# Help! Guppy staying at surface of the tank!



## Sc0pe92

Hello everyone.

OK I am a new fish tank hobbyist so this is my first tank ever! . I have 2 guppies 6 tetras and 2 RCS My tank has been cycling for a month already so it is fairly a new tank.(12g fluval edge) I did a 30% water change this past weekend when I got the 2 guppies and 2 RCS at a local fish farm.

So when I got the 2 guppies they were swimming happily around the tank now recently ive seen this one guppy just floating at the surface of my tank. I just finished feeding them so he did eat normally but then when he finishes eating he will just go back up to the top of the tank barely swimming. He has been behaving like this for a day and half already. The other guppy and tetras seem to doing just fine. His fins are waving around and theres no signs of fin rot. 

I currently do not have a test kit so I am not able to give my water parameters. 

Sometimes I will find him at the corners of the tank also or behind the heater.

Is this normal guppy behavior? Is he stressed? What can this be?

It is the gold guppy.


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## Sajacobs

I'm fairly new to fish - a year with goldfish. So I'm sure the experts will be by.

When any fish gasps at the surface it's probably related to poor water quality and/or oxygen deprivation. 

If they are not acting right, do a 50% water change. It sounds like your tank has not been cycled. You might want to read about how to cycle your tank with fish. 

If the tank is not cycled ammonia will build up very quickly. I'm not sure about your stocking size but a small tank with lots of fish will get toxic quickly without the good bacteria in your set up.


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## leo1234

Mine does that also. Just them though i have shrimps and oto's my tank also and they seem to be ok. But they have always been doing that since i got them so i don't really know myself. I have good filtration and flow. If anything i think my oto's or shrimp's would die first than the guppies as they are more sensitive. But that is just my opinion.


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## ronnie6989

I been raising guppies for years now......ph is important and 1 teaspoon of salt per 10 gal is what I do....I use kosher salt (there is not additives in it). Stress is another thing..... Temperature is important also. Their alot of things, but on thing is that your fish is telling you something is not right....

Ronnie


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## dski13

I was recently in the same place as you. I was new to fishkeeping, bought 7 guppies and then many of them would start swimming at the surface and would eventually die. Does it look like it is swimming in place and breathing heavy? kind of like a shimmy? I eventually figured out that there were some skin/gill parasites infecting my tank. My water was also soft so that could have contributed to stress which made them more susceptible to the parasites. I ended up increasing the hardness of the water with seachem equilibrium and also treating with Prazi Pro. I have also started adding some salt but because of my plants I am going very slowly to find an acceptable concentration. Some of the guppies had babies before they died and I noticed the babies had pin tales. The pin tales and one guppy occasionally flashing against plants and rocks made me figure out a parasite was involved too. Not sure if you have a parasite like I did but maybe start by adding salt or adjusting your hardness if you have soft water. Good luck. I know what it feels like to be new and not knowing how to help your fish.


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## Sc0pe92

Well bad news this morning.

Woke up to a dead guppy at the bottom of the tank. 

SO what I did this morning was do a 50% water change I think he died because of high ammonia in the tank he I was watching him last night an he was only flapping 1 fin to swim around. Clamped fin? So I did do a 50% water change with API Stress Coat to remove the chlorine. I do have Seachem Discus Buffer to adjust the PH half a tea spoon is what my LFS recommended everytime I do a water change to treat the 12 gallons. 

So I have a few questions... 

Is this the right amount to treat the PH.

How many times should I be doing water changes to remove the ammonia. 

After this mornings water change my 6 tetras and 1 guppy now  seem to be doing just fine. 

Thanks for your help everyone!


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## devilduck

How long has the tank been running? Has your filter fully cycled?


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## Sc0pe92

devilduck said:


> How long has the tank been running? Has your filter fully cycled?


My tank has been running for about a month now


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