Melanie

Okay, I was watching my gorgeous guppies today as they swam and suddenly I noticed a commotion. The guppies were attacking something that looked like a long, brown worm. At first I thought that they'd discovered a piece of poo or something of that nature, but then I saw it moving by itself. It really was a worm! Gross-a-roo! It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Okay, anyhow, I got a net to scoop the worm out andflush it but couldn't find it. It is WAY too big for those fish to have eaten, but even though I swished about in the tank for a bit, I coudn't find it. What the heck is this? Where could it have come from?

I do not see an exposed bone, but he might still end up eaten by the other fish in the tank. I'll just let nature take its course.

I'm examining the ten guppy fry I have left after most of them died due to ammonia poisoning. Most are looking healthier by the day--their tails are unclamping, etc. I even added two new guppies to the mix to make sure they, too, didn't get sick. They're fine. The exception is there's one guppy fry that has no tail. He has a stump instead of a tail, like it was too damaged by the ammonia poisoning. He seems to swim okay with what he's got. He's eating. But is it cruel to let him swim around on a stump or should I put him out of his misery? Or, might he grow a new tail if left alone?

I sent you a PM for their contact info.

Awesome pics. I'll try harder tomorrow. I really need more females now, though, and I can't find anyone who has them.

Well, they wouldn't come any closer... I'll keep trying.

And two more IDs for you:

Mine got black first.

I tried and failed. He is very shy. The others are not shy.

Hmm, mine does have some black on him, just not on his body. This one looks like he's got it on his tail. I can try to photograph him for you...

I have one of those from boxers. Spitting image, only still developing. He's one I'm looking to trade, actually, so if you'd like him, he's yours. He was the one who was in the bad tank though, and I've put him back now.

This one isn't a leopard, though. I didn't pick him for colour; he was colourless when I bought him, and then I was quite disappointed when he turned out not to be a girl. I have a true yellow leopard that came from a fry that got into my bag from Boxers, and this certainly isn't it. What a weird guppy; I hope some of the surviving babies will look like him.

What's he got? I don't really have a place to quarantine any new fish. But some new guppies might cheer me up. I'm really, really down.

Nobody knows?

Lost about half of my little guys. :( I hope no more of them die.

Well, the bad news is I lost some fish. I think I lost more than the number of bodies I've scoped out and that the snail got to them, in fact. The good news is all involved are looking ga whole lot better. The male I placed back in the "big fish" tank seems to have fully recovered, and the little fish look like they, too, are beginning to unfurl their fins. I still feel really terrible and guilty about doing it though.

I have always treated my water. Not treating isn't the problem.

I saw the blues. They were not offered to me. And it looks like I've had my first death. I really wish I'd left all of the fish in the big tank now.

What kind of guppy is this one? It has a black body and yellow tail with green and red as well.

I wish I'd have grabbed some blues while I was there. I would really like some blue ones, but I was catching them really fast to make the bus and ended up with all red and yellow. And yes, I've been treating my water. Just wasn't familiar with the term "aging."

Fresh aged? How do I age it? I'd consider a red snakeskin for a blue (especially female) anytime you're ready, but it's probably a good idea til we wait to make sure this was just the water. I'd hate to be responsible for anyone else's tank getting messed up.

Well, I've now taken Blue and Kim's advice and seeded the filter, put some gravel from the old tank into the new, and done a 50 percent water change with waterfrom the old tank, so we'll see if that helps them. I guess it's just wait and watch for a while now, but everyone is looking significantly less stressed than this morning. I've also noticed that everyone's a hell of a lot more active when the filter is off than when it's on, but I reckon I need to keep it on.

I'm out of money for tanks. I spent good money on this new one and won't be able to afford another for a while. If you wanted to loan me a tank, it would be much appreciated.

Ok so I should stop worrying about "Guppy AIDS" and start worrying about the water. My partner didn't tell me about using "old" water and filter stuff until it was too late and I'd already put the fish in. He had a look at them and doesn't think disease either. The way I set up the tank was: I put the water, filter, heater, and a wee snail into it, left it for 24 hours, and then put some fish in because I felt I was reaching my critical point in the other tank in terms of the babies clouding the water and everyone looking really unhappy.

He was the first to get unhappy. It was as if he didn't want to be in with the "babies." I have too many males, though. Five males to three mature females. Everyone's looking less distressed now that the tank's cycled for a bit, but I'm still seeing a lot of clamped fins in my babies.