Guppy help

[BettaFishObsessed]

Hi, this is one of my first times keeping guppies so I could be doing a lot wrong but I need help. I have a 5gal tank that has been cycled. I have a heater and filter for them. I got 5 male guppies for the tank and then the next day one died without any disease symptoms or anything. I did some research on google and I figured “I don’t know, probably my bad, probably it was one too many guppies.” Everything was fine for two weeks then one more spontaneously died. It had no symptoms before but by the time i found it dead at the bottom of the tank it’s gills were red. The rest looked fine. This morning I looked and the rest look slightly bloated. One is just a little, one is a mildly concerning amount, and the other is a concerning amount. They’re all behaving normally and eating normally. I feed them freeze dried bloodworms, guppy flakes, and I’m going to pick up some frozen peas to feed them since I’ve heard they should have vegetables too (after being microwaved and peeled obv). There are also live plants in the tank. The parameters are pH 6.6, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 2. What is wrong with them and what can I do? I’ll try to post pictures later if i can
edit: I checked again and the bloating has gone almost completely, but one has red streaks on its back, another has one fin that it turning red, and the last one LOOKS fine since it’s main color is red but it probably isnt

 

[FishesForLife]

Not too sure about the red streaks, but make sure you’re not overfeeding them. Guppies have actually been known to literally eat themselves to death. I’d give them all they can eat in a couple of minutes and then don’t give in to their begging - they’re kind of like Labrador Retrievers when it comes to food. And of course keep up with your water quality. Guppies tend to prefer harder, more alkaline water. You could try adding some crushed coral or aquarium buffers to get the pH up in the 7-7.8 range. Just make sure to make any changes slowly. Wishing you luck!

 

[BettaFishObsessed]

Not too sure about the red streaks, but make sure you’re not overfeeding them. Guppies have actually been known to literally eat themselves to death. I’d give them all they can eat in a couple of minutes and then don’t give in to their begging - they’re kind of like Labrador Retrievers when it comes to food. And of course keep up with your water quality. Guppies tend to prefer harder, more alkaline water. You could try adding some crushed coral or aquarium buffers to get the pH up in the 7-7.8 range. Just make sure to make any changes slowly. Wishing you luck!

Thanks! is there any rule of thumb way to put only what they can eat in a couple of minutes in? A lot of the time I have to feed them then leave so I can’t stare at them for a couple minutes, or do I just have to find time to see how much they eat then know how much to put in?

 

[MyFishAddiction]

Yes, only put in what they can eat in 1-3 minutes, but guppies will eat till they explode, so that rule isn't really that helpful for guppies.

 

[Broggy]

or, what I like to do is take crushed up food and let them graze on it for like an hour, and it keeps them busy. I like to use fry food, or really anything like crushed flakes.

 

[FishesForLife]

A really rough estimate that I’ve heard is trying to give them about as much food as the size of their eye. Broggy is right that it helps to crush up the food so they have to go poke around for it. Keep an eye on them after feeding to get a sense for how full they become and don’t give them so much that they look like overinflated balloons.

 

[BettaFishObsessed]

Ok, thanks everyone! I’ll feed them less and see if that helps! Anyone have any idea what’s with the red streaks, fin, and gills though?