# Help My Guppies Keep Exploding?!



## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

I got like 40 glass-bellied guppies like two months ago. They've been eating and breeding a lot, lots of babies.

After about a month, one of them because very pregnant, then when she was about to give birth, her stomach exploded (she wasn't very pregnant) and she died. It wasn't dropsy, I know what that looks like.

I assumed it was egg lock, but then another one swelled up and its stomach exploded. Then another, then another...

They're all female, its always their stomach that swells and explodes. I don't see any evidence of any internal parasites. It doesn't happen to males. It had happened to females 1 month old to fully mature. Also, as they're dying, their tail sticks straight up and their face straight down, 100% vertical facing the substrate. Then they die after a few hours.

They keep exploding and I don't know what to do.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

A swim bladder malfunction would be the likely cause of the odd position. That can be caused by a number of things like a disease which causes it to fill with liquid or parasites which can puncture the bladder. 
Why only females? Something I've not had happen.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

By explode, you mean you found the abdomen eaten away?

What other fish do you keep with them. They are likely to scavenge the dead body.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

mistergreen said:


> By explode, you mean you found the abdomen eaten away?
> 
> What other fish do you keep with them. They are likely to scavenge the dead body.


I would definitely go along with this. By explode you mean you find the bodies with the stomach gone, that is just normal when other fish find the body. Much like the cattle mutilations you may have read about. The soft tissue goes first. 
Why only females might be due to stress from being chased by males? Check the setup for anything like that?


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Only females? 
Weird, genetics-related pregnancy complications?


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

I have essentially the same question as the others here: Are you finding the dead females with blown out abdomens after they've been dead for a while; even a few hours? Depending on what's sharing the tank, the immature fry would make a great snack for lots of fish that wouldn't have much trouble getting to them. 
If the fish are REALLY heavy, you could very well be seeing a run of fish being egg-bound to the point they perish and something else comes along a does what nature does best.


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## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

Did this happen during your feed them as much as you can to make them grow fast experiment you talked about in previous posts?


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## RoseTyler (Oct 27, 2014)

jrill said:


> Did this happen during your feed them as much as you can to make them grow fast experiment you talked about in previous posts?


Whattttt?


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## AshNeon93 (Jan 11, 2014)

Whenever I find dead fish their bellies are eaten out, have you actually seen one 'explode'?


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

Feed them 'til they explode... that's sadistically funny, like Violet in Willy Wonka.

Anyway, I've had two breeding females and the same thing happened to both of them, both on the same side (left) but both of them eventually healed with a dark spot where the injury was. I have no idea what caused it and I thought they'd die eventually but both survived.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Some info is missing here. I doubt a fish "explodes". Have you actually sat there and watched this? This is not the full story. I suspect what Bushkill said to be the case. 
These are glass bellied guppies? Never heard of them but that would make me think that their stomachs/intestines are see-through. Which also makes me think that other fish can see the developing fry inside the belly and could be picking at them. What other fish do you keep with the guppies? I believe that may be a problem. Isolate the pregnant females and this may stop.


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## Plakatz (Oct 25, 2014)

Over crowding & bacteria


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

I'm not sure a fish could actually manage to eat so much it would burst. I have a greedy little female betta who sure tries now and then, and she once got a whole lot of egg white because the other fish didn't think it was food. I put a bit in the tank and left, and when I came back, she was so full she literally couldn't fit any more food in her stomach. She would grab a piece, chew on it for a moment, and then have to spit it back out. I don't really think it's possible for a little fish to muster the jaw/throat force needed to cram food that tightly into itself.


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

Like slow explosion... Their stomach gets bigger and bigger, their tail points up and their face down, then their stomach ruptures.

There's only guppies of the same kind in the tank. More have died since I posted this, both females.

They're definitely not being overfed. With 40+ in the tank, some probably don't even get as much food as my other tanks do.

I don't see any parasites or anything though and it's only females so idk... And they aren't necessarily pregnant when they die.


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## Plakatz (Oct 25, 2014)

How many gallons in that tank?


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## Raith (Jun 27, 2014)

That sounds horrible, like from a Tremor movie or something. :[


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

Plakatz said:


> How many gallons in that tank?


They're small fish, like 1"... They're in a 10 gallon with lots of swimming room. It's not as packed as it sounds, I will upload a video to YouTube soon.

I don't want to get into one of those "You can't have that many fish in a 10 gallon, allegedly! Allegedly! That's ignorant!" fights. It wasn't intentional -- I ordered a "large scoop" from AquaBid and thought it'd be like 15 of various sizes. Keep in mind, like 10 of these 40 are actually full adults.

