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shimmying guppy | 13 comments (13 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

thanx us (none / 0) (#2)
by red illuzion on Fri Dec 26, 2003 at 06:16:37 PM PST

btw, whats "TLC"??? i will up the temp a couple degrees, its at 77 right now, so i'll up it to 79, i'll do another small water change, she doesn't seem interested in flakes much, or beef heart, she did eat some tubifex, i might go to the LFS and get some live b.s. she seems a little better than the first day, since she was going all crazy, now she seems a bit more relaxed but still shimmying, thanx again.

77 is probably ok. TLC is a highly technical (none / 0) (#3)
by unclescott on Fri Dec 26, 2003 at 06:22:55 PM PST

term - tender loving care. ;)

[ Parent ]

shimmying female (none / 0) (#4)
by guppygirl on Fri Dec 26, 2003 at 09:34:59 PM PST

It may have been a hard delivery for her.

I would get those brine shrimp for her, and 79 is a good temperature if she was shimmying at 77.

If she's not eating well again by now, she can use up her remaining energy quickly trying to stay warm.

By increasing the temp a few degrees she will retain more energy which she can then use eating.

Good Luck, and keep us posted!!!
gg
:-)

[ Parent ]

Would a fish shiver to stay warm? :) (none / 0) (#5)
by unclescott on Fri Dec 26, 2003 at 11:22:53 PM PST

Tuna are one of the few fishes who seem to generate much body heat. The others must either swim to warmer or cooler waters or make do with the temperatures their water gives them.

That is why leaving the window open when a cold wave hits town or the failure of a furnace can be so disastrous for tropical fishes. Even Temperate Zone fishes don't do well with abrupt temperature changes. Their native waters usually change much more slowly than the air does.

This, by the way, is also why feeding any meat from warm-blooded animals is fraught with peril if fats are in the food mix. I'm not sure at what temperature various mammal or bird fats coagulate, but you can imagine what happens to a fish if they can't move that stuff through their digestive systems. :(

[ Parent ]

It could just be me, us.... (none / 0) (#6)
by guppygirl on Sat Dec 27, 2003 at 01:41:09 PM PST

but, I've had a fish shimmy before, and nothing seemed to have been a direct cause of it.

I've found that raising the temperature a few degrees did help. (Maybe my TLC thinking)

Since they can't move to warmer water in an aquarium, I brought the warmer water to them, so to speak.

As far as abrupt temperature changes go, the peril lies in an abrupt lowering of it. I've never found a gradual 2 degree increase to cause any type of calamity.

As far as the fat theory goes, any fat will coagulate at a certain temperature. What you need to be aware of is, what the temperature of the consumers digestive system is at, will determine if it is digestible.

For instance, take butter, at room temperature it is a solid. If your digestive system ran at room temperature,you would have trouble digesting it, even if it had been changed to a liquid state before consumption. (It would only recoagulate in your system) Luckily, our digestive systems are usually around 98.6 degrees, so no problemo.

So since fish are cold blooded, their surrounding temperature will equal their internal temperature.

So, by increasing their surrounding temperature, you are increasing their ability to digest more protein, and possible fats. Right?

It might just be me, but a warmer temp and better food seems to work.

I think of it as giving them a blankie, and some chicken soup.

gg
:-)

[ Parent ]

...blankie, and some chicken soup.... :) (none / 0) (#7)
by unclescott on Sat Dec 27, 2003 at 04:40:22 PM PST

During power outages people have put blankets over tanks. If the outage isn't too long, those seem to have helped. :)

A couple of years ago when Eastern Canada and the NE US (upper NY too?) had those awful power outages, a Montreal paper published a beautiful black and white photo of a 55 gallon discus tank. Unfortunately it was frozen solid! :(

Gary Elson, who writes a column for TFH, separately bagged his killies, packed them in a styro and left the box in a corner of his workplace (where a generator kept the furnace going). A couple of weeks later he brought them home and started over!

