Can’t Keep Guppies Alive

[Nox Lion]

Hey all, I have about 5 nano community tanks, and haven’t lost a fish in over a year. I tried setting up a new tank for my roommate but we are down to 2 guppies left out of the 5 we bought last Friday. 
 

I use old filter media to cycle along with API Quick Start. Did daily water changes for the first three days and did the level 2 salt treatment listed on this website. This isn’t the first time I’ve lost guppies, as I lost some in an established tank due to me over medicating it. 
 

This time around, though, I can’t figure out what I did wrong. My best guess is I just got a bad batch of them, but I figured I’d post on here and see if I did anything wrong. 
 

Tank Size: 10 Gallon

pH: 7-7.2

gH/kH: 150/40

Temperature: fluctuates between 77-80 due to water changes and using a brand of heater I'm not used to. 
 

Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate: 0/0/10ppm

 

Any general tips or ideas as to why I can’t keep guppies alive?

[AllFishNoBrakes]

The only way I’ve been able to be successful with Guppies or Endlers is to get them to breed. Those fish born in your water should do pretty well. When that second generation starts breeding, and they have babies, those should be basically bulletproof. 
 

My water is lower pH, soft, with little to no buffer. The exact opposite of what Guppies want. 
 

It’s also entirely possible those Guppies were raised in Brackish water, so they’re having a hard time converting to freshwater. 
 

Also possible that the tank isn’t cycled. I know you used old filter media and Quick Start, but have you tested the tank? Parameters, including gH, kH, and pH could be really helpful to someone who is smarter than I am. 

[Tony s]

On 5/29/2024 at 4:35 PM, Nox Lion said:

but we are down to 2 guppies left out of the 5 we bought last Friday. 

If you're getting them from big box pet stores. chances are not very good at keeping them alive. I tried several times and just couldn't do it. I recently purchased some higher end guppies from an online retailer for my daughter, and the guppies are doing great. No losses and very active and playful. They even took the time to acclimate them to fresh water, so I didn't have to. So, I'm thinking it's not you, it's the source

[lefty o]

2 biggies, #1 store bought guppy's tend to be weak. #2 too warm 70-76 is better.

[Tony s]

On 5/29/2024 at 5:15 PM, lefty o said:

#2 too warm 70-76 is better

Agree. My supplier has them listed anywhere from 64 to 80. But who wants to live in the extremes🤣 Moderate temperatures would be better.

[Nox Lion]

On 5/29/2024 at 2:56 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

The only way I’ve been able to be successful with Guppies or Endlers is to get them to breed. Those fish born in your water should do pretty well. When that second generation starts breeding, and they have babies, those should be basically bulletproof. 
 

My water is lower pH, soft, with little to no buffer. The exact opposite of what Guppies want. 
 

It’s also entirely possible those Guppies were raised in Brackish water, so they’re having a hard time converting to freshwater. 
 

Also possible that the tank isn’t cycled. I know you used old filter media and Quick Start, but have you tested the tank? Parameters, including gH, kH, and pH could be really helpful to someone who is smarter than I am. 

I listed the parameters in the post..

[Nox Lion]

On 5/29/2024 at 3:02 PM, Tony s said:

If you're getting them from big box pet stores. chances are not very good at keeping them alive. I tried several times and just couldn't do it. I recently purchased some higher end guppies from an online retailer for my daughter, and the guppies are doing great. No losses and very active and playful. They even took the time to acclimate them to fresh water, so I didn't have to. So, I'm thinking it's not you, it's the source

I bought them from a local family owned store and have never lost a fish from them until now. I know guppies are overbred so that could be why. Maybe I will try a reputable online retailer like Flip Aquatics. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I obviously missed that. My bad. Just trying to be helpful. 
 

Hopefully you can figure it out. 

[Nox Lion]

On 5/29/2024 at 4:37 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I obviously missed that. My bad. Just trying to be helpful. 
 

Hopefully you can figure it out. 

No worries I appreciate the insight! 

On 5/29/2024 at 3:15 PM, lefty o said:

2 biggies, #1 store bought guppy's tend to be weak. #2 too warm 70-76 is better.

I’ve been keeping them warmer so they breed. Most YouTubers say that 78-80 is fine if you want them to breed quickly but it does shorten their life span, so maybe they were in cooler water at the store and that’s why they died? 

[GuppyLover123]

Hi! Could you tell me how old the tank is? New or old?

[Nox Lion]

On 5/29/2024 at 5:13 PM, GuppyLover123 said:

Hi! Could you tell me how old the tank is? New or old?

New, it’s a week old and ammonia has never spiked past 0.25ppm and I have been doing daily 70% water changes. 