I know 40 full sized guppies is a lot for a 10 gallon. I don't believe this has anything to do with the issue I'm having.


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## Gavin Citrus (Aug 2, 2014)

How often and how much water do you change?

Do you test this tank?


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## Uraninite (Dec 20, 2014)

Well u can keep believing your own warped mind but I have read numerous of your post about how u haven't changed water in months in ur overstocked guppy tanks. Stop looking for other explanations and listen to the helpful people here. 
Maybe adding more will fix the problem like with your killifish aggression problem previously. Add more to fix any problem. Fish has columnar is, add more, fish has dropsy, add more. Sounds scientifically sound. Seriously, the way u neglect ur fish u shouldn't even have any. I feel bad for all of your pets, and any of your customers. Keep living in ur own world. I would ask for nitrate readings but I doubt u could distinguish the difference between 180 and 400.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Uraninite, yelling at somebody makes them less likely to listen, especially if you insult their intelligence. 
GGGGG, this person (though they need to rephrase that) has a point. Your tank is overstocked. If you can prove that you have no water quality issues and the fish aren't stressed, it's acceptable.
Something a lot of people don't think of is water quality issues where you have too little of something. In a tank with that many fish, trace elements will be used up very quickly. This means you need frequent water changes to replace the elements the fish need, even if the plants suck up all the nitrate. Perhaps try doing large water changes at least once a week, see if that helps. 
To be honest, I really do think you should sort out the guppies in that tank. You should probably either get a larger tank or get rid of some of the guppies. That'll probably help, even if we aren't quite sure what the problem is. Space and pristine water don't hurt anything, and they can help fish recover on their own.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

If I can offer a more politely phrased analogy than what Uraninite had to offer with his first post: I raise angels for the most part and I can assure you that I have tanks that are far more overstocked than what you describe. I mean by a mile, lol! But I can tell you that the maintenance routine in those tanks is intense, to say the least. Droppings are vacuumed daily and 50% water changes every other day. Mortality is zero and fish are only destined to be this crowded until they reach a certain size and they move on or they move out. So while it's certainly possible to have fish survive or even thrive in cramped quarters, it takes a lot of maintenance and there needs to be a plan in place for when even the best of maintenance won't keep up with metabolic wastes that fish produce. Also, don't underestimate what high nitrate levels do to a fish's ability to combat disease.


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## Uraninite (Dec 20, 2014)

A thorough review of of the OPs previous postings only reveal a history of diseased and dead fish related to poor maintainance and after other users "polite" or politically correct advice to only see that advice ignored and more choices made to the detriment of livestock led to the blunt comments made by myself. 
When someone continues to take the same actions and expect different results this can only be classified as insane as I always tell my spouse. Take from this what you will. I too have a heavily stocked tank but as the previous poster stated the maintance rituals are labor intensive. I could waste my time and paste numerous links to posts from the op on how they have highly overstocked tanks and haven't changed water in months but the fish seem fine. Last I checked exploding stomachs isn't "normal." Again, hate, call me rude, or discredit me if you will, but polite and nice advice has gone completely ignored in the past so perhaps a different approach is necessary to get thru to the op.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

If you've raised kids you try to take some positives from perceived negatives.

My kids are all in their 20's now, but I vividly remember being forced to watch Bambi more times than any human could possibly endure. But there was actually a simple line in that movie that's stuck with me ever since, and it was uttered by a very wise little rabbit:

If you don't got sumthin' good to say, don't say nuthin' at all.

Wise little rabbit.


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## Uraninite (Dec 20, 2014)

Here's another good saying. "If your not gonna listen to the advise of others don't ask for it"
Stop wasting the time of good people on here if ur just gonna dismiss everything they say and do whatever you want.
Btw, that is the movie my 4 year old goes to bed to. And I teach him to speak his mind and the truth. If someone takes offense to the truth then it that's their problem. I mean no insult, nothing I have stated is a lie or a stretch of the truth. Don't expect me to coddle someone who ignores the help given on a constant basis by experienced knowledgable individuals only to claim what they are doing is right. That's part of the problem with today's society. People can't handle the truth. That's not my problem.
Btw, I don't go around telling people the truth, their fat, their ugly, but if u ask, I don't lie. That's a lesson to teach kids.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

