# Guppy Help !!



## hamsup (May 23, 2012)

I have a 12 gallon tank with 5 guppies and 2 plecos. The plecos have always done well but i find my guppies die from time to time (and i've replaced them as they belly up..LOL)

Anyways... my alpha male recently got sick. He spent alot of time at the very top of my fluval edge (right at the opening) as if he needed more oxygen. This lasted 1.5 days and now he sits at the bottom of the tank in the corner. He is barely swimming and yesterday night I noticed a wool like strange on his belly. The power of google.. a 25 minutes later... I think he has columnaris.

Question: is aquarium salt the same as windsor kosher salt ??? How do i add it to my aquarium? 12 gallon tank.. do i just add 2 tablespoons directly in the tank ??? the sick fish is already at the bottom of the tank... (Will my plecos be ok with salt???)


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## sarcastickitten (May 26, 2012)

I am not sure if the salt is the same, but I find that all freshwater fish like a little salt in the water... I have treated all my tanks with some aquarium salt and all 4 of my plecos are perfectly okay  

sorry I couldn't help with the salt type question, but my plecos actually swim through the salt when I put some in the tank lol. I only put a teaspoon in my 22 gal tank, but I wasn't treating my guppies...

hope that helps a bit...


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## diavids (May 10, 2010)

Hello, I'm not an expert about fish problems. But what jumped out at me regarding your setup is that you have two pleco's in a 12 gal tank. From what i have read, the min size tank for the smaller pleco's ie: clown pleco, is one in a 20 gal. Its not so much size of the smaller plecos but that they produce a large amount of waste and that could be what is making your guppies get sick and die. When i was a kid keeping guppies they were super hardy fish but now, not so much. I have a 30 gal hex that i have guppies in and i have deaths every now and then but since they bred i don't worry about the deaths. I would also love to know, how good of a filter you have and how often you do water changers. Also have you checked the water quality as that could be what is making your guppies sickly. 

I don't know too much about using salt with fish but i do know, Pleco's do not handle salt well at all, so problity not a good idea to add salt to the tank while you have the pleco's. If you have the larger common pleco's, please rehome asap. If you have the smaller types, i still think a 12 gal tank is too small for even one. Sorry i can't be more help for you.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Hello. test your water. and guppies need harder water. i have 2 bnp in a 20g with guppies. i use 1 tlbs of salt, and equilibrium to harden the water. and kosher salt is fine to use. Cheers


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

did not know that kosher was legit to use, good tips, now is the dosing the same?


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

macframalama said:


> did not know that kosher was legit to use, good tips, now is the dosing the same?


From what i know it is the same. that is what i was told and i use it that way. Cheers


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Any salt that is pure NaCl (with no additives) and not ionized is 100% safe for use on aquarium fish. Do NOT put it in directly, dissolve it in water outside the tank and then pour the salt water mixture into the tank. Water parameters would be nice, also what kind of pleco is this? We are going blind without water parameters and by the sounds of it it is a recurring problem which means somethings not right with your water/setup.


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## hamsup (May 23, 2012)

My PH is about 7.0 or so. Not sure about the other readings as the LPS said all i need is a PH tester.

12 gallon fluval edge so i am using the filter that came with the tank. 

5 fancy guppies
1 yellow bristle nose pleco (i think it is L144) 
1 common (Hypostomus) pleco 

The pet store actually said it was fine for a tank my size. OH NO....... i love my yellow bristle nose.. probably my favourite pleco and it hasnt grown much since i bought it a month ago. If my tank is too small for both plecos.. i'd definately sell my common one.


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Local pet store local pet store    When will they stop giving bad advice...

You should get nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia test kits. Or you could go to a LFS to get your water for free usually. It sounds to me like nitrite poisining to me (from the gasping at the surface).

Get rid of the common pleco NOW. Those things grow huge...up to 24" and are big waste producers. All this while not being great at what they do and aggressive at that.
I would think for now the BNP will be fine for now, they do grow to 6" though so I don't think a 12 gallon will be comfortable for it for life.
Is your tank cycled?


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## hamsup (May 23, 2012)

The tank came with fishless cycle chemicals which i followed the instructions on. Only after buying fish did I do more research online to find out that i should have waited a much longer time before adding fish. 

You are absolutely correct about LPS. They just told me a bunch of useless information and I wasn't even cheap about anything. I told them i want the fish to be happy and to have a good long life (if possible). they recommended me these fish and said they are perfect for my 12 gallon edge. 

I'll try to find a good home for the pleco.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nothing beats tank maintenance for cleanup. Is the Edge planted? If not, don't even bother with algae eater. Just keep the light on when you want to view the fish. Do 50% water changes with warm dechlorinated water (close to the temp of the tank, using dechlorinator, or aged are both fine) as least once a week, and now that you're having a problem, every other day.

Get some test kits: pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Figure out what's going on in your tank while lightening the bioload and doing more maintenance. That'll keep your fish alive more so than doing any time of research. While you're doing that, you can then read on here and other forums to figure out how to best care for your fish.


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## hamsup (May 23, 2012)

Will 50% water changes every other day be bad for the fish? I usually use prime to dechlorinize the water anyways. (should i also add salt to the water???)

My edge is not planted. It has one rock ornament and a large piece of driftwood for the plecos to munch on.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

If the water has no chlorine and the temperature is close, there's no problem. I change 75% of the water in my 100 gallon discus tank 4 times a week. Adding salt or not is up to you. I personally don't but mostly because I have plants in all my tanks. Prime detoxifies ammonia so you should be ok there.

If your tank is not planted then you don't need any algae eaters. Just keep the light off when you're not viewing it. Ambient lighting from the room is fine for the fish.


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## hamsup (May 23, 2012)

GREAT NEWS... well sort of. i found out my pleco is a spotted one... not a common.. (as per a friend's msg just now..) lol


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

There are probably 100+ varieties of spotted plecos. My L97 is spotted and it's going to be a foot long when fully grown. The whole stigma with commons is that they grow fast and are farm raised. That's why they are "common". The other big guys are slower growers and difficult to spawn and so "rare". A pic would speak a thousand words here.


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