Guppy loss - RIP Keith

[Flex365]

Hi guys just lost 1 of my guppy’s - RIP Keith.  Tanks been running now for over 3.5 weeks.
Bought 5 guppy’s last Friday - water tests  at LFS all good. Was told ammonia might go up as new fish being introduced.  

Keith from the start preferred to stay at the top level of the tank, venturing down every now and again, his fellow guppy’s seem more lively sprinting around the tank. 

It was painful to watch helplessly - Keith struggling in his final moments - if only I could have done more for him.

My other fish - 2 platys seem fine.

Not sure what happened to Keith?

Done  a 25% water change, water test results below
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrite. 0.3
Nitrate. 15

Being a newbie - Could I have done anything different?

Any advice welcome.

RIP Keith.

[Cheltgirl]

Sorry for your loss.

It sounds as though you are in a fish-in cycle. Those levels of ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish. You need to do as many water changes as you need to get those levels down to zero. You will need to test daily and water change whenever there is ammonia and/or nitrite readings of any kind. When you have 3 days in a row of 0 ammonia and nitrite your tank should then be cycled.

The weakest fish will be the first affected. If you continue to have ammonia and nitrite readings the other fish may begin to show signs of distress so keep a close eye on them.

A fish in cycle can take a while and is a lot of work so best of luck and feel free to ask as many questions as you need as everyone here will help and guide you through.

[Flex365]

Thanks Cheltgirl,
Would one water change daily be sufficient? And
How much water should I be changing 25, 30 50% ?

[Gingerlove05]

Sorry for your loss
I would recommend around 50% to halve the levels if ammonia, if you have (or can get hold of)seachem prime that will also help as it detoxifies ammonia and nitrite but still allows them to be consumed by the filter bacteria. Its a handy economical water conditioner
One water change a day until the levels settle will be fine
Something you can try and it has worked for myself and other members here, is when you add new fish try adding some seachem stability or tetra safe start, they are both proven beneficial bacteria in a bottle so they can give your filter bacteria a boost when adding stock (which would increase the bioload and waste).

[Flex365]

Thanks GL, I’ll start the 50% daily water changes, tomorrow - until the ammonia and nitrite levels are zero, and will add the seachem Stabilty as suggested when I add new stock.

[Gingerlove05]

You can try the stability in the tank now, it might help with the levels, although it is only meant to be used with a small number of fish, but it may work

[Flex365]

Thanks GL, I’ve just put the stabilty in.

[Flex365]

How many prime - drops do I need to add to a 50% water change on a 12 gallon tank?

[Gingerlove05]

With prime the cap is 5ml which is enough to dose a 200l tank, each one of the screw threads is 1ml approx. which is enough for 40l. Although on a plus note you can dose prime 5x regular dosage in emergencies to help detoxify any ammonia and nitrite. Hope that makes sense.
I got myself a 1ml syringe to help with prime dosing