New Guppy Owner HELP!

[tisticmom86]

I have a son with Autism that is OBSESSED with guppies. Hes only 6 so their care is maintained by me for now. I ran the tank for a solid week before introducing our fish. We got 6. I have 2 males and 4 females as recommended. I have a few live plants to help maintain the tank health and regularly check their water levels. Their tank it as a prime 80 degrees. I feed them once in the morning and once at night in small amounts (I use a "smidgen" measurement spoon which is 1/32 of a tsp) more than that and they wouldnt eat it all. I assess their eating time every other day as I am unsure if theyre done growing or not. And leave their light on for at least 8 hours a day no less than 6. That being said. I am almost 1000% sure 3 of them might be pregnant OR Im overfeeeding. However as I have only ever taken care of beta fish and some local caught fish through out my life I am in completely unfamiliar territory and honestly stuggle to tell which ones are male and which are female. I dont mind if they are pregnant I just dont really know what to do next. (Please be kind as I also have autism so I may ask questions that have a tendency to make others impatient)

 

[bgarthe]

Welcome to FL.

Sounds like you’re doing ok. The male guppies have a pointy sticklike fin under/behind their belly where the females have triangular fins behind/below their bellies. Google pics of guppy sexes so you can see what I am referring to. Since you asked, the best thing you could do is fill out the Emergency Template so we would know what your water is like along with diet and environmental factors. That way….when you have a particular ?, the data will enable FL patrons to give informed assistance.

Lastly……asking for help is always preferable to remaining in the dark, especially when caring for life. Ask away…..we had to learn all this stuff too. In fact, I’m still learning….

 

[ProudPapa]

I have a son with Autism that is OBSESSED with guppies. Hes only 6 so their care is maintained by me for now. I ran the tank for a solid week before introducing our fish. We got 6. I have 2 males and 4 females as recommended. I have a few live plants to help maintain the tank health and regularly check their water levels.

That's a good ratio of males to females, live plants are always good, and please post those water levels.

Their tank it as a prime 80 degrees.

They don't need it that warm. Back when I had guppies I didn't have heaters in the tanks in my house, and I'd leave the guppies outside in tubs until the night time temperatures approached the mid 50's (the shrimp stayed in them year-round).

I feed them once in the morning and once at night in small amounts (I use a "smidgen" measurement spoon which is 1/32 of a tsp) more than that and they wouldnt eat it all. I assess their eating time every other day as I am unsure if theyre done growing or not. And leave their light on for at least 8 hours a day no less than 6. That being said. I am almost 1000% sure 3 of them might be pregnant OR Im overfeeeding.

It sounds like you're doing everything right with feeding, but if life happens and you need to skip a feeding, or even several, the fish will be fine.

 

[Noroomforshoe]

Just somthing to add. Your going to have babies. If you dont put the pregnant females in a breader box the adults are going to eat many of the babies. Is your son gonna be ok with that? I have a neice and a nephew with autism and I was really worried how I was going to explain Fish deaths to them. So please have a plan!!
Back to fishes, The fry will need to eat 3-5 times a day for the fist month or so, then you can feed a little less. 3 times a day for another few months at least. Younger fish need food every day to grow and be strong, I feed my fish 2 times a day every day unless Im not home. crushed flakes or pellets should be fine for the fry. If the fish are in a breader box you need to be sure that there is no food build up!
Welcome to fishlore!

 

[tisticmom86]

I have a son with Autism that is OBSESSED with guppies. Hes only 6 so their care is maintained by me for now. I ran the tank for a solid week before introducing our fish. We got 6. I have 2 males and 4 females as recommended. I have a few live plants to help maintain the tank health and regularly check their water levels. Their tank it as a prime 80 degrees. I feed them once in the morning and once at night in small amounts (I use a "smidgen" measurement spoon which is 1/32 of a tsp) more than that and they wouldnt eat it all. I assess their eating time every other day as I am unsure if theyre done growing or not. And leave their light on for at least 8 hours a day no less than 6. That being said. I am almost 1000% sure 3 of them might be pregnant OR Im overfeeeding. However as I have only ever taken care of beta fish and some local caught fish through out my life I am in completely unfamiliar territory and honestly stuggle to tell which ones are male and which are female. I dont mind if they are pregnant I just dont really know what to do next. (Please be kind as I also have autism so I may ask questions that have a tendency to make others impatient)

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 10 gal
How long has the tank been running? 6 weeks
Does it have a filter? yes
Does it have a heater? yes
What is the water temperature? 77 degrees as suggested by where I purchased the fish
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 5 full grown guppies 1 male 4 femailes and one snail that came with the plants.

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? biweeklu
How much of the water do you change? 2.5 gal
What do you use to treat your water? api quick start and tetra easy balance
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? just the water

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? yes
What do you use to test the water? topfin 6 in 1 test strips
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 1
Nitrate: 25
pH:7.6
GH:
KH:

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 2 times daily
How much do you feed your fish? 1/16 tsp
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Omega one
Do you feed frozen? No
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? Rarely mysis shrimp

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 2 weeks
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? Week 2
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Pretty sure theyre pregnant
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? I had one male die unexpectedly everyone else is fine.

 

[DaveKS]

The big fat female with the internal dark spot above back end is pregnant.

 

[ckarta]

You do seem to have a lot of decor in the tank that will give some hiding spaces for the babies (which will surely be born at some point of time). Guppies are next to indestructible, so no worries there.

One thing to watch is the feeding frequency, guppies also graze on algae and decaying matter, so you can reduce feeding to once per day or even only 5 times a week gradually. That will help reduce waste + rotting food and will keep water parameters good. Nitrates 25 PPM is on the higher side, so dont miss water changes.

See if you can add a few easy to grow plants like guppy grass which will help keep water clean + hiding spaces for the fry.

 

[bgarthe]

Just curious……that nitrite reading of 1.0 really concerns me. Either a retest is an option or maybe investigate why nitrites much higher than 0 exist. If you retest and it is, in fact, 1.0, promptly do a 50% WC, add Prime, and a bacterial starter like Stability or FritzZyme 7 while reducing your feeding. Add the Prime dosage every two days and bottled bacteria daily until you momentarily pause the additions and get test results of 0 for nitrites.

 

[emeraldking]

And have some of those females already dropped some fry? When you posted these photos, those females were not due for sure. The gravid spot itself doesn't mean pregnancy. It's just a translucent part of the skin. When not pregnant you're able to see the internal guts of a female as being a darker spot. When pregnant, you'll see the development of the embryos better at that spot.