About Christy Expertise I can answer some questions regarding freshwater fish ranging from their care to diagnosing common diseases or problems with the fish. I can also answer questions regarding the care and maintenance of an aquarium. I haven't had much luck with live plants, so can't help in that area very much. Not real good with explaining salt water or brackish set ups too well either. Also regarding goldfish, I have some comets, and have a little experience with them but mostly just general info on them. I AM NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH ANY OF THE FANCY VARIETIES OF GOLDFISH. YOU MIGHT BE BETTER DIRECTING THOSE QUERIES TO AN EXPERT MORE FAMILIAR WITH THEM. If I can't answer or don't know something, I'll let you know, so don't be upset if I reject your question, I'll always explain why. I would just rather not answer then give an answer I'm not confident about.
Experience All personal, first hand, general fishkeeping experience. I've had fresh water aquariums now for about 7 years. I've had tropical/community fish tanks, African cichlids, South American cichlids, brackish water puffer fish, and a lot of other varieties in between.
Education/Credentials None, all personal experience
Question I have a 10 gallon tank with a power filter, and biofilter. I do 20% water changes once a week and the tank has been running for 4 months. I get my water tested roughly once every three weeks at the pet store and i have been told that the levels are normal(I don't remember the exact readings, sorry) i have 6 neon tetras that are about and inch long. Recently I bought to 3 female guppies that were pregnant. Everything was fine until they had their babies. Once they gave birth they started to look sick one day and were dead the next. They would just hover at the top of the tank barely moving and i found them dead the next morning. Why are they dying. Is their anything special that i should be feeding the females besides tropical flakes.
Answer Hi Kels
First I would suggest getting your own test kit. Preferably the liquid dropper kind, it's more accurate then the dipstick kind. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrates, and ph are all you need. Make sure the ammonia and nitrites are at 0 ppm, nitrates you want under 20 ppm, and ph just check once in a while to make sure it's staying stable and not fluctuating.
Pet stores will say that a small amount of ammonia or nitrites is "fine", when in reality, small amounts are toxic to fish.
Regarding the guppies, either they were already sick before you bought them-though it is strange they all died right after dropping the fry.
The other possibility, is due to water quality combined with the stress of having the fry. 10 gallons is a good size tank, but not with several fish in it already, and then you add a bunch of fry to the tank. It's very easy to overstock, and the water quality will become poor quickly. Again, I would check those readings yourself and see where they're at.
Tropical flakes are fine for them, but all fish benefit from a varied diet as well. Switch it up once or twice during the week with other foods-frozen/freeze dried blood worms, frozen brine shrimp, shrimp pellets, spirulina flakes, etc.
