guppy

[Fly258]

I have a guppy which has given birth to one fry but is now lying on her side quivering and appears to be very weak / distressed. Is this normal?.....first time I have seen a live birth. If she is dying is it possible to get the rest of the fry out? if so how?
many thanks
Jim

 

[suemack]

hi Jim

how long ago did you see her give birth to the baby? Your guppy's behaviour doesn't sound normal to me - sadly some guppies do die when they are giving birth.

With my guppies on the one occassion I did try to help the babies be born it was a disaster and the mother died (I had found an article saying it could be done) -

The only thing I do now is to make sure there are no other fish harassing the females, do a small water change and add a small amount of salt and raise the temperature of the tank slightly.

good luck and let us know how you get on

sue

 

[Fly258]

Hi Suemac
I didnt actually see the fry being born, I just noticed it swimming around its mom. The mom looks like she is nearly dead and about to burst .
I was wondering if its possible to release the rest of the fry if she does die
Regards
Jim

 

[suemack]

hi Jim

Sorry but I've never had any luck with guppy fry that haven't been born naturally I did try to release some - got home from work and found one of my females just as she had died giving birth - only a couple of the fry survived for a day, the rest were born dead. I'm not sure if they were overdue or what

How long have you had the guppy and is she in with any other fish

regards - sue

 

[Fly258]

Ive had the guppy about a year, one of my first. She is partitioned off along with 3 harliquin fry so she is not being hassled by anyone else.
Jim

 

[suemack]

hi Jim

was she an adult when you got her and has she given birth before?

if she was an adult - you don't know how old they are when you get them and she may be an old fish

not a lot of help sorry

sue

 

[Fly258]

Hi Sue,
I dont know if she has had fry B4, she was one of several females, some of which have produced fry in the past. She was an adult when we got her so she is probably no spring chicken . She has just given a wriggle and moved a bit so she is hangin in there. Its going to be a long night

 

[suemack]

good luck Jim

let me know how you get on

sue

 

[Fly258]

Many thanks Sue,
I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your concern / advice.
Jim

 

[jhd]

unfortunatelly all my guppies died some time after giving birth to a lot of helthy fry. I do not keep guppies any more. I heard that they all are raised in aquariums and are quite weak, lack of good immune system. Also, my water is hard, around 7.6 and they were prone to fin rot, very weak immune system.
All feamels died within a coupe of days after giving birth. Oh well.

 

[Fly258]

Sadly the guppy died last night we cut her open but she was just full of air.....no fry . Her single fry, who we have named Sue , is doing well
Regards
Jim

 

[suemack]

sorry to hear about your guppy Jim and very glad to hear that wee Sue is doing well

Of course you could end up with................ a boy called Sue

regards
sue

 

[Fly258]

Good news , just spotted another fry....a boy AND a girl named Sue
Jim

 

[Sinuhe]

I do not keep guppies any more. I heard that they all are raised in aquariums and are quite weak, lack of good immune system. Also, my water is hard, around 7.6 and they were prone to fin rot, very weak immune system.

Usually fish raised in aquariums as opposed to having been caught from the wild should adjust to aquariums better. I think all livebearers today are aquarium raised. Are you talking about the fish that have been raised with salt in the water? Those fish are usually imported from Singapore and the like. If you can find fish that's been raised locally, there's probably never been salt added, and they should do fine in a regular freshwater tank. I know a store that breeds all the livebearers they sell, they don't use salt, and the fish are strong and healthy.

A total hardness of 7,6 dH isn't very hard. Are you talking about pH instead? Livebearers are supposed to like basic and hard water.

 

[Phase2]

bit worried about whats hapened to you above...my guppies just given birth....managed to get 8 fry out (before they was eaten)and they seem to be doing fine...I got 2 in a net in the tank....3 in a breeder tank and 3 in a milk arton floating in the breeder tank....I dont wanna put all my eggs ( or fry) in one basket. Ive made up some food with finely crushed flake/catfish pellet and egg yolk and they seem to be doubling in size every day......my other female looks big now so I hope she will be ok giving birth....sorry to here of losing your female hopefully I'll have more luck....