Every Single Time! :(

Hello.

I go on holiday quite frequently with my family, But never for more than a week. I feed my fish a few large meals before I leave and a large meal when I get back. There is plenty of plant life and algae for them to snack on if they get hungry.

But each and every time I get back, my youngest guppy is gone without a trace. Doesn't matter if it's a 2 day trip or 8 days, the youngest always vanishes.

Why?

I'm not overfeeding before I go, I'm not underfeeding either (plenty of people have left for longer trips than I have). It's not a water quality issue as my tank parameters haven't changes when I fast it when I get back.

They don't jump out as my tank has a lid covering all holes.

They could be eaten... But where do the bones go? A week isn't enough time for bone decomposition.. Why is it always one singular youngest guppy? Why only in my main tank?

Because my guppies no longer give birth, each time I've vanishes it is an older guppy than before, and the most recent one to go was just under hand a year old so it's a bit devastating.

This has happened three times in a row and I need answers. Maybe it's a survival instinct to kill and eat young in a food shortage? Maybe I have a singular violent adult? Maybe I'm missing some important factor here... I don't know.

If any of you know anything, please tell me! I can't lose another to ignorance of the cause of this

Thanks in advance.

-Mary

 

Is it just guppies in the tank?

 

Is it just guppies in the tank?

Was originally two adult female guppies and 4 female fry. Now one adult guppy and one adolescent fry (one adult died of disease, three fry vanished)

So yeah. I did have rcs in there once

 

That's quite weird, the other fish will eat a dead one & the bones of a guppie would be so small & fine I doubt you'd see them, is there anything in the tank they could be getting stuck in or under?

 

Here is a ground floor picture of my tank (please ignore the algae I stupidly forgot to turn the light off before I was gone)

There are a few rocks and plants, none of which could really cause any harm..

Then there are two ornaments I got for free. One is the colluseum thing you can see in the background, but that lies flat on the gravel and wouldn't cause harm. The other is a coral-like structure at the front of the and I guess a guppy could get stuck in there?! I took a close up picture of that coral thing; the holes all connect in a hollow centre of the ornament and each hole is about 2cm in diameter.

 

Have you taken the coral ornament out & had a look inside?

 

Have you taken the coral ornament out & had a look inside?

I'll do that now, though it won't explain why they only disappear when I am on holiday or why it's always the youngest guppy..

 

I'll do that now, though it won't explain why they only disappear when I am on holiday or why it's always the youngest guppy..

Agreed, that's why I said it's weird.

 

Strange, that's super weird.
I once lost a Peacock Gudgeon whilst on vacation, and to this day I wonder where it went.

 

It's the filter.

I just did a tank search and found my poor guppy stuck to the back of the filter in a hole I didn't know was there.

Before I could get them off, They wriggled and slid into the filter.

There was a whirring crunching wet sound.

Took me half an hour to get into the filter after turning it off. There was indeed a very mashed and dead guppy.

I'm talking to my dad tonight about getting a new filter.

Thanks for your help and sorry for the late reply. I'm still pretty traumatised.

 

Oh poor you (& poor fish), that's a horrible thing to have happen but at least you know now & can make sure it doesn't happen to any more of your fish in future

 

Sorry for your loss Mary

 

Whilst I'm here, got any reccomendations for a fairly cheap yet reliable filter?

 

Darn, that's horrible! Sorry for your loss

 

Whilst I'm here, got any reccomendations for a fairly cheap yet reliable filter?

Depends on the size & capacity of your tank Mary, what are the dimensions?

 

Thanks for your kind words though

Guess this is something to learn and grow from; never get second hand filters and always check thoroughly for potential hazards (I knew there were holes but didn't realise they led directly to the motor propeller)

And at least I caught it before all my fish "vanished" I bet that's also where 10+ of my fry went; which I presumed eaten too.

Well this explains a lot really...

 

Depends on the size & capacity of your tank Mary, what are the dimensions?

Oh yes sorry, I forgot!

