Yes…I am asking the most common guppy question

[ppmmkk]

Hello!

I’m new here and thought I’d reach out for some seasoned opinions. We bought 4 “all female” guppies for our child and this female (Dotty) had a round of about 5 fry and another round of 11 a few months later. She was probably storing sperm since there were no males at the time - the males seen in the background are her offspring. This is her third round (we think) and she is mighty huge…she looks gigantic compared to the first few times. I have separated her into a breeding container so the males stop harassing her but seems she’s been huge for at least 1.5 months.

- Do pregnant guppies usually get this big? (I’ve been thinking my god does she have a tumor?)
- She is eating normally but mostly sedentary with her head lower than tail…is that normal?

If/when she blows this could be a doozy. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[JuiceBox52]

If you look at her from above do her scales stick out like a pinecone?

 

[ppmmkk]

No the scales are smooth with her body…like the other fish.

 

[sanchay]

No the scales are smooth with her body…like the other fish.

she does not have dropsy...which is a big relief

i am not exactly sure....but she is either pregnant again with more fries or she is suffering from scoliosis....that bend looks super weird

if that is how she looked when you bought her...most probably she will be fine...and yes the bellies of livebearers get super huge when they are pregnant

 

[Colin_T]

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Hi and welcome to the forum

It's not scoliosis, the bent spine is from whatever is growing in the fish.

The guppy could be gravid (pregnant) and she is about to drop a heap of young.
Or she could have a tumour or cyst growing inside her.
Or she could have lots of intestinal worms.
Or a combination of these (most likely worms and babies).

If the fish is still eating well and doing normal coloured poop, then hopefully she will give birth in a few days. You might have upset her when you moved her and this can cause the mother to hold onto the babies for a little bit longer.

In future you would be better off leaving the female where she was and moving the males out. The young males should not be kept with their mother or sisters because they will breed with them and potentially weaken the offspring.

Make sure you have lots of plants for the female to hide in and for the babies.

Maybe deworm the fish (treat for round/ thread worms) and see if it changes anything. See section 3 of the following link for deworming fish.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

 

[GaryE]

The swimming angle is discomfort. If she is gravid, and she sure looks it, she should drop fry very soon. For her sake, I hope she does!
The reddish colour of her gravid spot suggests something should happen soon.

If it is parasites too, a possibility, follow what Colin suggests for deworming. Hopefully, in that case, it would be good old tapeworms and not the much harder to get rid of nematodes. But looking at the photos, I think she is about to overpopulate her world.

 

[emeraldking]

Hello!

I’m new here and thought I’d reach out for some seasoned opinions. We bought 4 “all female” guppies for our child and this female (Dotty) had a round of about 5 fry and another round of 11 a few months later. She was probably storing sperm since there were no males at the time - the males seen in the background are her offspring. This is her third round (we think) and she is mighty huge…she looks gigantic compared to the first few times. I have separated her into a breeding container so the males stop harassing her but seems she’s been huge for at least 1.5 months.

- Do pregnant guppies usually get this big? (I’ve been thinking my god does she have a tumor?)
- She is eating normally but mostly sedentary with her head lower than tail…is that normal?

If/when she blows this could be a doozy. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Well, to answer your question if female guppies can get so big as yours in the pictures? The answer will be: yes, absolutely! I've got some similar ones at the moment as well overhere. Every pregnancy of the same female can be different when it comes to belly size. Because, they get so big, they tend to swim a bit bended. That's quite normal. But it's not that comfortable for the female herself. So hopefully, she'll drop soon.