Second guppy suddenly died

[Ron Uni]

Hello everyone 

I'm looking for any ideas of what might be happening

Ph 7

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate .25

Kh 4

GH 8

Water Temp 79

I've had 2 guppies suddenly die and water parameters have been good, really confused.

 

 

[Colu]

How long have you had the fish have you added anything new to the tank 

[Griznatch]

Unless it as showing signs of distress or had an illness, it's possible it just passed due to bad genetics. Guppies being so popular don't always get bred for longevity, mostly to make them colorful because they sell better. I've heard of some only living 6 months to less than a year. On the other end of the spectrum you have some like mine who are almost bullet proof. I had one get sucked through my power head while doing  a water change... didn't phase him a bit.  -shrug-

[Ron Uni]

@colu

 they've been in the same aquarium for 3 months nothing changed except for feeding hikaru guppies food.

@Griznatch i hadn't thought of that.

There is another guppy that seems to have had his tail nipped at.

Not sure if he has something that's spreading to others or it's just a nipped tail.

 

[Colu]

That could the start of fin rot on your fish in bottom pic it could be bad genetics as @Griznatchhas suggest something else could be going on I would monitor then closely as random deaths can be caused internal bacterial infection or parasitic infection  

[Ron Uni]

@Colu they went through the  quarantine using  the 3 meds aquarium co op recommends. did it for 3 rounds with 2 week breaks in between. Had a female  guppy  die today too but she's in a different  tank and the parameters  are just as good, she was there for the last 6 weeks just finished  her quarantine. I use different tools for each  aquarium  I have.

They all come from the same breeder. Now I'm thinking  it might just be bad genes.

I'll keep an eye out and will be monitoring the  parameters every  3 days for now and feed once a day until  I can figure out what is going on.

[Torrey]

@Ron Uni is the breeder local?

If possible, find out what they do with their water, and if they breed for sturdiness or looks.

I stress the heck out of my fish before selecting breeders. I want sturdy, hardy fish that are smart enough/ fast enough to outwit predators and have longevity, as well. 

 

After stressing the heck out of a few generations (12 to 18 months worth of breeding, longer for fish that take 6 months or longer to mature) I select based on aesthetics. 

This method identifies potential issues (like the fainting gene in my short tailed zebra danio female), and allows at least 4 generations of comparisons to identify poor genetics. 

If the genetics are good, find out if the breeder uses salt in their tanks. Prophylactic salt / prophylactic meds for extended periods of time, breed resistant strains of bacteria. I have noticed this more frequently, as local (US) breeders have been trying to duplicate the success of overseas breeders who don't have access to as much desalinated water. 

The fins look like early finrot is what makes me wonder if you have perfect water parameters why would there be finrot after quarantine meds....

[Ron Uni]

@Torrey No the breeder is from Florida. I talked to my LFS and they really didnt have much information they could share. I'll see if I can find any good local breeders here in Houston. I've been in the hobby now for about a year and Guppies were the first fish outside of betta and goldfishes. Had some trouble with wild caught Cardinal Tetras but those are stable now and have replenished those. I hadnt have fish die in a good while and now this came all out of sudden. I will keep an eye on the guppies and have placed the quarantine the fish that seems to have fin rot. Debating if I should treat the whole tank he was in with the other guppies just in case if the other might of been exposed to the same bacteria.

@Colu has lots of medicine information and just seeing how I'll go about it. 

[Griznatch]

It's frustrating and sad to lose fish, but more so when there's no apparent reason.

I'm thinking the pond/tub guppy thing is good (when possible) for the reason @Torrey brought up, survival of the fittest. I've had some in a tub outside all summer. If those guppies were inside, I'd have probably over 100 by now. Out there I might have only 20 fry. Those are going to be some tough fish.

 

If you are up for it, I'd try getting them again from a different source. Once you get a sturdy line you'll soon be swimming in guppies (pun intended). If I could find willing victims... err recipients, I could probably populate the whole state of Idaho in a year with those colorful little buggers 🙂