Need Urgent Help!!

Question
My daughter has a 10 gallon aquarium with some fancy tail guppies in it.  We have had no problems with this tank for a long time with two guppies in it.  Then a couple weeks ago we added in two more guppies.  The plants and decorations in the tank quickly turned red and one of the guppies died.  We scrubbed down the entire tank and within a week it was all red again and another one died.  After scrubbing down the tank again it is doing the same thing and another guppy is on its last life.  How can we stop this and is there any chance of saving the last two guppies?  The red growth is slimy and looks like some sort of algae, the filter is running properly.  Please help!

Answer
Hi Trish;

I'm so sorry I could not get to your question sooner. If your little guys are still alive, make a 25% water change right away. There are probably waste toxins in there causing them to be sick. It is common in tanks that have been re-started. It is just like having a brand new tank and is called "New Tank Syndrome". Adding new fish can cause it too. The extra organic waste causes toxins to rise until the beneficial bacteria can compensate for the new fish. Here is a link to my article on new tanks if you need to know more about this crazy process;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

The red stuff sounds like it could be a slime-mold feeding on excess waste and food. The "spores" that it came from could have come from the new fish or the tank water from the store. It doesn't usually kill fish though. It just consumes organic matter and looks weird. There may have been another problem at the same time with the new fish bringing in some kind of infectious disease. Or, the new population added too much waste too quickly and there was an ammonia spike in the system. If the transport bag water was added to the tank it would have put in a lot of ammonia and stress hormones. There are many possible causes for all this trouble.

I wish I had a definitive answer for you. I hope your last little guys made it. If they have already died you might want to disinfect the whole tank with a mild bleach solution to eliminate whatever it was and just start over. Throw away the filter media (pads, carbon, etc) and buy all new ones. Just let the empty filter run as normal (without media) and add two tablespoons of bleach to the tank water. Let it all run for a few hours and then drain it all out. Be careful not to let the bleach water touch your carpet, clothing, furniture, etc. It will cause permanent stains.

Once a few hours has passed, rinse out the filter and everything that was in the tank. stir up the gravel to rinse it and get the waste all out. Refill the tank and put in the new filter media. Let the filter run for a week with the lid off so any residue of the bleach evaporates.

Follow the guidelines from my new tanks article if you have to start with new fish. I hope things go better for you very soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins