Reba,
Weighing the information you've provided there are 2 things I'd like to mention. 1st, those strip tests are known to be horribly inaccurate and are a waste of money. You'll want to get yourself a liquid test kit instead. Having accurate test results can mean the difference between life and death in an aquarium. API sells a good freshwater master kit that includes all of the needed tests for a reasonable price.
2nd, I'd like to ask you to really watch your tank closely for the next few days, especially after the lights go out for the night. Watch your "mild mannered" betta in regards to the guppies. Bettas, even those with mild personalities, are so well known for their aggression towards guppies because the fancy guppy tails, to them, represents another male betta, which means fight for territory. What you're describing doesn't sound like an illness as much as it sounds like aggression within the tank... the trick will be to find the culprit. Cardinals can also be quite nippy as well as danios, but my first guess would be your betta. All it would take is for a guppy to enter the betta's claimed territory and that would instigate a fight as the betta defends his chosen territory from what he will see as another male betta with flowing fins. When 2 male bettas fight they tend to shred each other's fins, which weakens their opponent by preventing it from swimming well. This would also explain why you're only losing 1 guppy at a time... whichever strays into betta territory at a given time.
Watch the tank from a bit of a distance so you don't distract the fish and can see what they are really doing when you're not looking. Let us know what you observe please?
Dawn
--- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com, "Reba" <reba_curtis@...> wrote:
>
> Thank you Dawn and Charles for replying. As Charles recommended, I changed 50% of the water. Also pored boiling water over all utensils and let them dry thoroughly. Responding now to more specific questions from Dawn.
>
> > Reba, can you tell us what other fish are in the tank with the guppies? Any other symptoms such as loss of color, loss of appetite, lessened activity level, etc.? Anything that might seem different or a bit off, however small or trivial it may seem to you, is important to note for us.
>
> REPLY: Other fish include 1 mild mannered Betta, 5 cardinals, 3 tetras, 3 danios, 2 corys and a pregnant sword I'm moving after she gives birth. No other loses except guppies. Guppy Illness is swift, healthy one day, weak the next, dead the next.
>
> > I am also wondering if you are getting all of your guppies from the same place?
>
> REPLY. Mostly, yes. But so are all the other fish that have no problem.
> >
> > Do you have test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH that you can post please?
>
> REPLY: Easy Strip results are all in safe range except Alkalinity (KH) which is low. But, I don't know what this is nor how to fix it.
>
> Can you get any clear photos of a guppy as soon as you notice a problem? A picture of the entire tank, too?
>
> REPLY: I had a guppy start dying when I wrote the first post and he was dead by the time you replied. I will try to get the next one, hopefully there won't be a next one. I added a photo album of photos of the tank and the fish in it and some of the currently healthy guppies. I think the album needs approval, but when it is approved, it is Reba's Guppy Tank.
> >
> Fish stores are not the place to go for that kind of advice. We can help you with that right here but we need much more info than has been provided thus far.
>
> REPLY: Thank you so much for this support.
> >
> > Do you have a quarantine tank? If not, you may want to invest in one before you purchase anymore guppies.
>
> REPLY: I had one but turned it into a guppy fry tank. I'd have to invest in another at this point.
>
> THANK YOU!
>
> Reba
> >
> > Dawn
> >
> > --- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com, "Reba" <reba_curtis@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi everyone. I have a 45 gallon community peaceful tank that has about 6 fancy male guppies along with other companions. Temp 78, 4 month old tank, all tests in normal range, change 10-20% water weekly. Use Water Conditioner, Stress Coat and Stress Xyme. I seem to have a problem keeping the fancy guppies alive. One by one, and only one at a time, they get ill and within days lose their entire tail into strings and then die. It is a fast procedure. I replace it with a new guppy and then another one does the same thing, and so on. I have lost and replaced about 5 or 6. All other fish are fine. What can be happening to my guppies. Are they sensitive to the chemicals or something? I wanted this tank to be mostly guppies but I can't seem to keep them alive. Is it tail rot? Frustrated and need help.
> > >
> > > Reba
> > >
> > > PS, the tank is planted with mostly live plants with an inch subtrate and then gravel on top of that. Water is clear. No smell. Separated a few and tried meds for fin rot but they died on the same schedule as if I hadn't.
> > >
> >
>
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