Help fat guppies and white fungus!!!

Hello :-\

my tank is 5 galons, with 2 cories, 3 male guppies. I try not to feed them very much, once a day, and the cories get a pellet every 2 days, when I give them the pellets the guppies go nuts and eat them?? is this normal??? are they starving or something? they won't let the cories eat, eventually they do but the guppies eat so mcuh of the pellet that they look so fat. and there is white fungus like stuff that grows on my fake plants within 24 hours of me cleaning it off! i'm worried about my tank

is there anyone who has some advice for me I woulod really appreciate it

thanks. ???

 

Michelle,
It sounds like your tank is overstocked. Can you post the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?

 

I don't have a test kit, i'm going to take a water sample to the pet store and get them to check it for me. I was told I coulod have 5 inchs of fish, not including bottom feeders. was this wrong? the 23 guppies make up I would say 4 inches tail to tail. the two cories are young and maybe make up an inch and a half.

thanks for your response

 

when you get the water tested ask for the specific numbers not just "uh yeah its safe" and write them down and tell us! If you can afford it, definitely get a test kit! Get the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit. if the pet store has a website (like petco, petsmart) you can go to it and find that test kit and print out the page as it is about half the price online. They are normally about $25-30 in thestore,and only about $15 reg. price online. Don't get a strip test kit, as those tend to be inaccurate, even if they are a bit cheaper.

 

wow, sounds complikated and expensive :

 

yes fishkeeping isa LOT morecomplicated than people think! My parakeet isless "work" than my 10 gal....butI luvmyfishies!!!!! ;D
sry ppl myspacebar isntworking :-X

 

Once everything is set up though there is more sitting in front of it than doing constant tests to make sure everything is safe

 

As a newbie myself, my advice to all other newbies reading this is to get a test kit, like the master test kit mentioned above (~$19 at Petsmart). Buy it at the same time you buy your tank. Don't wait. I just did not realize that the water in my 5 gallon would likely become dangerous for the fish in 1-2 weeks. It only takes about 5 minutes to do the tests. If you have a young one who overfeeds, like I do, you'll probably find that you will need to do frequent vacuuming and partial water changes during the first month.

 

thank you for your advice everyone

 

I was told I coulod have 5 inchs of fish, not including bottom feeders.

That's a bunch of hooey--"not including bottom feeders"--as if they don't use the water too. Do not listen to people at pet stores! (where I assume you got that "info") They don't know anything about fish.
To find how many inches of fish your tank can hold:
1) Find the surface area of the tank in inches(most tanks are labeled with their dimensions)
2) Divide by 12 in
This is based on the principle that each fish needs 12 sq inches to supply enough oxygen for them.

wow, sounds complikated and expensive :

Most newcomers to the hobby (including myself) don't realise how much knowledge it takes to successfully run an aquarium! While they are low matenance compared to many other pets, it is so much more easy for something to go wrong. I don't want to discourage anyone!--aquariums are so rewarding and enjoyable to keep, and it just takes a little effort to learn everything you need to know.

 

Some books say 2.5cm (1") of fish per 30sqcm (4.65sqin) of surface area.

 

the "inch per gallon" thing only works for small fish. example you wouldn't put a ten inch oscar or something in a 10 gallon tank. and the "not including bottom feeders" thing really wouldn't work bcause most bottom feeders are really big poopers I think

 

yea that's what I was thinking too about the bottome feeders. I cleaned off the plants and now there is no white fungus, the guppies are starting to eat less of hte cories food, but they still, when I put it in there it sinks to the bottom and all fish go for it. so I hope the cories are getting enough.

my tankI is foggy though, I cleaned it today and its still foggy??

 

You might try to get a small container of flakes or something that will float on the top of the water and put just a WEE pinch in for the guppies and the others so the coreys pellet can get thrown in at the same time and while the guppies are busy at the top maybe the coreys can eat in peace.

Possible? I don't know anything about either kind of fish but I thought this might be worth thinking about.

Rose

 

thank you

I took your advice unfortunatelyit did not work..

???