rahina Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 thanks for entering my topic I have bought six guppys yesterday, two males and four females. 8) they didn't seem inteerested in food today why? may be because of the change of the fish tank and how long can this last? how long can a fish stay without food? I greatly appreciate your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickle Pickle Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 They might just not be used to the type of food you feed them, fish can usually last several days with out food easy...as long as it does be come a habbit. What type of food are you feeding? How long has your tank been set up? nic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahina Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 thanks Nickle Pickle for ur help my tank has been set up for let's say five days before the fish arrival and I tried to feed them flakes and another time that kind of food that looks like small macaroni it is yellow and hard but softens when it is put in water should I try worms instead? dried or perhaps live ones? :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Make sure that any uneaten food is removed after half an hour as it will start decaying and give you an ammonia spike which can/will kill your fish. Your tank will not have cycled properly yet so do not add any more fish till it settles down properly. Have you live plants in the tank? If so guppies are quite happy to browse on them if they get hungry. Fish can go without feding for over a week, but that isn't a very good practice. But if you left it three days then feed them flake in a floating ring,(that is a small 50mm ring that stops food spreading all round the tanks surface), they should have overcome their shyness and environmental changes. Alan 104 Oh! Welcome to the site. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahina Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 thanks Alan you were so kind to answer me :lol: in fact I do have live plants but I never imagined that plants can keep them full I will watch them closely and post my observation as soon as possible 8) one more thing which part of the tank do guppys prefer? because when I turn the air pump some of them sink down other prefer to rest by the plants but when the air pump is off they raise to the surface of the water thanks a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keri Anne Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 My guppies go nuts over "Nutrafin Max" Livebearer Food. (Other fish quite like it too.) It's a mixture of flakes and broken up Tubifex worms. I wouldn't be too worried about the new fish... let them settle in and they should be fine. One thing that I would do though is add a little "Tonic Salt" the the water. Just use a 1/2 dose and they should be fine. Give it at least a week or 2 before adding more fish. Personally I'd do a water change (just 15%-25% of tank at most) every 3-4 days for a couple of weeks too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 What do you mean by you turn the pump off? Is this just blowing bubbles or attached to a filter? A filter must be kept running at all times, not turned on and off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keri Anne Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Oh, I didn't see that bit about the pump!!! Love, they're going to the surface because there is not enough oxygen in the water... Not good. Leave that pump on. You might want to do a bit of a look around here about tank cycles - constant water movement is a must or the "Good stuff" in your water will die. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahina Posted June 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 thanks for all those who posted replies I would like to make clear that I turn off the air pump when I feed the fish so that the food doesn't settle to the bottom of course the air pump is attached to a filter and another pipe making bubbles I only do this for 15 minutes daily when I feed the fish but I have noticed something new 1- one of the males prefers to hide in between the rocks at the bottom :roll: 2- one of the females is upside down I think it is dying . I have transferred it to a spare tank what should I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahina Posted June 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 One more question please? :bounce: Should I add salt to the water? If so how much salt should I add to a 16 gallon tank? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 Salt is not needed. I suspect your fish are suffering because the tank has not cycled. Do you have any test kits? You need to check your pH, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 in the meantime i would suggest a water change of around 30%. once youve got your levels you will know if you need to do more water changes. back when i first got into fish i didnt know about cycling but about a week later i found out and i did 30% water changes every 2 days to keep the levels down. it takes alot longer though because you are limiting the bacterias food supplys in order to keep the tank in liveable conditions. guppys are pretty hardy fish but you will need to do at least twice weekly water changes till things settle down. dont stress too much, most people dont know about cycling and the other 'stuff' when they start out, and at least youve come to get some help :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keri Anne Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 I would have to dissagree about the salt - I always add tonic salt to guppy tanks. Please note that tonic salt is not normal salt. I only half dose as that lets me have B/N's or scaleless fish such as clown loaches in there as well when needed. I've found that my guppies are a lot happier and healthier with Tonic salt in the water. I use tonic salt with all my livebeares and have had wonderful results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 The 'salt or not to salt' debate has gone on for years. As I said, it is not needed. You may certainly use it if you want but it is not needed. I am against adding anything to a tank unless necessary. Do a Google as there is a lot of interesting debate for both sides out there 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahina Posted June 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Hi All :fun: well I now want your whole opinion about the whole situation. As you know I am a new fish tank owner I have bought a tank, left the water for three days, added the gravel, the filter and the live plant and left it for three days extra then I added six guppies.; two males and four females this was last Tuesday. :good: the problem is they did not eat food, flakes and dried worms except Friday's morning. they ate finally . :hyper: one of my friends said that this might me because of the change of the tank and the fish might be feeding on the live plants. I saw one of the females doing so but what about the others? :look: On thursday one of the females died :-( . she made some hysterical moves before her death. I noticed something strange as well one of the males seemed shy and hid within the gravel. :unsure: was it because the other male was dominating and wanted the females for himself? Well! guess what? the other "bold" male died on Friday . I found him lying dead at the bottom although he seemed lively and suffered no problem since I bought him I have read about the nitrogen cycle. 8) I figured that my tank hasn't cycled yet although my plants seem great. they are not considered a symbol to show that the tank has cycled. :blink: now I have decided to buy no more fish before two weeks and do the tank maintenance regularly. I think it is very important to buy the test kit although it won't be easy to find it. Wish me luck and I highly welcome all your advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Hi & welcome! Everybody pretty much said it all! You've come to the right spot, you will gets lots of help here and make great friends! Don't ever be afraid to ask a question. Take care & have fun, Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahina Posted June 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2006 Today Saturday I found two more dead fish. only two females left :-? :-? :-? and I doubt one of them is pregnant. I did not take this nitrogen cycle seriously at first in fact five years ago when I had my first tank I knew nothing about it :roll: yet still I want change my plan I determined to have a healthy fish tank :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: so I will wait this time and be patient for the cycle to continue WISH ME LUCK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted June 17, 2006 Report Share Posted June 17, 2006 Good luck, Rahina! Hang in there and your tank will cycle! Sorry to hear about your latest losses though . MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahina Posted June 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 =18]One more important question which bothers me is that I learnt that I have to change the fish tank water totally every six months so this means that I have to leave the tankk fishless to do its nitrogen cycle :roll: and just add live plants and fish food and check the percentages daily then introduce the fish after the cycle is completed :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 There is no need to do a 100% water change every six months. Regular partial water changes are all that is needed. As you said, doing this could disrupt the cycle on your tank. MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Sorry about your fishy losses But hang in there, the people here will guide you and with their help and your determination...you'll have a great hobby! OH SHOOT...sorry about the 3 postings, had trouble when submitting, it wasn't doing anything, then froze on me, but apparently still posted :oops: :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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