Posted by redtwirldawg on March 18, 2003 at 15:11:26:
In Reply to: Re: Need more info please posted by stubd38 on March 17, 2003 at 08:07:57:
I have been buying the guppies at walmart. I know that may not be a good idea but I have never had a problem with the females from there. Our local fish store is remodeling and only got three shipments of freshwater fish in since Christmas. The scissortails and tetras have been in the tank since the beginning(dec.1st.) and I have had the catfish since the middle of Dec. They don't seem to mind the salt. The scissortails have doubled in size since I bought them. I now have a tank that I can isolate new fish in so I will get another male guppy and pick up the meds. Maybe all will go well this time if his tail gets torn after that then I have to choose between the mollies and the guppies I guess. Thanks for your help. Kim
:Actually, you need to remove live plants when treating a tank with any type of medicine. All I do is remove the plants and place them in a bowl of the aquarium water and place the bowl near a lighted window.
:Where have you been purchasing the male guppies from? Before treating the tank, you might want to consider changing the source for your fish and find a healthy, full tailed (meaning no nips, no ragged edges) male guppy from another source. Then keep the male isolated for at least a week to watch for any signs of illness. That way you can treat him alone, or he may not need treatment. Then add him to your main tank and see how it goes. If he then developes ragged tail, then assume it is the mollie or one of the others in the tank. Otherwise, if he remains healthy, assume any prior fish you had, were sick when you purchased them.
:The maintenance salt ratio should be 1 tablespoon for every five gallons, and should only be used for Mollies and Guppies. So, keep up with your measurements, but watch your Tetras and Scissor tails and catfish, as they may not tolerate the salt. And you are doing it correctly for water changes and evaporation of water, just add the amount evaporated without salt. When you isolate the male at purchase time, use the one tablespoon/gallon treatment while he is quarantined. (I have a three gallon set-up specifically for quarantine of new and sick fish.)
:When you purchase a new male guppy, pick up some Maracyn to have on hand should you notice anything going wrong, that way you have meds on hand and don't need to worry about running back to the store and can begin treatment immediately.
:Let us know how it goes.
:Debra
:
::Will the medicine that you recommended be ok for a planted tank? My last male guppy died and none of the females seem to have any problems even though they have long tails also. Do you think the male molly is the problem he seems to be very agressive but it is usually just with the female mollies. I have 1/4 teaspoon salt to each 5 gallons in the tank now. I put it in when I set up the tank and add it back in each week for water replaced that I vacuem out. I don't add when replacing evaporated water. After reading all of the posts I don't know if I should add water or not but every body seems very happy in the tank but the male guppies.
::The amonnia and nitrite levels are at zero and I take out about 20-25% of the water each week as I clean the gravel.
::I am almost afraid to buy another male but I really love the fancy guppy and all of the different color combos. Thanks for any suggestions. Kim
