Guppies are a delight to watch when they swim peacefully all over the aquarium. However, if anything goes wrong in the tank, you will see your guppies dying one after another in no time. Guppies are generally healthy fish. However, if you observe that your guppies are dying one after another, then there could be several reasons why guppies die. But the question that we are going to answer today is, how do you stop your guppies from dying?
You can stop your guppies from dying by:
- Maintaining water quality,
- Feeding nutritious diet,
- Avoiding overfeeding,
- Avoiding overcrowding,
- Treating diseases,
- Maintaining the tank,
- Avoiding stress,
- Avoiding sudden temperature change,
- Cycling the tank, and
- Keeping compatible tank mates.
Let’s take a look at each of these ways in greater detail now.
1. Maintain Water Quality
The quality of the water is a crucial factor in determining the health of your guppies.
You should be diligent in maintaining the water quality of your aquarium.
Changing the water regularly ensures that toxins are removed from the aquarium water, which are harmful to your guppies’ well-being.
Water gets contaminated very easily and quickly due to the leftover food, waste excreted by the fish, or any dead plant or dead fish that is not removed immediately.
Besides, water also gets contaminated if you add tap water without using a de-chlorinator that eliminates the toxins and chlorine.
So, you should make a habit of partially changing the water once a week.
Also, you need to keep an eye on the salinity and pH level of the tank water.
The ideal pH range for guppies is between 6.8 and 7.6. This is the pH range that is found in their natural habitat.
You can use a water test kit to determine the water quality of your aquarium.
The water parameters should always be maintained for the optimum growth of your guppies.
Related Further Reading:
- Do Guppies Need A Filter? + How To Keep Guppies Without A Filter?
- Can Guppies Live In Cold Water? (What Happens If You Do That?)
2. Nutritious Diet
Diet plays a crucial role in determining the lifespan of any fish.
Feeding a well-balanced nutritious diet will help in increasing the life span of your guppies.
Guppies are omnivores with a good appetite. So, you can feed them both plant and meat-based food for their overall growth.
You can feed your guppies any commercially available fish food, frozen food, veggie pellets, finely chopped vegetables such as peas, lettuce, zucchini, and mustard greens.
Besides, you can occasionally feed them live food such as brine shrimp, micro worms, and daphnia.
Live food is rich in proteins and contains extra nutrients.
Related Further Reading:
- What Do Guppies Eat – The Ultimate Food Guide For Guppy Owners
- Do Guppies Eat Algae? + How Algae Affect Guppies?
3. Avoid Overfeeding
Guppies always look hungry and happily eat any food you offer them.
But they do not need food every now and then to thrive. Feeding them once a day is enough.
You should not overfeed your guppies as it is harmful to their growth. Overfeeding results in uneaten food.
The more you feed your guppies, the more they will poop, resulting in excess fish waste.
Moreover, overfeeding can also cause harm to the immune system of your guppies.
The leftover food, if not removed, results in toxic water. It contaminates the tank water and unbalances the water chemistry.
Toxic water is another big reason for the death of your guppies.
You can always minimize the effects of overfeeding by regular water changes.
But it is still better to prevent than to find ways to cure it.
4. Avoid Overcrowding
Guppies need ample space in the aquarium to swim. One guppy requires two gallons of water in the tank.
That means you can keep up to five guppies in a ten-gallon tank.
If your tank is overcrowded, your guppies will be cramped for space.
Also, overcrowding leads to lower oxygen levels in the aquarium water.
Your guppies can suffocate and die due to the lack of oxygen.
So, it would be best if you keep the guppies by taking tank size into consideration.
You should also control the population of guppies if you have a small tank so that all of them can live in harmony.
Related Further Reading:
- Do Guppies Need Oxygen? + Ways To Increase Oxygen Levels
- Can Guppies Live In A Pond? (Why, How, How Long, And Dangers)
5. Disease Treatment
The best way to battle against any disease is to prevent it.
However, just like humans, your guppies can fall sick.
You can control the ailment of your guppies by spotting the warning signs early.
You will find a change in their behavior if they are suffering from any illness.
You may find that your guppies are refusing to eat, finding it difficult to swim, sinking at the bottom of the tank, or finding a place to hide.
