STUCK AT BIRTH!!

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I know what you mean but in guppies, it has found its way by just letting one grow up normally and the other one will remain very small. In the beginning both will look the same but the one that stays smaller will look like some kind of lump stick to the body of the other. When it comes to commercial livebearers, this is most seen in guppies and platies. You'll hardly find this phenomenon in mollies and swordtails.

I clicked "useful" because there isn't really an "interesting!" rating, lol
Is the smaller one still alive then? I guess it must be, or the larger one would die from having a rotting body attaching to it... eewww. Does it eat as well?

What a weird existence for the smaller twin fish. Only kept alive by being stuck to the other one, but no choice of where to go and when

The more I think about it, the more it breaks my brain

 

[Rocky998]

I do very large 80-90% water changes on my fry tank weekly.
They are extremely healthy right now and still growing.
You just have to find ways of putting water back in slowly without causing too much water disturbance. Especially with fry tanks.
The large water changes keep the water really fresh and help promote growth

 

[emeraldking]

Is the smaller one still alive then? I guess it must be, or the larger one would die from having a rotting body attaching to it... eewww. Does it eat as well?

Yes, the smaller ones still live. For I've used the word "parasitic". It lives through the other twin. But you won't be able to see that yourself.

 

[jonny-5]

I have seen the joined head/stomach once in my fry, But the female who was birthing was very very stressed at the time , She was the singled out fish in a community tank. She is still going strong now. The fry that were joined did not survive more than 2 days

 

[justqu3]

As already stated, you've got conjoined twins. In most cases, one will become fullgrown and one will remain small. The smaller one will look like some kind of parasite stuck to its twin sibling when they come to adulthood. Usually the bigger one won't be bothered by its parasitic twin and can eat and swim in a normal way. I wouldn't bother separating them.

As already stated, you've got conjoined twins. In most cases, one will become fullgrown and one will remain small. The smaller one will look like some kind of parasite stuck to its twin sibling when they come to adulthood. Usually the bigger one won't be bothered by its parasitic twin and can eat and swim in a normal way. I wouldn't bother separating them.

Awesome! Yea so far they’re doing great! I keep a close eye on them.

 

[justqu3]

@emeraldking Can you please give your thoughts on this advice he was given? Someone who breeds guppies told him not to change the water for a month if he has newborn fry! Have you ever heard of a livebearer breeder who suggests or practices that? All I've ever heard and read is to increase water changes with fry, not avoid them!

@justqu3 , @emeraldking is our resident livebearer expert - so is @GaryE actually. Have published articles etc, you can see those in emeraldking's signature and profile history. So I would follow their advice when it comes to raising livebearer fry over anything read online or from people who aren't deep in the specialist part of the hobby, you know?

Omg thank you so much! I look forward to their advice

 

[justqu3]

In fact, there's no hard need to do water changes that often with fry. But it won't hurt either. Fry are way stronger than most people think. Most people think because they're a lot smaller, so they must be much more vulnerable. This is also the reason why I choose younger fish to purchase instead of adult specimens. Younger fish (juveniles and younger fish) adapt much faster to new circumstances (which include water parameters).
But the point is that fry produce more ammonia than bigger fish. But that's because of the fact that they relatively swim faster than bigger ones. And it's more the ammonia that is a waste product coming from their gills while swimming fast. That's the main reason why a regular water change is preferable. Especially when you keep also other fish in the same tank.
Hope this may give you a better insight of the clue...

Makes complete sense! Thank you so much…

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Interesting, following this thread to see what happens!

 

[NearMeBettas]

Any updates?

 

[justqu3]

Any updates?

They’re still swimming and enjoying their siblings. Only thing is, the twins are growing at a very slow pace. They’re much smaller than the others for sure

 

[NearMeBettas]

They’re still swimming and enjoying their siblings. Only thing is, the twins are growing at a very slow pace. They’re much smaller than the others for sure

That's pretty cool, I hope they do well and make it to adulthood. They probably are getting less food. You might try putting some food in front of them when you feed them with a tweezer or something.

 

[justqu3]

UPDATE: The Twins (Sun-Shine) passed away this afternoon. They were doing very well! Swimming really fast with the others, eating what they could consume, and overall just being free. But unfortunately, the didn’t make it to 30days. They only had 3 more days before reaching 1 month

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

UPDATE: The Twins (Sun-Shine) passed away this afternoon. They were doing very well! Swimming really fast with the others, eating what they could consume, and overall just being free. But unfortunately, the didn’t make it to 30days. They only had 3 more days before reaching 1 month

I'm sorry to hear that, I know you got attached.

You likely didn't do anything wrong. The fact they were attached means something had gone very wrong in development, so there could have been any number of problems in their internal organs that meant they wouldn't live long. That's why I said that they likely wouldn't live very long, since deformed fish in general do tend to have shortened lifespans even if they make it to adulthood.

But you obviously cared for them well, and it was still interesting that you saw that! I bred hundreds of guppies over three years or so, and never saw that! Had a few that were deformed, most that didn't live long either, but never saw that!

 

[NearMeBettas]

UPDATE: The Twins (Sun-Shine) passed away this afternoon. They were doing very well! Swimming really fast with the others, eating what they could consume, and overall just being free. But unfortunately, the didn’t make it to 30days. They only had 3 more days before reaching 1 month

Im so sorry.

 

[Rocky998]

So sorry for your loss. @AdoraBelle Dearheart is right. Genetic defects can lead to health issues that are incurable sometimes. I'm honestly impressed at how well they have done!