# Sick Guppy and Betta....Red Spots...HELP!



## morris14ccm (Jun 25, 2011)

I have a guppy and female betta that are both sick. The betta has a small red area on both sides of it near the eyes. My guppy also has a small red area near its left eye. also, my guppy is more or less just floating around the tank and isnt swimming much. it seems like he's just letting the water from the filter push him around. i just got back from a vacation where they were in a 5 gallon with two other guppies. one of those guppies died this morning and the other seems normal. the tank has some algae in it and definitely needs to be cleaned. however, the sick guppy is now in my 10 gallon with the healthy guppy and the betta is alone in the 5 gallon.

please help thanks


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Do you have a water testing kit? 
How often do you change the water and how much? 
Was the tank cycled prior to putting the fish in?

Are the red spots actual dots or red areas? It sounds like it could be ammonia poisoning but you'll need to give us more info. first.


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## morris14ccm (Jun 25, 2011)

small red areas. the 5 gallon was probably 3 weeks into the cycling period. it also had quite a bit of algae in it. the 10 gallon was filled a week ago with water and i added safe start and a bacteria supplement.

ammonia in 10 gallon is at less than .02 ppm, according to a plastic meter in my tank.

ill get a pic of the red area on the guppy, it just died. ill be getting meds for the betta tomorrow if anyone has any idea what i should get.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

I wouldn't rely on anything for ammonia readings other than a good liquid test kit like API. Ammonia in small doses can still be lethal to fish along with nitrItes.

Do a big water change on both tanks. Then if you can't get a good test kit, bring a sample of the water from both tanks to a pet store and have them test it for you.


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## morris14ccm (Jun 25, 2011)

Romad said:


> I wouldn't rely on anything for ammonia readings other than a good liquid test kit like API. Ammonia in small doses can still be lethal to fish along with nitrItes.
> 
> Do a big water change on both tanks. Then if you can't get a good test kit, bring a sample of the water from both tanks to a pet store and have them test it for you.


do i really need to change the 10gal, i put the guppies in it like 5 hours ago and took out the dying one soon after i posted this thread.


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## morris14ccm (Jun 25, 2011)

also any idea why my surviving guppy wont stop swimming up and down in the corner of the 10 gallon it is now in? thanks


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

morris14ccm said:


> also any idea why my surviving guppy wont stop swimming up and down in the corner of the 10 gallon it is now in? thanks


 
the 10 gal is probably ok as far as fresh water for now but keep up with the water changes. if your fish aren't doing well the best thing you can do until you can diagnose what is wrong (and even after) is to keep the water as clean as possible.

as for your guppy swimming up and down, it's possible that he's stressed out and needs to calm down a bit. a lot of fish don't do well unless in groups. 

i had a pristella tetra in a hospital tank for a week and he did the same thing and also wouldn't eat. when he got back with his pack in the community tank he calmed right down.


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## morris14ccm (Jun 25, 2011)

ok, i was thinking about getting some glow light tetras, cory catfish, some shrimp, and some snails for both the 5 and 10 gallon tomorrow. should i avoid putting any of these together? right now the 10 has only a guppy and the 5 only a betta.


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## morris14ccm (Jun 25, 2011)

so i ended up getting 3 balloon belly mollies and 4 GloFish. Those 7 went into the 10 gallon. I also added wisteria or moneywort (couldn't tell which it is) and 2 mystery snails and 1 ghost shrimp. The guppy is about an inch, the GloFish are all about an inch and the 3 balloon bellies are like 1.5 inches. i plan on moving the balloon bellies into a 55 gallon or bigger tank when they get bigger.

My water is really soft and the alkalinity and pH are both low. pH is like 6.6. So I boiled a quahog shell and a mollusk shell i recently got and then put them into the tank. ill be checking the pH, softness, and alkalinity regularly and will remove the shells when they are at an ideal level.

Also, the 5 gallon tank is nearly established, so i was thinking of taking some of it's gravel and wrapping it in a coffee filter that i would then tie shut. would this help accelerate the cycling process on my 10 gallon tank. however, when i tested the 5gs water pH was 6.4 and the nitrites and nitrates were both at like 10 and there is green algae in the tank so i don't know if that's necessarily a good idea. any advice?


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## morris14ccm (Jun 25, 2011)

thanks for the help guys...

i had another guppy die, was about to give birth, but seemed to have same problem as the other guppy. 2 of my glofish died when i woke up day after getting them. anyways, i currently have 3 male balloon belly mollies, a ghost shrimp, 2 green glofish, and 2 mystery snails in the tank now.


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