It's a 10 gallon (or more accurately, 40l) with a water surface area of 27 x 40cm

A canister filter type is preferable as I don't have the holes in the lid for a hob. So something with about 200l/h and considerable filter media space should do it.

 

Sponge filter? How big of a tank is it? I’d also suggest aquaclears, I like them alot

 

Sponge filter? How big of a tank is it? I’d also suggest aquaclears, I like them alot

I've heard so many good things about AquaClear! I don't know of any that would work with my tank requirements though

 

Sorry for your loss.

We have this on our 10 gallon Marineland Bio-Wheel Penguin Power Filter

All I use are Marineland filters. I have a 37 gallon guppy aquarium with a 350 GPH canister and a 350 GPH HOB. Never had an issue with guppies getting stuck. But you could put a pre-filter over the intake.

 

Sorry for your loss.

We have this on out 10 gallon Marineland Bio-Wheel Penguin Power Filter

All I use are Marineland filters. I have a 37 gallon guppy aquarium with a 350 GPH canister and a 350 GPH HOB. Never had an issue with guppies getting stuck. But you could put a pre-filter over the intake.

Thanks for the suggestion!! It does look like an awesome filter, But I've never used one like that before.. should you really replace the filter cartridge once a month? Could I just use aquarium filter sponge instead?

I considered a pre-filter but the holes are at the back of the filter which would be hard to cover up.

 

People customize them by removing the cartridge and put in a sponge or a two stage pad like this. I also am going to make intake strainers with it.


It also helps to put a drop of silicone lubricant on each pin of the bio wheel.

 

People customize them by removing the cartridge and put in a sponge or a two stage pad like this. I also am going to make intake strainers with it.


It also helps to put a drop of silicone lubricant on each pin of the bio wheel.

Oh ok I understand! Thank you I really like this filter!

 

Oh ok I understand! Thank you I really like this filter!

You are welcome.

There are those that say these filters start to have an impeller rattle. I have five Marineland Bio wheels and the only one that does that is one of the older ones that I think got a bit of sand in. If you get one be sure to clean and inspect everything for bits and pieces left over from the manufacturing.

 

You are welcome.

There are those that say these filters start to have an impeller rattle. I have five Marineland Bio wheels and the only one that does that is one of the older ones that I think got a bit of sand in. If you get one be sure to clean and inspect everything for bits and pieces left over from the manufacturing.

I do that anyway and rinse everything thoroughly! Better safe than sorry

 

I've always liked Eheim filters, I've used them for years & never had any problems with them. For your tank I'd suggest something like the Eheim Biopower Internal, I've used one before on a smaler size tank & it was great, it has detachable 'baskets' which you can put different types of filter media in & even the smallest one (the 160) would be more than enough for a 40l tank. They have them on offer on Zooplus currently for £34.99, this is part of one of the reviews:
Eheim Biopower 200
"I bought this filter as my tropicals were getting stuck behind the previous internal I had and I lost three, plus I felt it was not powerful enough for the tank. I have always loved Eheims so decided to go for the Biopower instead of the Aquaball on this occasion".

They're actually cylindrical so have nowhere for fish to get stuck, hope this helps.

 

I've always liked Eheim filters, I've used them for years & never had any problems with them. For your tank I'd suggest something like the Eheim Biopower Internal, I've used one before on a smaler size tank & it was great, it has detachable 'baskets' which you can put different types of filter media in & even the smallest one (the 160) would be more than enough for a 40l tank. They have them on offer on Zooplus currently for £34.99, this is part of one of the reviews:
Eheim Biopower 200
"I bought this filter as my tropicals were getting stuck behind the previous internal I had and I lost three, plus I felt it was not powerful enough for the tank. I have always loved Eheims so decided to go for the Biopower instead of the Aquaball on this occasion".

They're actually cylindrical so have nowhere for fish to get stuck, hope this helps.

My current one is an Eheim but I don't know what type as it is second hand and not labelled.

That sounds really awesome though (that comment is almost too like my situation to be true lol). Looking at the filter it certainly is an interesting shape! Doesn't look like there are any places for fish to get stuck either I will discuss with my Dad and snoop for some good deals thank you!!