Mystery Guppy Deaths

[JakesAquariums]

Hello,

I have recently set up a five-gallon aquarium with 5 guppies (2 males + 3 females). It has only been 13 days since adding the fish and 2 females and 1 male have died. I thought the first female death was due to stress from being picked on by the other fish because she was quite a bit smaller and the largest female was quite aggressive. The largest female died next, with almost no apparent symptoms leading up to the death. On the day that she died, she was struggling to swim correctly and was mostly on the bottom. I thought maybe it was due to constipation/a swim bladder issue, but she died very quickly. I did notice when I took her out of the tank that her vent was swollen and reddish, not sure what that could mean. Today, I had one of the males also experience difficulty swimming. I separated him from the tank and he died shortly after. There were no apparent symptoms yesterday. Also, the fish sometimes have black/dark eyes. I looked this up, and it said it could be due to stress or the fish showing aggression so not sure about that either. Lastly, with less fish in the tank; the male guppies have been picking on each other's tails more. Could it be a bacterial infection that killed him? 

Water parameters:

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrite: 0 ppm

Nitrate: 0 ppm

pH: 6.8-7.2

GH: 150-300 ppm

KH: 40 ppm

Temp: 71-72

 

Jacob

 

[JettsPapa]

Unfortunately, that's no uncommon for commercially raised guppies.  I assume you bought them from a chain pet store?  If yes, I'd suggest trying to get some from a hobbyist breeder, or a locally owned store that buys from local hobbyists.

[Colu]

If the vents swollen and red that could be caused by a parasitic infections possible camallanus worms what I would do is treat once a week for three weeks with expel p  just remember to blackout the tank during treatment as the active ingredient levamisole is light sensitive @JakesAquariums

[reefhugger]

On 9/8/2023 at 12:29 PM, JettsPapa said:

I assume you bought them from a chain pet store?

Can confirm the truth of this statement!  My husband wanted guppies so we tried two big box stores without success in finding health stock.  Since there aren't any local stores within a reasonable driving distance we ordered from an online seller I've had great success with, and now have a thriving population.  Albeit now separated into male and female tanks as they thrived a bit too well.