Water Params: Don't know till Monday when new strips arrive
Tank Size: 12 Gallon has been up and running since November 2006
Filter: Tetratec - Don't know the size, it came with the tank but without a box or anything.
Water change: 30% every week
Fish: 4 female guppies, 2 male guppies all around 1.5-2"
Water conditioners: Tap safe, Seachem- Stability
Food: Aquarian tropical fish flakes


I got these 6 fish two weeks ago today, and i only have two left. I don't know what's wrong. They were all looking fine.
The first female that died was a week ago, i often check on my fish with a torch from above cuz i find it's easier to spot things, this is the first time i'd done it with these. I noticed it look like she had grey cottony fibres all over her body and gills, after watchign her, i also found she was breathing heavy, not eating and was lethargic. I moved her to the hospital tank, whilst i did research to find what it could be but when i returned she had died. I think it could have been the last stages of velvet? (The other guppies had also started to rub against ornaments in the tank, after a big water change, and cleaning the ornments every day in boiling water this has now stopped)

After this i checked the other fish, all seemed fine except another female who seemed to have an injured fin on her side. As though she'd been nibbled or had caught it on something. The next day i checked again on her as she seemed a little lethargic, and i noticed that just after her dorsal fin, a little bit further down her tail it had become swollen and pineconed, but only on one side. I moved her raised the temp and added some salt. She seemed to perk up slightly, but the next morning i found she had died.

I checked the other fish. All seemed fine still.
That night i sat in my room with my mother watching the fish, and talking about what could be wrong. We went and ate tea, 45 minutes later we went in my room again to find a male guppy that was previously swimming around and flirting bent over in like a "V" shape, dead. (I've heard this is the shape that fish take after electrocution, but if that was so, wouldn't all the fish have been like this?)

This morning i noticed one of my females didn't look as healthy and lively. She was lethargic and breathing heavy. I checked her over, but found nothing that stood out. Nothing on her body, no frayed fins, no red gills, nothing. Just like the others. About two hours later she died.

Now i'm left with one male, and one female. I know that the male is going to be harrassing her, but i only have two lfs's one where i got these from, where i won't be going again, and the other only has male guppies in at the moment, and for the next few days.

Is there anything i can do now that will help the two that are left?
Anything at all?

Also.. If it is a bad batch of guppies, what can i say to the lfs i got them from, as at the moment, i want to say alot of things but i think it would not be appreciated but they charged alot for them fish as they were really pretty. Shouldn't they have known they weren't healthy? Should they have even been sold? I'm so annoyed!

Any replies will be appreciated greatly..

Doesn't matter.
They died.

i'm sorry to hear all your fish died that must have been hard for you. I'm wondering what type of filtration did you have and instead of strips to test the water I highly recommend the drop tests, a master kit has everything you need to test your water accurately and it's around $20 - $25. The strips aren't anywhere near as accurate as drop tests so that's why I would advise you buying a master kit instead.

Might get the drop tests next time then, already pre ordered the strips so they'll have to do for now. But they didn't come taday like expected. Hopefully tamorro.
Hmn.. My filter isn't tetratec, my heater is. My filter is rena filstar, i can't find a pic thats exactly like mine but, http://www.aqua-portal.de/images/r/2272g.jpg if you make that one longer, and take off the thing at the top, that sticky out bit..(was i spose ta have one of those?) then thats mine.. Yup.

Thanks for the reply, was jus hopin someone coulda helped me before i lost mah last two :'(