to 50% water changes until your readings are again 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and under 20 nitrates. Then your tank is cycled naturally. Keep up with your weekly water changes of 30 to 50% for now, add the Cycle.

Always add the chemical that you have to remove the chlorine from the tap water with each water change.

Best wishes for some healthy fry and keep us posted.
Ken
Edit: here is the link concerning pH that you may find helpful.
http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/107

northern_guppy

dont think the LFS will take back their plico..... dont have the reciet either, bought him before i moved.... sorry my notes have been a little all over the place, im very new to this fishlore thing but im finding i like it alot! and thanks for being patient with me and helping me threw it. also the convinience of living in the north can be a real drag sometimes. ill leave my tanks alone till tomorrow.

If i were to get some brine shrimp eggs and grow my own live food for the guppies. do they need some kind of mini filter or air pump?? and what would be a decent small sized container to have them in??

aquarist48

http://www.fishlore.com/brine-shrimphatching.htm
NG the above link will guide you through setting up a hatchery for brine shrimp.

If the store won't give you a refund for your Pleco maybe they will give you store credit? I know mine will only give me 1/2 of the original purchase price on returns. Every store is different.
Ken

northern_guppy

ok so im thinking of asking my friend to stop by the pet store down south, and see about something for the water? what should i ask for? something i can trust and that isnt outragous in price? im gunna test the water in my tanks again right now....

Meenu

when you say something for the water, so you mean a conditioner? I suggest Prime.

northern_guppy

dont think i need another conditioner... i need something instead of cycle i thought?

Meenu

Tetra Safe Start has the right bacteria to cycle your tank faster, if that's what you are asking about. You also have the option, once you stop using the cycle, to let the bacteria grow naturally with daily partial water changes and adding prime conditioner with each water change. That can take a while, though.

northern_guppy

dont think ill be able to keep up with the daily partials....im a single mom sometimes we stay with family....im doing water test on guppy tank after water change yesterday...

Ammonia........0.25
nitrate...........40
nitrite............0
pH.................8.0

goldfish Tank (10 gallon)

Ammonia..........0
Nitrate............20
Nitrite.............0
pH..................7.8

callichma

Hey, relax and take a deep breath. I know how unsettling it is when we don't think our tanks are doing well. Your water parameters are likely going to stay good as long as you are using the Cycle. You should continue using it until your guppy has her babies and also until you have the products you need to get your tank cycled properly. It doesn't matter that your nitrates are higher in one tank than another. You just need to do water changes to keep the nitrates at or below 20. You can keep your pleco, just watch the water parameters closely. Blessings on you and your tank. Hope you get to where you can enjoy it soon.

callichma

Did you stop using Cycle?

northern_guppy

no i continued to use it. its been 24 hours since the water change.

callichma

I'm not sure why you have ammonia in your tank. You've been doing frequent water changes. Do you add cycle with every water change? If not, you have probably changed out the bacteria. You need more bacteria to process the ammonia. Maybe someone else will have another idea. If it was me, I would do a 50% water change, add cycle as per instructions, and go online to order Prime or Amquel+ so the next time you have ammonia you can detoxify it.

northern_guppy

i just did a %50 water change.... and i added the conditioner and the Cycle stuff as directed. thats all i can do... unfortanutaly i cant order anything online...

northern_guppy

im going to post a picture of my female guppy, if someone can try and help me figure out when she is going to give birth that would be cool...cause iv had her for about 3 weeks and she hasnt gotten much bigger??

not sure i know how to post a picture?

northern_guppy

figured out how but it wont load....

ya soo it wont let me load pics on here at all... like i can get to the upload page and go to the browse button and try to only load one pic at a time, but the next site doesnt load.. it just goes blank white and says done... and thats it but i cant click nothing but back.....and its just not working for me...

northern_guppy

well just seems like one thing after another... my light bulb just burned out on my guppy tank...quick question that no one seems to answer... How come if my tank light is off and i turn it back on the momma guppy's gravid spot is a light colour and then slowly goes dark?

TheKayman

The gravid spot is actually the fry inside the mama that is seen through mama's skin. Also, have you seen your guppies change their eye color when light is on? I don't know what is the mechanism there, but guppies make their eyes to black out when light is on. The same thing is happening inside mama's gravid spot. That's why you see the gravid spot so light when you first turn the light, but it darkens later.

northern_guppy

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! i went to my sisters for christmas and was gone for 2 days. and i just got back and i looked inside my tank and iv got about 20 or more little baby guppies swimming all around my tank!! CHRISTMAS GUPPIES! i think im gunna just leave them inside the tank free to swim around with momma! yay im soo happy!

Meenu

If they stay in there, mama's probably going to have herself a little snack.
Congrats on the fry.
I think it's fine to leave them in - if you have hiding places, you are more likely to have some survivors if you want them.

northern_guppy

i have a few plants and im sure they can hide, also im trying not to feel bad about the ones that get eaten, cause i know now that their r going to be lots of fish and that my momma guppy is healthy! so there will be more, and if i over think it then im gunna end up trying to save them and probably end up hurting them more. so if she eats them then she eats them if not then thats kool too!! but soo kool that they were born on christmas day! thats awsome. its like she gave me a batch of fry for christmas! hehe made the holidays even better!

Im definatly going to get some little brine shrimp going for them! yay hehe weird how happy this makes me but it puts a smile on my face

bolivianbaby

That's so sweet! Your mama guppy gave you LOTS of Christmas presents

northern_guppy

any one got any basic info on brine shrimp? can i grow them in just still water? do they need a light? how long does it take for them to grow? whats their life span? what do i feed them? anything?

northern_guppy

ok so now that my momma guppy has had her babies. Shes not looking so well. I think shes gunna die.. Shes been swimming all weak like. Like straight up and down, like her tail is soo heavy for her or something? and her insides got real dark. near her gils r red/pink inside... i dunno what to do.

bolivianbaby

Bless her heart! Can you put her in a separate tank? Garlic juice and vita-chem combined with pristine water conditions will give her some assistance in getting better.

We'll be keeping you both in our thoughts.

northern_guppy

i have a spare golfish tank...its plastic and small... but i dont think she will live if i put her in there... its too small for a filter. and i dont have an airpump. not sure what the other stuff u listed is..?

northern_guppy

she died...

Meenu

Aw. I'm sorry.