What are you feeding them? Might be constipation. Guppies can eat a lot of plant based foods. If you are feeding them any sort of dry food like flakes or pellets, I would cut that amount to 1/4 and make up the difference with cooked vegetables and freeze dried or frozen daphnia. The roughage can help. 
Lightly cooked so they do not turn to mush instantly in the tank. 
Very tender vegetables like spinach: Blanch or microwave just long enough for them to wilt. 
Slightly firmer like zucchini: Slice thin and blanch or microwave just long enough to turn almost clear, but still show a bit of white. 
Mid-range firm vegies like the inner core of broccoli: Boil for a few minutes, or microwave. 
Harder vegies like squash and pumpkin: bake. Boiling works, but it may turn to mush in the tank. Baking keeps the fibers intact better so it is not so messy.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

I hadn't thought of constipation. I've read of folks feeding peas and dosing Epsom Salt (it's a mild muscle relaxant) at a rate of 1 to 3 teaspoons per 5 gallons. Although it's a bit odd that he condition would occur in so many. I dunno.


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

I agree with what uraninite is saying. When u have trouble after trouble with your fish and tanks then it's time to research and rethink your methods.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I dunno, either, but in some fish constipation can cause swim bladder issues, too. Granted this is in balloon species, and fancy goldfish. That is, fish with distorted spines, so less internal room. Still, won't hurt anything to try that. Yes, peas are traditional for constipation, and adding Epsom salt is a good way to help them. 
I would improve the overall diet by including vegetables and other roughage daily.


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

I'd be interested to see if this" help needed "thread ends any differently then any others by the OP?
Too many problems NEVER resolved(properly),and a general lack and disregard in offering info regarding water quality.
It could be a genetic issue from their breeding process or rearing.
I would/will believe their certainly could be a bacterial/viral issue especially in such a small tank.
I breed and like others have said "I have overstocked more then my fair share of tanks"(got about 80 GBR in a 55g right now),but the necessary maintenance to pull this off is almost daily if not.
I HAVE 3 SIMPLE SUGGESTIONS;
1. CHANGE WATER
2. CHANGE WATER
3. CHANGE WATER
If that doesn't help you could always try a water change?
I don't want to choose sides(I'm here for the love of fish),
but you need to put a little effort in care and communications for these fish.
GOOD LUCK!


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## brooksie321 (Jul 19, 2014)

Coralbandit said:


> I'd be interested to see if this" help needed "thread ends any differently then any others by the OP?
> Too many problems NEVER resolved(properly),and a general lack and disregard in offering info regarding water quality.
> It could be a genetic issue from their breeding process or rearing.
> I would/will believe their certainly could be a bacterial/viral issue especially in such a small tank.
> ...


Couldn't agree more.. it's so simple.. just change your freaking water. what's so hard about that?? Wahhh I havnt changed water in 2 months and all my fish died. .wahhhhhhh....


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

They're still puffing up and dying. Some males too. From small fry to full adult.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Have you tried dealing with the overstock? 
I understand that you had the tank overstocked for a while. However, let me offer a comparison. 
Let's say you have a dog in a fenced-in yard, and suddenly the dog starts getting out all the time. There's a hole under the fence that's been there for years, and it's about dog-sized, and there's also spots where the fence is a couple inches shorter. If it was me, I'd block up the obvious dog-sized hole first and see if that works. 
The overstocking/crowding is our obvious dog-sized hole here. Take care of the obvious thing before you think about really obscure things and odd problems.
The first thing you need to do is separate out all the fish into tanks that are not overstocked. If you set up a Rubbermaid tub with a cycled filter, you can move them into there. Also, do very frequent water changes, keep the water as clean as possible. If this doesn't help, we'll have to consider other things, but I'm fairly sure it'll help.


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

Betta132 said:


> Have you tried dealing with the overstock?
> I understand that you had the tank overstocked for a while. However, let me offer a comparison.
> Let's say you have a dog in a fenced-in yard, and suddenly the dog starts getting out all the time. There's a hole under the fence that's been there for years, and it's about dog-sized, and there's also spots where the fence is a couple inches shorter. If it was me, I'd block up the obvious dog-sized hole first and see if that works.
> The overstocking/crowding is our obvious dog-sized hole here. Take care of the obvious thing before you think about really obscure things and odd problems.
> The first thing you need to do is separate out all the fish into tanks that are not overstocked. If you set up a Rubbermaid tub with a cycled filter, you can move them into there. Also, do very frequent water changes, keep the water as clean as possible. If this doesn't help, we'll have to consider other things, but I'm fairly sure it'll help.


It's not overstocked I promise you. There's maybe 20. They're very small guppies, the males are bigger than the females of this strain. They're like an inch or so.