If you notice any signs of a disease, you should immediately start the treatment without any delay.
Often, you can save your guppy if the treatment is started early on.
Besides, you can take special care of your sick guppy by removing it from the main tank and shifting it to a separate tank.
This way, you can avoid the disease from spreading to other guppies in the aquarium.
Also, before adding any new fish or plant in the tank, you can always put them in a quarantine tank for about two weeks.
This will help you to treat them for any parasites.
You can also be extra careful while purchasing the guppy fish.
You can buy guppies from guppy breeders as their guppies are usually healthy and do not carry any diseases.
It is always better if you have beforehand knowledge about the common guppy diseases to treat your guppies without any delay.
Related Further Reading: Here’s Why Guppies Swim At The Top Of The Tank
6. Tank Maintenance
The habitat of your guppies is the tank where they reside.
So, it needs to be maintained. Otherwise, it will have adverse effects on your guppies’ health.
You can clean the dirty substrate of the tank once a month.
The filters should also be cleaned at least once or twice a month, depending on their size.
A dirty filter will not clean the water properly.
However, you should never wash your filter in tap water as it kills the beneficial bacteria.
Besides, every time you change the tank water, you can do some minor vacuuming.
This will help in reducing the ammonia and keeping the toxins away from the tank water.
While cleaning the tank, you should be careful not to drop any soap or washing detergent in the tank water.
Accidentally dropping such substances is very harmful to your guppies.
Related Further Reading:
- Can Guppies Live In A Bowl? (Why Bowls Are A Bad For Guppies)
- Can Guppies Live Alone? – Here Are Crucial Things To Consider
7. Avoid Stress
You may be surprised to know that just like humans, fish too become stressed. Stress is the primary reason for any fish to die.
Usually, guppies get stressed due to unfavorable habitat, low water quality, bullying, illness, or even loud noises.
Stress can lead to health issues in your guppies.
You can save your guppies from death by providing them favorable living conditions.
A stress-free guppy always lives a healthy and happy life.
8. Avoid Sudden Temperature Change
Any fish cannot tolerate rapid changes in the water temperature. Guppies are no different.
Guppies are tropical fish. The ideal temperature for guppies is 72°F to 82°F (22°C to 28°C).
If you suddenly make drastic changes in their water temperature, your guppies will get stressed.
So, you should avoid making sudden or extreme temperature changes.
If you want to change the temperature, it should be gradual so that your guppies will get time to acclimatize to the temperature change.
You can also make use of a heater to regulate the temperature.
Furthermore, you can place the tank away from anything that can affect its temperatures, such as sunny windows, heating vents, or cooling vents.
9. Tank Cycling
The tank needs to be cycled before adding any fish in it.
The presence of ammonia and nitrates in the tank water can prove fatal to your guppies.
Guppies need beneficial bacteria that break down and remove the waste from the water.
It takes around two weeks to cycle the tank.
In these two weeks, natural bacteria are formed in the water that balance out the impurities.
Ammonia levels should be as close to zero as possible in the aquarium water for your guppies to thrive.
A cycled tank is of utmost importance as it makes the water safe for your guppies to live.
10. Compatible Tank Mates
All aquarists like to keep a variety of fish so that their tank looks attractive. But not all fish get along with each other.
If you have a community tank, you need to be very careful before adding other fish species alongside your guppies.
The tank inhabitants should be suitable for one another.
Fish such as Barbs, Oscar, and African Cichlids are not suitable tankmates for your guppies.
You should also avoid keeping any aggressive fish with your guppies.
As guppies are peaceful fish, the other aggressive fish will start bullying your calm and silent guppies.
Related Further Reading:
- Can Guppies Live With Angelfish? (Crucial Facts + Compatibility Issues)
- Can Guppies Live With Mollies? (Similarities, Challenges & Adaptability)
- Can Guppies Live With Platies? (+ How To Keep Them Together)
Final Thoughts
It is heartbreaking for any fish owner to see the death of their little ones.
As mentioned above, there are various ways that can help you save your guppies from sudden death.
You need to take care and master these little ways to safeguard your guppies from untimely death.
