New to guppies - really struggling

[TetraMan]

I’m new to guppies as I just wanted a fun fish in my 7.5 gal planted tank with shrimp. I got a male and female pair from the Co op and after a couple days they started hiding in a cave.. I had people tell me to get a second female in the mix because they might be stressed.. so I did, but when I got back from the store I found both guppies dead with their tail fins ripped apart.. the next day I got another female and a male because the new (and alone) guppy seemed skittish and I figured company would help. And it did. Until a few days later she was randomly dead. 
 

I did multiple water tests and changes through this process and my parameters were always good. I cycled for 2 weeks with old media and My tank temp is 78 degrees. I currently have a male and female and don’t want them to kill eachother like the last pair. So I’m at the crossroads of deciding whether to rehome the guppies or just getting another female and hoping it works.

are these types of hiccups typical in guppies? If so I might keep trying, or am I seriously screwing up here? Should I separate the male and female? Thanks guys.

I attached an image of my tank( with the first pair) and of my newest trio of gups, the yellow female is the one that passed randomly.

[Larrimore]

I wish I could give you real insight; but, I'll say I've had similar issues with guppies in the past.  Suddenly, mine took off like crazy and now I have no problems.  No idea what I did differently? 

[FrozenFins]

I don't know what could be wrong.

But what I wanted to say is, that just because the fish is labeld a "beginner fish" doesn't mean everyone is going to have the best of luck with the fish. I know I don't have good luck with guppies. So don't feel down about this situation instead rise over the occasion and learn from all the other wonderful forum members that will help.

[Grubhead]

I struggled with guppies from the coop until I added crushed coral, crushed up cuttlefish bone at water changes, and got through a couple generations of babies. Now they do fine, but they didn't seem to like my water. It is quite soft out of the tap,

Good luck!

[quikv6]

Please define your "good" water parameters. A bit more detail here may highlight something, and in turn, can serve to help in the long run.

[TetraMan]

28 minutes ago, Grubhead said:

I struggled with guppies from the coop until I added crushed coral, crushed up cuttlefish bone at water changes, and got through a couple generations of babies. Now they do fine, but they didn't seem to like my water. It is quite soft out of the tap,

Good luck!

That makes sense, I added cuttlebone last night actually hoping it would help!

[TetraMan]

28 minutes ago, quikv6 said:

Please define your "good" water parameters. A bit more detail here may highlight something, and in turn, can serve to help in the long run.

I’ll have to recheck for more details after work, but I remember my nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia read zero. My water is kind of soft

[TetraMan]

37 minutes ago, James Black said:

I don't know what could be wrong.

But what I wanted to say is, that just because the fish is labeld a "beginner fish" doesn't mean everyone is going to have the best of luck with the fish. I know I don't have good luck with guppies. So don't feel down about this situation instead rise over the occasion and learn from all the other wonderful forum members that will help.

That makes me feel a lot better lol, I keep other fish without much issue and was like “why can’t I get ahold of these beginner fish”!

[FishObsessed]

My recommendation would also be to add crushed coral, seachem equilibrium, or a wonder shell.... anything to get the ph and water hardness in the level they like it. My tap water is soft and acidic and I know if I were to keep guppies I'd need to adjust the tap water so they could thrive. 

I can relate....I bought two and they both died.

 

[quikv6]

I have soft water too, and I had already started my livebearer tank (Mollies and Platys) before I realized it. Guppies are similar, and they definitely seem to prefer harder water. Check the buffering capacity/KH of your water as well. If it's very low, you will be susceptible to a PH crash.

Crushed coral is a good idea. I have that, and I also add a bit of baking soda when doing water changes. Please be careful with baking soda, as it is very easy to overdose, and send your PH skyrocketing rapidly. I actually did experiments in 5 gallon buckets to determine just how much a given amount increased PH/KH, to be able to dial it in safely.

 

Good luck! Don't give up!

[Will Billy]

Yeah that was my first thought is PH. Guppies like a higher PH. I believe somewhere around 7.4 just off the top of my head. Start with that, and if it is in fact a low PH, we can help you from there. 

[redmare]

I'm sorry your first guppy experience has been rough! I agree with adding crushed coral. Do you know your pH, GH, and KH? Also sorry if I missed it but is there anyone else in the tank with them?

[TetraMan]

Thanks guys! I’ll look into getting some crushed coral, I have some cuttlefish bone I’ll add ASAP, to answer some questions, my ph is pretty low (6.9) I have some Indian almond leaf I can add that I use for my betta tank. 
My GH is around 150 and kh is 80, I didn’t even really think to check those and focused on the nitrates and nitrites! I can add some crushed coral tomorrow, sounds like you guys think it’ll help!

[TetraMan]

1 hour ago, redmare said:

I'm sorry your first guppy experience has been rough! I agree with adding crushed coral. Do you know your pH, GH, and KH? Also sorry if I missed it but is there anyone else in the tank with them?

Thanks! My ph is around 6.9, gh is 150, and kh is around 80. I’m realizing now this seems pretty low for what guppies need, they like with some pretty happy cherry shrimp and pink ramshorns 

[FishyThoughts]

Your water parameters are fine for guppies, they can tolerate a wide range of parameters. And none of your parameters are drastically skewed to one extreme or another. To me it sounds more like stress problems. 
 

Are you taking the time to acclimate them? The bag of water might be on the cooler side by the time you get home with them, so could be a temperature shock if not acclimated. Are you starting a med cycle after adding them to the tank? 
To reduce stress you could also dim or shut off the tank light. Don’t do meds until they seem like their not stressed. Limit maintenance or anything with the tank for a few days. 
 

You can ask the store what their water parameters are to check against yours. 

Edited January 15, 2021 by FishyThoughts

[TetraMan]

38 minutes ago, FishyThoughts said:

Your water parameters are fine for guppies, they can tolerate a wide range of parameters. And none of your parameters are drastically skewed to one extreme or another. To me it sounds more like stress problems. 
 

Are you taking the time to acclimate them? The bag of water might be on the cooler side by the time you get home with them, so could be a temperature shock if not acclimated. Are you starting a med cycle after adding them to the tank? 
To reduce stress you could also dim or shut off the tank light. Don’t do meds until they seem like their not stressed. Limit maintenance or anything with the tank for a few days. 
 

You can ask the store what their water parameters are to check against yours. 

I typically dim the light let them float for about an hour then drip acclimate for about 30 minutes, but admittedly the most recent guppy that passed I didn’t drip acclimate since my gf was impatient, she did seem to develop stress after about a day or 2, becoming skittish. I did water change the day after she was introduced so that might have done something. She seemed better after adding more friends and wasn’t skittish, but I do think she was stressed out

My tank is on my “bar top” on my kitchen facing towards the livingroom, I was concerned this might be stressful for them, but the traffic isn’t super crazy

and I didn’t put any meds because honestly I’m still pretty new in the hobby and didn’t wanna accidentally nuke my tank lol, I did put an Indian almond leaf in there though because I heard it can help reduce stress naturally

[FishyThoughts]

The only other thing I could think might impact it is the location. Not necessarily due to traffic though. From my experience guppies don’t mind the traffic as much as some fish. But maybe something from the kitchen is getting into the tank through the air. Smoke, air fresheners and detergents are a couple possibilities.