Was my guppy fish suffering from disease?

[Dopatri]

Hi, I’m wondering if I can have some opinions on what really happened to my female guppy! I bought her 3 days ago from a fish store and was told she was carrying, and would give birth to fry soon. However, upon observing her for the past two days I must say I was wondering whether she really was pregnant at all. I noticed she didn’t have that much of a noticeable gravid spot. Since I had her, I noticed she had been spending most of her time apart from the other fishes, either low down on the gravel or right at the top of the tank hiding away. I never saw her eat any food either, unlike the other fishes in the tank. I spotted her upside down on the gravel today and took her out. She was most definitely dead, it’s such a disappointment. Anyway, I know this will sound a bit graphic, but I tried to do a tiny incision on her tummy, to see whether she really was pregnant, and if I could save the fry. When I did the incision, and lightly pressed her tummy, I noticed fluid came out. I never even saw one fry either! I think it’s safe to say she had some sort of disease and was never really pregnant at all. I’ll attach some photos of her tummy from both sides when I discovered her dead.

Thanks for reading

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[Sgooosh]

it may be dropsy, as dropsy is bacterial fluids that make the belly big

 

[JMort]

You are describing dropsy. Pale gravid spot, looks pregnant, not eating, hanging at top or bottom of tank and avoiding other fish are all signs. Sometimes you will notice the scales of the fish sticking out as well. I am not a disease expert but after years of fish keeping, I have encountered my fair share of sick fish. Almost always new fish that stay in quarantine until cured or perish. I would be interested in seeing if someone else has a different opinion.
Sorry for your loss. It is tough to watch a pet perish With an illness.

 

[Dopatri]

it may be dropsy, as dropsy is bacterial fluids that make the belly big

It’s looking very likely, the more I look into the symptoms of dropsy the more I’m certain it was!

 

[Dopatri]

You are describing dropsy. Pale gravid spot, looks pregnant, not eating, hanging at top or bottom of tank and avoiding other fish are all signs. Sometimes you will notice the scales of the fish sticking out as well. I am not a disease expert but after years of fish keeping, I have encountered my fair share of sick fish. Almost always new fish that stay in quarantine until cured or perish. I would be interested in seeing if someone else has a different opinion.
Sorry for your loss. It is tough to watch a pet perish With an illness.

Yes I think it’s a very good chance it was dropsy. I thought when I bought her she was acting a bit strange but I just thought maybe that was because she was “pregnant”, and feeling tired from it. I’ve never had a pregnant fish before so I didn’t really know what behaviours to expect. Thank you, it was disheartening to see the fish dead, as I wondered if I had caused it or could of prevented it, but it seems like the illness was already too far gone unfortunately.

 

[Guest14017]

I'm sorry for your loss, be sure to keep an eye on the other fish. Since you added a sick fish to your tank, there's a chance it brought disease that could be passed onto the others. If you notice other fish behaving oddly or begin experiencing losses, be sure to return and start a thread.