HELP! I came home and my guppy was dead!

I have 3 male tequila sunrise guppy and 3 mixed female fancy guppies, 1 female betta, and 4 kuhli loaches! When I came home one day, one of my tequila sunrise guppies was dead! Is it because I need more female then male to balance it out? My female betta and kuhli loaches are pretty docile and keep to themselves, but my male guppies stalk my females all over the place! Would more fish help balance out who they pick on and ensure that they won't be aggressive or should I just remove my males?

 

you are suppose to have 1 male to at least 3 females but 5 would be better

 

Re: I think I'll be alright now!

Alright, I put the two remaining males in an isolation tank that I had for when I breed my guppies and left them there so they wouldn't bother the females before I get more females. I also noticed that one of my females had a glassy looking eye, probably damaged during a scrap with the dead fish. I put some Stress Zyme in the tank to help her heal from it last night. Today, I bought three more female so now it's 6 females to 2 males. Do you think they'll be alright now? Also, I bought 3 Danio, 1 Clown Loach, 1 Female Betta! They seem better now that the males have more females to pick on and it seems not so focused on just one. How can you tell if they're pregnant and not full of poop (wow, stupid question). I realize black dot on the stomach means she's pregnant and I think two of mine are, I'll try to get a picture of them and post it so someone can say. Also, when should I put them in isolation if they are?

 

Re: I think I'll be alright now!

I'm sorry to be blunt, but you need to stop buying fish. You just overstocked your tank again. Take the clown loach back. They get close to a foot long (granted it takes a long time) and prefer to be in groups. And if you already have a female betta in the tank, it's a bad idea to add a second. Female bettas may not be as aggressive as males, but they're still aggressive and putting just 2 females together, is asking for one of them to get killed (it's best to keep them in groups of about 5 or more). I would also return the danios because your tank is pretty much maxed/slightly overstocked out with the 8 guppies (about 14 gallons worth of fish) and the 4 kuhlis (about 10 gallons worth of fish).

You've also just opened your tank up for all kinds of diseases by introducing non-quarantined fish. In the future, it's best to quarantine any new fish for at least 3 - 4 weeks to make sure they're not going to bring any diseases to your tank.

And that Stress Zyme is a waste of money. It's not for healing anything. It's supposed to "instantly cycle" a tank by providing the beneficial bacteria, but it's not refrigerated so by the time the consumer gets it, all the bacteria is dead and doesn't do anything.

-Chelle

 

Re: I love how pet stores tell you this

My pet store is so retarded. I kept telling the guy how many fish I had in my tank at current and asked him if it'd be okay to put them all in at once, and of course he said yes. Then, he also didn't tell me how large clown loaches get....wow. I'm in Florida now, but when I return home, I'll make sure to return the clown loach. Two of my guppies died...which in the end would make it 4 kuhlis, 3 danio, 6 guppies....wow, I really wish pet stores would TELL me these things...thanks again for letting me know. I want all of my fishies to be happy and healthy. If I get a new tank and then add more, I'll make sure to quarentine them...however, how would I do this, would I just simply put them in another tank for a week or two?

 

Re: I love how pet stores tell you this

Just keep in mind that the primary goal of 99.9% of LFS's is to make money. If your fish get sick or die, you'll be back buying meds or more fish; giving them even more money. They also tend to hire high school or college students who have never kept fish in their life (and don't know the first thing about doing so) and are only working there to make a few bucks.

As for quarantine tanks, yes, it's just a separate tank that you can put new fish in for a few weeks to make sure they aren't sick. If they do end up being sick, then being in a quarantine tank will have kept your other fish from being exposed.
Here's an article:
http://www.flippersandfins.net/articelhospital.htm

-Chelle

 

say you have 4 females. you need 8 males