Help with guppy pond

Ok so I set up a small kiddie pool a little over a month ago I started out with lots of plants and my husband grabbed a bunch of tadpoles and some snails out of a drying puddle to help cycle it. Once it got to the point that I didn't get any readings for ammonia (though I never got any nitrite or nitrate reads from it I kinda figured the plants must have taken care of those) I got 6 guppies which is where the problem started they all died off one after the other over a period of a week with I guess dropsy they kind of looked pine coney and wouldn't eat and would die a couple hours after they pine coned. I changed water every day sometimes multiple times a day and it didn't do anything thing to help. Once all of them died I took everything apart and started over. I got 7 guppies from a different place as well as some cherry shrimp and I put them in the pond. The thing is is the shrimp are doing fine they are even having babies and one of the guppies had babies once and those seem to be doing just fine but the original 7 if I wait more than a couple of days to change water one almost always ends up getting sick and dying like the first ones from the 7 I'm down to just 4 2 males and 2 females though there are 12 babies. I test the water most everyday and everything comes out at 0 so no ammonia, no nitrites, and no nitrates I don't know if the plants are using it all up or if my test kit is a dud but I use the drops I can't think of the name of the test kit right now but it's not the strips. Ph is 8-8.4 straight from the tap. the temp gets up to around 85 is the hottest I've seen it and I'm not sure how low it gets at night. I don't know what's going on could it be that it gets too hot or there's too much of a temp swing from day to night, a ph thing, or something else entirely? I can't figure it out maybe it's the pool itself a chemical that's in the plastic? I've brought two adult and three baby guppies inside so I hopefully don't lose them all but I'm hoping that whatever is possibly going on with the pond can be fixed and they can go back out soon.
I'm sorry for the long explanation but I'm so baffled and wanted to be sure every fact that I could think of was given. Please help me figure this out. Should I just take it all down or do you think I can actually get this to work?

 

Okay, don't just assume that it's cycled if there's no readings. Your pond will not cycle if you aren't adding some source of ammonia, whether it be fish food or pure ammonia, which, by the way, is better because then you can control the dosage.

So part of it was probably caused by that.

Next, was the pond dechlorinated?

Was there an airstone in there? Not 100% required, just asking.

Was there a heater in there? How warm did the pond usually stay? Guppies are tropical and must be heated.

Was there a filter in there?

About dropsy...

There are two forms this takes but both look similar, and both are caused by a bacterial infection. With one, the scales protrude from the body (like a pine cone) and with the other, the body swells with fluid which causes scale protrusion and protruding eyes. Actually, "dropsy" describes the symptom in reality, not the disease itself. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to cure. The fish should be isolated immediately, and humanely euthanized (clove oil method is best) if its condition does not get better. By the time the scales protrude, the internal organs including the liver have been damaged to the point of no return. The cause is what the fish keeper should investigate to avoid another case of dropsy. Poor water conditions, weakened fish and feeding too many bloodworms may also be part of the problem.

Source:



So, like I said, it could have been overfeeding. What did you feed, and how much?

I'm sorry, but I can't help you any further until this has all been cleared up, and I highly suggest that you don't get any more guppies until we figure out the problem. Let me call in a few people who may be able to help....
Flowingfins BornThisWayBettas @ Anders247 @ @TexasDomer

 

If it's not cycled shouldn't I get ammonia readings from the pond since there are fish in it? I mean I guess the test kit could be a dud like I said before but if that's the case I paid a lot of money for it and I'm going to be rather miffed.
Yes I use declorinater I use tetra aquasafe.
No heater because like I said it's been getting up to 85 during the day and that's me checking it in the evenings when I get home so it could be a little higher than that in the middle of the day and I can't imagine that it gets lower than mid 70's during the night because it's so hot here at least right now and I do plan on adding a heater come fall if I don't bring them all in. Yes there's an air stone and I have a sponge filter in it but I know that's not a regular filter either.
I do feed them regular flake food once a day only enough for them to eat it all in a couple minutes, they also catch any mosquito larvae that are in there as well as picking at any algae that is there, I also feed them veggies twice a week that I put in in the morning and take out when I get home (peas, spinach, zucchini, and green beans are the veggies I've fed them).

 

If it's not cycled shouldn't I get ammonia readings from the pond since there are fish in it? I mean I guess the test kit could be a dud like I said before but if that's the case I paid a lot of money for it and I'm going to be rather miffed.
Yes I use declorinater I use tetra aquasafe.
No heater because like I said it's been getting up to 85 during the day and that's me checking it in the evenings when I get home so it could be a little higher than that in the middle of the day and I can't imagine that it gets lower than mid 70's during the night because it's so hot here at least right now and I do plan on adding a heater come fall if I don't bring them all in. Yes there's an air stone and I have a sponge filter in it but I know that's not a regular filter either.
I do feed them regular flake food once a day only enough for them to eat it all in a couple minutes, they also catch any mosquito larvae that are in there as well as picking at any algae that is there, I also feed them veggies twice a week that I put in in the morning and take out when I get home (peas, spinach, zucchini, and green beans are the veggies I've fed them).

Which test kit are you using? I highly recommend the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. Most other testing products are notoriously unreliable.

I haven't had issues with dropsy before, but I'm pretty sure that Flowingfins has worked with dropsy in guppies, so maybe she can help

 

I use the apI freshwater master test kit. I've always used that kind because it's more accurate than strips I just haven't had a tank or anything for 3 years or so so had to buy a new kit and I bought that when I first set the pond up

 

How much does it rain there?
if it rains there then you must protect them from rain water....

 

We've had kind of a wet year so far. It did rain quite a bit in June when I first set the pond up and then every couple weeks or so we seem to get a couple days of rain. The pond is on my porch which has a cover on it but I know most every time it rains the rain does get on the porch. Why do I need to protect it from the rain?

 

Due to acid rain.... It can ruin your whole pond....

 

Ah well don't I feel just a tad bit dumb lol! I should have been able to figure that one out on my own. Thank you

 

Well you are most welcome.... Mention not...