I'll do water changes and stuff I guess. I like guppies so much but I'm just so bad at aquariums like omg. Everything I touch dies.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Could be something in your water. 
If you've posted about the dying things and been given advice about it, follow the advice. 
Do lots and lots of water changes. Don't guess that you might, do it.


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## skelley (Jul 18, 2011)

GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy said:


> I'll do water changes and stuff I guess. I like guppies so much but I'm just so bad at aquariums like omg. Everything I touch dies.


If keeping up with regular water changes is difficult, and everything you touch dies, then perhaps aquariums just aren't for you. They may not feel pain the way humans do, but they are still living creatures. I feel bad they they should die this way, especially after seeing the story about the man who spent hundreds on surgery for his goldfish.


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## Gavin Citrus (Aug 2, 2014)

GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy said:


> It's not overstocked I promise you. There's maybe 20. They're very small guppies, the males are bigger than the females of this strain. They're like an inch or so.
> 
> I'll do water changes and stuff I guess. I like guppies so much but I'm just so bad at aquariums like omg. Everything I touch dies.



Then humor people. Get the tank down to 6-10 guppies and see if the problem resolves.

If it doesn't then come to the board telling us your stocking density isn't the problem.

There is a nail in my garage, I'm sure it's to short to penetrate the tire deep enough to cause it to go flat though. However, my tire does keep going flat. I'll have to see about causes of my tire going flat, but definitely going to keep driving over the nail because I'm sure it's not the problem.


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

How many of the "original "40, that bred a lot do you have left in your 10g tank?
Have you changed any water?
How much?
How many times since this post was started.
You can overstock,but you got "put some skin in the game!".
No effort ,no gain.
There really is a lot more to fish keeping(properly) or an easily noticeable difference between fish keeping and fish having?


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## kittenfish (Feb 6, 2014)

The males are bigger than the females? That's strange, but I'm not familiar with this line of guppies. Are they supposed to be like that? If they're getting stunted somehow it could be their organs are outgrowing their bodies. I'm interested in seeing photos if you have any.


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

kittenfish said:


> The males are bigger than the females? That's strange, but I'm not familiar with this line of guppies. Are they supposed to be like that? If they're getting stunted somehow it could be their organs are outgrowing their bodies. I'm interested in seeing photos if you have any.


Probably they are. They're weird, they're glass-bellied.

I have a video that I made actually. I should upload it to YouTube.


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## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy said:


> I'll do water changes and stuff I guess. I like guppies so much but I'm just so bad at aquariums like omg. Everything I touch dies.


Sounds like my sister. Sharon is that you??? LOL


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

FatherLandDescendant said:


> Sounds like my sister. Sharon is that you??? LOL


:hihi: yup

but no


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## AGUILAR3 (Jun 22, 2013)

Guppies are some of the hardiest fish period!! There must be something in your water if you keep loosing fish left and right.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Actually, fancy guppies are often inbred and are usually much more fragile than just run-of-the-mill guppies. They do tend to be pretty hardy once established, but there are hardier fish.


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## BlackDiamondShrimp (Feb 2, 2011)

They will always be breeding(appearing pregnant), and yes they tend to fat up easily.


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## brooksie321 (Jul 19, 2014)

This thread seems to a sadistic brag or something?? Op has avoided.most all questions regarding parameters and maintenance..


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Does anybody remember the post I did about the cause of almost all accidents and tank crashes? This would seem to be a prime example of my theory!


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

PlantedRich said:


> Does anybody remember the post I did about the cause of almost all accidents and tank crashes? This would seem to be a prime example of my theory!


Touche' Seems both our posts on the issue are relevant.


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## Gavin Citrus (Aug 2, 2014)

brooksie321 said:


> This thread seems to a sadistic brag or something?? Op has avoided.most all questions regarding parameters and maintenance..


You picked the exact two right words... Sadistic Brag sounds exactly right!

My fish explode! Can anyone else say they can kill fish as unique as me?

Almost need to walk away from this thread as it's worse than beating a dead horse.


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## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

Best to walk away from all her threads. The op never listens and just keeps doing foolish things.


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

Can someone just lock or delete this thread? This is why I don't use this community more than once every few months.



Betta132 said:


> Actually, fancy guppies are often inbred and are usually much more fragile than just run-of-the-mill guppies. They do tend to be pretty hardy once established, but there are hardier fish.


