Bill and Teds fishy journey

[amy11]

hi all ive just purchased 2 male guppies, as this is my first time keeping fish i thought id keep a journal.

Bill(clear greyish body with a red spot, electric blue/silver tail) and Ted(black body with yellow and black spotted tail). they seem to be jokers but Bill seems to be the boss in this scenario, i have no idea what their technical colours are so apologies.

ive had bad luck with fish dying due to bad water paramiters, but fingers crossed they are all ok now and im hoping to be fully cycled, i want an all guppy tank and am stocking slowly, if Bill and Ted are doing well by saturday then i plan to get them some girlfriends.

any one with guppy experience out there wanna share some advice?

[Shirleythebetta]

The only thing I can say about my guppy experience is that it hasn't been good. I don't know why but me and my father both have no luck with guppy's

[Tazman]

You need to get a test kit with ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. It is the only way to know if the water is safe for the fish and whether the cycle has completed.

Any ammonia or Nitrite present and it is bad news for the fish...in fact it will probably kill guppies quick.

[amy11]

yeah i know it isnt going to be easy but im going to try

[amy11]

tazman i have an API water test master kit all my peramiters are fine im just hoping they stay that way

[Tazman]

keep up with water changes (to reduce nitrates) and do not over feed the fish and they will be fine.

Any left over food is the cause of ammonia, excess nitrate build up and a decrease in water parameters.

[amy11]

should i expect my water peramiters to change?if so why?

[Tazman]

Fish poop and pee in the water and food is broken down into harmful compounds if not eaten.

If you over feed then these compounds become toxic to fish quickly. If you do not do water changes at least on a weekly basis then nutrients in the water which are needed to keep the bacteria colony happy are not replenished.

Water changes help reduce Nitrates which is the least dangerous of the 3 but still should be kept low.

Ammonia and Nitrite present in concentration is bad news for fish as it effects their health over time and can be fatal to smaller fish quick.

[Tazman]

If the cycle is not complete and the bacteria have not built up in sufficient quantity then once you add fish the bacteria need to multiply to handle the bioload (fish pop and pee).

This can lead to a build up of ammonia and nitrite if too many fish are added at once.

Go slow and let the good bacteria have a chance to build up and get stable before adding anymore fish.

[amy11]

yh thats why ive only got the 2 at the moment