Even the Chicago killie group sent a care package of fish up to the Montreal A.S. afterwards. Can you imagine being frozen out!
*****

The chicken soup, oil slicks not-with-standing, is still made from an endotherm. Probably need an exotherm soup of daphnia or fish. Save the chicken soup for your hub. and kids and supermom who always has to look after all the other casualties. ;)

I can't believe as a kid (oh, up to about 23) that I actually used to shave dry white turkey meat and toss it in with the guppies. You are probably right about the couple of extra degrees from the aquarium heater (and the lean meat) being the only reasons the guppies made it!

That goes on the list of really unfortunate (a.k.a. dumb) things hobbyists have done, should a hall of shame ever be compiled.

[ Parent ]

thanx us and gg (none / 0) (#8)
by red illuzion on Sat Dec 27, 2003 at 09:16:13 PM PST

unfortunately she couldn't take it any more, she past away while asleep last night, very sad, thanx for the help though, ;(

[ Parent ]

I'm sorry been away... (none / 0) (#10)
by Angelee on Sun Dec 28, 2003 at 10:44:38 PM PST

Caught your story too late or I would have tried to help as well. Perhaps, the birth was just too much for her. I have heard of that happening. I hate that. I'm one who cries when one of my fish pass away. (I know corny, corny. I'm just an old softie at heart.)
"The Rocky Mountain Gupster" ANGELEE
[ Parent ]

I'm sorry Red, (none / 0) (#9)
by guppygirl on Sun Dec 28, 2003 at 12:54:07 PM PST

Sometimes it's just nature's way, but lately I've read a lot of posts from people who have lost their females after giving birth.

I lost my original female the same way.

I wonder if I can find something one can do that could help prevent this?

I'll post anything I find out.

Oh, BTW uncle scott, I did have blankets wrapped around my 40 gal. fish tank during one of those storms.
Luckily, I had a gas water heater as well, so I could add some warm water as well,(when we had some).
All of our family members came over to our house to take a hot shower and feel clean and human again.

gg
:-)

[ Parent ]

thanx (none / 0) (#11)
by red illuzion on Tue Dec 30, 2003 at 04:36:11 PM PST

ange and gg, i've had my share of tears on some of my guppies, expecially the one's born in my tanks, the ones from stores, i don't know there age and diseases they might have, but when i buy them, i know they have a better chance at home. rainy was probably a year or older since i bought her at the lfs, and she was bigger than my oldest guppies born in my tanks. if you find anything let me know gg, i would love to avoid this if possible.

[ Parent ]

If your rainy was as old as you suggest, she may (none / 0) (#12)
by unclescott on Tue Dec 30, 2003 at 05:34:32 PM PST

just have died of the complications of old age. That is small consolation, but suggests that you have been caring well for your fish.

This was one of just a couple sick fish you had. Sometimes fairly minor things will set off older ones. You mentioned red in the fins, often a bacterial thing. It is soooo easy to let routine maintanence slide a little during the furiously busy holiday season. (Sometimes the holiday season goes 365 days/year here.)

The youngsters should be ok. You may want to treat with a "proprietary anti-protozoan remedy" with them. I would at least try to be more militant with water changes. (Easier said than done for me too.)

You mentioned a generic guppy disease in an earlier post. Over the weekend I ran across the mention of a "guppy disease" caused by a ciliated parasite called Tetrahymena corlissi. Evidentally protozoa of that genus are common in a tank. The one species can be a problem in ripe water and serious cases are usually too far gone (internal damage) to cure. Signs of it, according to B.B. & E, are small white patches on the skin or around eyes of livebearers.

That might be something to do - a preventative treatment - when buying new fish and quarrantining them. Here we go again... ;)

[ Parent ]

thanx (none / 0) (#13)
by red illuzion on Tue Jan 06, 2004 at 04:51:47 PM PST

i'm hoping it was of old age, all others in that tank are doing fine, all females and fry. i've been doing water changes in that tank about once every 4 days and 15%. is there an anti-protozoan treatment you recommend???

[ Parent ]

shimmying guppy | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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