Edited May 29 by Nox Lion

[GuppyLover123]

Ok, so I'm still a sort of new fish owner and am probably very very wrong, but you might want to look into New Tank Syndrome. Get others' opinions, but it's just my idea. 🙂 

[Tony s]

On 5/29/2024 at 6:37 PM, Nox Lion said:

I bought them from a local family owned store

Normally I'd say they should be fine. and you're doing big water changes so there shouldn't be excess ammonia. any temp swings? using dechlorinator? I used that site to source my guppies. excellent guppies

[Nox Lion]

On 5/29/2024 at 5:23 PM, GuppyLover123 said:

Ok, so I'm still a sort of new fish owner and am probably very very wrong, but you might want to look into New Tank Syndrome. Get others' opinions, but it's just my idea. 🙂 

I’m aware of new tank syndrome. I’ve added fish day 1 into a few tanks now with no issues using the method of bringing old filter media into the new tank to rapidly increase the cycle. 

[GuppyLover123]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:29 PM, Nox Lion said:

I’m aware of new tank syndrome. I’ve added fish day 1 into a few tanks now with no issues using the method of bringing old filter media into the new tank to rapidly increase the cycle. 

ok, just an idea 🙂 

[Nox Lion]

On 5/29/2024 at 5:26 PM, Tony s said:

Normally I'd say they should be fine. and you're doing big water changes so there shouldn't be excess ammonia. any temp swings? using dechlorinator? I used that site to source my guppies. excellent guppies

Not sure what would constitute a “swing”. I try to keep the tank at 78 but sometimes it swings to 80 for a couple hours. I use API stress coat after every water change. 

[Tony s]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:23 PM, GuppyLover123 said:

New Tank Syndrome

as long as they're actively monitoring and doing daily water changes, that shouldn't be an issue. It's just a fish-in cycle at this point. as long as the ammonia never get past 0.25 it's okay. 3 main ways to do cycles. fish-in, ghost feeding, or fishless. all of them work

On 5/29/2024 at 7:31 PM, Nox Lion said:

Not sure what would constitute a “swing”

usually more than 10 degrees colder or warmer. when doing massive changes, it's easy to get the temp off. causes undue stress.

[Tony s]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:29 PM, Nox Lion said:

I’ve added fish day 1 into a few tanks now with no issues using the method of bringing old filter media into the new tank to rapidly increase the cycle. 

@GuppyLover123 this method works really well for new tanks. take your old media, usually a sponge filter or cartridge and add it to the new tank. almost an instant cycle. I usually keep spare sponges running in old tanks for this. they are already seeded with bacteria, so you're basically transferring an active cycle. works well for quarantine tanks also

[Kunersbettas]

Must be due to overbreeding. I found that guppies are weak compared to other, less overbred species. I found that guppies easily bloat and always die when bloated. The appearance of a "pinecone" often occurs in pregnant females.

[Tony s]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:53 PM, Kunersbettas said:

Must be due to overbreeding

Could be. especially from big box stores. I wouldn't necessarily think that would be the case for local stores though. but only so many sources of guppies. unless they're bred locally

[lefty o]

On 5/29/2024 at 5:38 PM, Nox Lion said:

No worries I appreciate the insight! 

I’ve been keeping them warmer so they breed. Most YouTubers say that 78-80 is fine if you want them to breed quickly but it does shorten their life span, so maybe they were in cooler water at the store and that’s why they died? 

they breed great at 74. get some good stock in, and healthy for a while before thinking about breeding. if you keep a male and female guppy alive, they will breed, theyll do it at 68, 70, or 76, but they must remain alive to do so.

Edited May 30 by lefty o

[EricksonAquatics]

Is it possible the parameters from your local store were drastically different than yours? How did you acclimate them? Not saying this is the cause but it seems like you checked all the boxes so just trying to think outside the box.

[Nox Lion]

On 5/29/2024 at 8:31 PM, EricksonAquatics said:

Is it possible the parameters from your local store were drastically different than yours? How did you acclimate them? Not saying this is the cause but it seems like you checked all the boxes so just trying to think outside the box.

Yeah I think it’s likely the local store has the water a bit cooler. I’m chalking it up to bad luck with genetics/the batch of guppies they got in that week plus keeping them 79-80 when they weren’t used to it. Two are still alive and doing okay from what I can tell. Did another water change today. Lowering the temperature a bit and hoping for the best. 

[johnnyxxl]

A possible stress is the temperature of the water for the water change also.  I used to use a bucket for mine before I got this huge tank and now need to use a hygger syphon which means my water temperature is going to drop some 

[sumplkrum]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:53 PM, Kunersbettas said:

Must be due to overbreeding. I found that guppies are weak compared to other, less overbred species. I found that guppies easily bloat and always die when bloated. The appearance of a "pinecone" often occurs in pregnant females.

That's Dropsy. Could be caused by bacterial infection, parasite, or organ issues.
If you have multiple fish getting it, you might try treating them with some meds. One single fish could be organ problems, but multiple cases likely means something is going around.