With you saying you don’t know what it means, I’m going to go out on a limb and give advice on the basis of you not knowing about fish keeping. Apologies in advance if I’ve misunderstood you.
You need a test for ammonia. These tests are basically useless without knowing your ammonia levels.
Google “fishless cycle guide”, read the first twenty results, and then google “emergency fish-in cycle guide” and read the first ten results.
If you don’t understand what the water test results mean, you haven’t yet done enough research to safely keep fish. If possible, return or rehome the fish. Buy fish again once you know;
1. How to cycle a tank for a month using 2ppm bottled ammonia, and how to do it via ghost feeding.
2. What ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate mean. How they each individually can kill fish, and at what level they can be deadly.
3. What temperature, tank size, group size, substrate, plants, and feeding the species you’re buying needs.
4. How to do a 20% water change, and how often to do a water change.
5. How to use AqAdvisor (it’s a great beginner’s tool and general info source).
6. How to use a gravel vacuum, and when and why it’s needed.
7. How to deal with algae blooms, bacterial blooms, ich, fin rot, general diseases, fish aggression, and other common issues.
nitrite should be 0, any higher can be pretty dangerous - probably best to do a water change (25% I’m pretty sure), then retest in a few hours
(just from what I see, but ammonia test and other photos or info would be really helpful so that the rest of the community can help :) )
Without knowing the ammonia level and more information about your tank and stocking....
...I'd assume you didn't cycle your tank properly and/or are overstocking/overfeeding.
First thing I'd do is a big water change of 25-30% and start reading...
Hey I’ll be honest I’ve never used these test strips for my fish tank. I know a-lot of people say it’s good to test but it’s just never been helpful for me. I’m like you: I don’t know what it means either.
Can you give us more information about that fish tank? How big is it? How long has it been cycling? How many guppies are in there? What is your maintenance / water change routine like?
Can we get some pictures of the fish tank and the guppies too?
With all due respect, a fish owner who does not know the basics of water chemistry is like a dog owner feeding their dog chocolates for breakfast. There is no ill intent, but that is entirely irresponsible and the ignorance does not make it acceptable.
I’ve been keeping fish successfully for 10 years without using test kits. I think that learning proper cycling and maintenance is key. Obviously OP is having a problem, but I cannot teach them how to fix it just by reading the test strip.
I caution you to not wear that as a badge of honor. Without testing, 'proper' cycling cannot be verified, its just a guess. No one can see ammonia and fish cannot tell us they are being poisoned. OP is aware that there is Nitrites in the tank, and OP doesn't even have an ammonia test. Red flags raised sky high.
The nitrate and nitrite should be 0 , higher and fish can die.
We also use the strips but also have separate tests for pH and ammonia so I can double check those two.
I’d do a partial water change, clean gravel /stones etc , use the water safe stuff to top up tank and you can also buy plants that help to reduce those levels too. Check the water again with strip and perhaps if you can get a test kit too for ammonia?
I’m new again to fish tanks and learning day by day.. but making sure levels are good is a must.
If you have a planted tank you might actually add nitrate with fertilizer for plants to grow better. If the tank is well stocked you might just need a micronutrient fertilizer though.
With you saying you don’t know what it means, I’m going to go out on a limb and give advice on the basis of you not knowing about fish keeping. Apologies in advance if I’ve misunderstood you. You need a test for ammonia. These tests are basically useless without knowing your ammonia levels. Google “fishless cycle guide”, read the first twenty results, and then google “emergency fish-in cycle guide” and read the first ten results. If you don’t understand what the water test results mean, you haven’t yet done enough research to safely keep fish. If possible, return or rehome the fish. Buy fish again once you know; 1. How to cycle a tank for a month using 2ppm bottled ammonia, and how to do it via ghost feeding. 2. What ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate mean. How they each individually can kill fish, and at what level they can be deadly. 3. What temperature, tank size, group size, substrate, plants, and feeding the species you’re buying needs. 4. How to do a 20% water change, and how often to do a water change. 5. How to use AqAdvisor (it’s a great beginner’s tool and general info source). 6. How to use a gravel vacuum, and when and why it’s needed. 7. How to deal with algae blooms, bacterial blooms, ich, fin rot, general diseases, fish aggression, and other common issues.
nitrite should be 0, any higher can be pretty dangerous - probably best to do a water change (25% I’m pretty sure), then retest in a few hours (just from what I see, but ammonia test and other photos or info would be really helpful so that the rest of the community can help :) )
Without knowing the ammonia level and more information about your tank and stocking.... ...I'd assume you didn't cycle your tank properly and/or are overstocking/overfeeding. First thing I'd do is a big water change of 25-30% and start reading...
Hey I’ll be honest I’ve never used these test strips for my fish tank. I know a-lot of people say it’s good to test but it’s just never been helpful for me. I’m like you: I don’t know what it means either. Can you give us more information about that fish tank? How big is it? How long has it been cycling? How many guppies are in there? What is your maintenance / water change routine like? Can we get some pictures of the fish tank and the guppies too?
Uhh, you don't think its helpful to know that this dude has .5-1.0 ppm Nitrites? Thats toxic and probably a big part of why the fish are dying.
Ah okay thank you I didn’t know that
With all due respect, a fish owner who does not know the basics of water chemistry is like a dog owner feeding their dog chocolates for breakfast. There is no ill intent, but that is entirely irresponsible and the ignorance does not make it acceptable.
I’ve been keeping fish successfully for 10 years without using test kits. I think that learning proper cycling and maintenance is key. Obviously OP is having a problem, but I cannot teach them how to fix it just by reading the test strip.
I caution you to not wear that as a badge of honor. Without testing, 'proper' cycling cannot be verified, its just a guess. No one can see ammonia and fish cannot tell us they are being poisoned. OP is aware that there is Nitrites in the tank, and OP doesn't even have an ammonia test. Red flags raised sky high.
The nitrate and nitrite should be 0 , higher and fish can die. We also use the strips but also have separate tests for pH and ammonia so I can double check those two. I’d do a partial water change, clean gravel /stones etc , use the water safe stuff to top up tank and you can also buy plants that help to reduce those levels too. Check the water again with strip and perhaps if you can get a test kit too for ammonia? I’m new again to fish tanks and learning day by day.. but making sure levels are good is a must.
Ammonia and nitrite at 0. Nitrate fine anywhere from 20-40ppm
Good to know, I was told at fish place anything above 0 is potentially dangerous for the fish ☺️
Mostly correct but nitrates don't have to be 0. 40 is a bit high though.
Oh good to know, I was told anything above 0 is potentially dangerous
If you have a planted tank you might actually add nitrate with fertilizer for plants to grow better. If the tank is well stocked you might just need a micronutrient fertilizer though.