These ones aren't inbred, as I expected. There's super long thread-fin females, and some of the males are purely orange instead of red lace snakeskin. I see tons of genetic variation, it's quite a healthy breeding population, which I'm happy about.

They have been hardy until recently. Maybe y'all've been right and it is my water. I'll do water changes much more often.

I guess I need to add quite a few more plants too since they ate them all... Maybe I'll get some today.



brooksie321 said:


> This thread seems to a sadistic brag or something?? Op has avoided.most all questions regarding parameters and maintenance..


I don't have test kits. To be honest I'm not looking to invest my life into this hobby. I have test kits for ammonia and what not -- it's all good. I cycled the tank like two months before I added these and made sure the ammonia didn't build up by doing frequent water changes. I did slow down on them because I got extremely busy/stressed and wasn't thinking about my tanks as much.

I don't see why it sounds like bragging. I was wondering if this is a known disease of some sort... It's weird and it doesn't make sense to me. I'm purposely avoiding comments that will get the discussion no further than, "OP is a fish killer, as proven by his posts 3 years ago!"



jrill said:


> Best to walk away from all her threads. The op never listens and just keeps doing foolish things.


*His

I'm purposely ignoring the "Oh my gosh, your tank is overstocked! I know your tank better than you do! You're purposely killing your fish because you're a psychopath! You never listen, ugh, I hate you!" posts... Is there a point in replying to those?


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

jrill said:


> Best to walk away from all her threads. The op never listens and just keeps doing foolish things.


 ^+1^
Nice ATTITUDE OP!
Enjoy your fish!


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

If this is not an overstock problem, then I have a few theories: 
Something bacterial?
Stunting? 
Toxin in the water? Ask your water plant.

By the way, describing your parameters as 'fine' isn't enough info. People need exacts.

If you can't solve the problem, you should probably give these away and not replace them. That or start buying bottled water for water changes.


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

Betta132 said:


> then I have a few theories:
> Something bacterial?
> Stunting?
> Toxin in the water? Ask your water plant.
> ...


 Op will defend themselves in 5 minutes but not respond to a water change question for weeks!

Do you really think their water supplier is to blame?
REALLY?


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

Betta132 said:


> If this is not an overstock problem, then I have a few theories:
> Something bacterial?
> Stunting?
> Toxin in the water? Ask your water plant.
> ...


You can't/shouldn't really do water changes with bottled water anyway.
Stunting- wouldn't/ shouldn't cause bloat

The focus here should be what are the actual symptoms?

Also a test kit is necessary. A must have as a fish owner with a new tank or a tank with issues.

Op said originally there was 40 guppies- now only 20. So the water quality should be getting better if it's an overstocking issue. 
Also I have had see through guppies and they are known to have occasional issues with prolapsed uterus.

There is a documented case at guppies.com from user Audrey if I remember correctly.


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

*If a moderator thinks it is a good idea, I would like this topic to be locked or deleted. It's not going to get anywhere.*



Coralbandit said:


> ^+1^
> Nice ATTITUDE OP!
> Enjoy your fish!


It's definitely better than a jerk who doesn't try to help at all, and instead insults the one asking for help...



Betta132 said:


> If this is not an overstock problem, then I have a few theories:
> Something bacterial?
> Stunting?
> Toxin in the water? Ask your water plant.
> ...


My tap water's TDS is less than 40.



Coralbandit said:


> Op will defend themselves in 5 minutes but not respond to a water change question for weeks!
> 
> Do you really think their water supplier is to blame?
> REALLY?


I didn't see it, or you were being a jerk about it, so I read it, took it into account and ignored you.



amcoffeegirl said:


> You can't/shouldn't really do water changes with bottled water anyway.
> Stunting- wouldn't/ shouldn't cause bloat
> 
> The focus here should be what are the actual symptoms?
> ...


It's not like they act any differently. They literally bloat, swim on as usual for a couple days with no other symptoms, then they quickly die. No scales sticking out like dropsy. No red gills, no heavy breathing, no other physical changes (and I can see inside of them -- literally nothing changes on the inside either...)

I had about 40 originally. Maybe half were actually adults. I'm just kinda looking at the number and guessing. I probably still have about the same amount, but maybe 5 adults have died and a couple medium sized ones. Many adults had babies, so I still have maybe 30-40?

But like, at one point I had maybe 50 guppies in a 5 gallon. How? 3 were adults, the rest were fry. It's not like my tank is full of 40 large adult guppies. As I've said, they're very small guppies, maybe an inch. The females are as small, or smaller, than the males. I really can't say the exact number, because they move too fast to count them.

