I have gone through 4 guppies in the past month and I cannot figure out what is wrong with my tank because my cories, neon tetras, and placo have been around for the past 7 months. My temp is about 75F, my ammonia 0, GH 30, KH 80-120, pH 7-7.5, NO2 and NO3 at 0. I am also adding stress coat as a water conditioner. I have been adding aglaefix due to some huge algea problems, but from what I've read, if algae is growing readily, your tank is probably in good health. OH! and I do water changes every 2 to 3 weeks and have live plants. I cannot figure out what is wrong with the setup. Does anybody have any ideas?
Dying Guppies. Help!
- Thread starter Baker91
- Start date
Get rid of the algaefix. It's why your guppies are dying.
Were the water parameters conducted before or after a water change?
Were the water parameters conducted before or after a water change?
They were checked before. And I have another question for you then. How should I go about keeping my algae at bay? It gets so out of control that it takes over the tank completely in about a week and it had started to kill my plants. The Algaefix fixed it, but is now killing my fix? Any way that I can keep both alive?
I agree 100% w/ Lupin. with 0's across the board your tank is likely uncycled as well. 0 nitrates is rare.. even for a heavily planted tank. Have you tested the water or had it tested for you? I would have it tested elsewhere from where your getting your test readings from. Test kits sometimes go bad, and sometimes are done improperly. the best way to check this is to simply have a test done somewhere else. once thats ruled out..
to control your algae.. what lighting are you useing on the tank? are you doseing fertilizers? how much and how often are you doing water changes? imo good old fashioned elbow grease is the best way to combat algae. more info can be given when some of these questions are answered.
to control your algae.. what lighting are you useing on the tank? are you doseing fertilizers? how much and how often are you doing water changes? imo good old fashioned elbow grease is the best way to combat algae. more info can be given when some of these questions are answered.
Here is some more info if that helps at all: its a 10 gallon with 2 cories, 10 neon tetras, 2 sunburst platties, a placo, and now no guppies. I forget the name of the plants, but they are fairly short and thin, kinda grassy looking. They only go a third to half the way up the tank. The plants are maybe 2 inches apart and cover the bottom of the tank. Reading these numbers I would thin that the tank might be a little overstocked, but the ammonia level is at big O so I think it is fine. I feed flakes twice a day at 8:30 and 20:30. Lights are on from 8:00 til 20:00. If there is anything else you guys want to know, please ask. And thank you for your help!
And as far as testing goes, I just got the API 5 in 1 test strips about 2 weeks ago. I know they aren't the most accurate, but I'm in college without a car so money is tight and getting to a pet store often is challenging. And another way to get rid of the algae would be cut back on light, but I have cut back to 6 hours before and it didn't help. The tank is by a window, but the blinds are closed all the time.
Algaefix is not a fix at all. You are treating the symptom (algae), not the problem (nitrates and light). According to your test, you have 0 nitrates. I don't believe that, considering almost all tap water has some level of nitrates in it.
Try leaving your light off when you are not looking at the tank, and increasing your frequency of water changes to weekly.
What lighting do you have on your tank, and what type of plants do you have?
Try leaving your light off when you are not looking at the tank, and increasing your frequency of water changes to weekly.
What lighting do you have on your tank, and what type of plants do you have?
I don't know if this affects the lack of nitrates, but since I have such a small tank, I can run all of my water through a brita filter before putting it in my tank and do. And I have lights for growing plants in (forgetting name). And as I said probably as you were typing out your post, I don't remember what the plants are called, but their leaves are probably 6 inches long and look like clumps of grass.
NItrates are generally the end result of a properly cycled tank.. with the stock you have.. I'll eat my sock if it's giveing an accurate reading. but you really need to find out the numbers... doing extra water changes won't hurt either until you can. also there are some plants that are not truely aquatic that are pawned off as aquatic.. genrally submergents that will do OK for awhile under water then start to rot. alot of grasses fall into this catagory.. I suggest googleing until you can ID it.
5 in 1 test strips ime are fairly accurate.. if they aren't bad. I'de take them with you to the LFS and have them test your water.. then ask them to test it with your strips.. then ask for a replacement.
5 in 1 test strips ime are fairly accurate.. if they aren't bad. I'de take them with you to the LFS and have them test your water.. then ask them to test it with your strips.. then ask for a replacement.
Brita filters do not filter nitrate out of drinking water. Their main function is to reduce the amount of carbonate hardness (lime), lead, copper and chlorine in drinking water.
Increase your water changes to 50% weekly, and keep the light off when you aren't around (or the minimum your plants can handle).
Try testing your water before putting it in the tank and see what the results are.
Increase your water changes to 50% weekly, and keep the light off when you aren't around (or the minimum your plants can handle).
Try testing your water before putting it in the tank and see what the results are.