The water quality was *never* bad. The tank cycled for about 2 months with plants and snails before I added the fish. When I added, I closely monitored ammonia and did water changes. Ammonia is 0, and today I did a pretty big water change. I've had them for like 4 months, at least. I still have most of them.

I don't think it's anything wrong with reproduction because it's females of all ages that have died. It was only one male that died.


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## brooksie321 (Jul 19, 2014)

I've got it!! The small ones are exploding?!?!? You're proving that stunting death can occur!! What do you feed them?


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

It's not like I'm an idiot with a tank full of pink gravel, plastic plants and 40 adult guppies. I know what I'm doing... Here's my old saltwater tanks so that you know I'm not just going around buying fish to kill them... https://www.youtube.com/user/Amphiprionic

So I'd appreciate it if people stopped talking to me like I'm an ignorant fool who's ignoring the advice of everyone. I'm reading every post. If I haven't responded, it's because what you've written was very aggressive and attacking and I felt that replying would only lead to a situation like this.

Hence why I do not frequent forums much anymore. Thank you to the people who are responding respectfully and trying to help. I'll get some pictures / video soon.

Bump:


brooksie321 said:


> I've got it!! The small ones are exploding?!?!? You're proving that stunting death can occur!! What do you feed them?


Spirulina flakes & some tiny little pellets for livebearers on rotation, plus blood worms rarely. I ran out though so I need to go buy more.

However I stopped feeding so heavily after I asked about how much I could feed for faster growth. Because I wasn't feeding as much, they ate all the plants in the tank. When I did a water change today, I added some more plants that they shouldn't be able to eat.

Could it maybe be something about eating the plants -- they just don't digest it well? They're like pond lily sort of things, with large thin leaves that float on the surface. I forget the genus but they're from Africa and they're bulb plants. They have roots and some small leaves left -- might be a seasonal thing since they aren't growing their huge leaves back.

It's not just the small ones dying. I recall two adult females, two medium sized females, and maybe 2 smaller females. Also, one adult male.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

I have another theory... it's a weird one, but there's a tiny chance it might work. 
I've heard of something people apparently do at greyhound races. You sabotage a greyhound by feeding it certain kinds of dry food and then giving it milk. The milk soaks into the food and makes it swell, and the dog gets all full and won't run.
Pellet food often expands when soaked. Is it possible that the pellets are expanding in the guppies' stomachs and doing this? I mean, if this kind is already prone to gut issues... 
Perhaps try feeding only frozen bloodworms for a little while and see if that helps? They won't expand like that, plus those are nutritious, and I don't think there's any reason you shouldn't feed just bloodworms for a couple of weeks. Maybe add in some other frozen foods.


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

OUT!
I am that jerk!With a thousand gallons and breeding GBR.
NO clue! I should mind my own business.
Good luck!
Not for you, but your fish.
They need it!
We all should have stopped posting after PlantedRich if we agree! 
I apologize.


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## Kntry (Dec 26, 2013)

I have no idea what other posts you've made so I'm responding to this situation.

I'm an Admin on a koi board. When someone posts an "I have sick fish" thread and they are repeatedly asked for certain things but the OP never gives the information, only their own idea of what's happening, I stop trying to help. If they have an answer for their problem, then they don't need my help. I put in a lot of my personal time trying to help others so it's very frustrating when a person is continually asked for information and they never produce it. 

There are certain items of information needed to help. Without that information, there is no starting place to form an opinion of what the problem is. Trying to diagnose an illness online, without actually seeing the setup is very difficult even with all the supplied information requested.

So with that being said, please post:

pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Alkalinity Kh
Hardness Gh
How often do you do water changes and how much
If you have gravel on the bottom, how often do you vacuum it
How often do you clean the filter
What type of filter do you have
Is there a heater in the tank and if so, what temp is the water

These are beginning items that are needed to help you. If you know the TDS in your tank, then you have a test that not many people have. You must know the importance of testing your water. If don't have these basic tests, you can get them very inexpensively through Amazon.

BTW, not doing water changes is like drinking and living in your toilet!


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Coralbandit, screaming at people tends to make them less likely to listen to you. 
GGGGG, pictures of the dead guppies could be helpful. Also, where did you get these? Can you contact the breeder and ask if they're encountering this issue?


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## Turningdoc (Apr 2, 2014)

Can Trolls use cameras?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

This thread is closed because so many people are behaving like children - OP included.

Trolling is not acceptable behavior here. Insulting other members is also a common sense no-no.

Please treat your fellow members with respect.


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