View Full Version : Female guppies die after giving birth!
Why do all my female guppies die right after they give birth to fry? What could be the problem and what can be done to prevent this from happening?
Help appreciated! :confused:
tricksterpup
08-11-2003, 4:24 PM
One of the main reasons why females die after birth or during is because of stress. One of the main ways to prevent this is to keep females in either a species only tank with lots of plants or in a small tank to themselves.
But it is kinda hard to state why the die? what size is your tank, what else is housed with the guppies, what are your tanks parameters..
We need more information before we can truely help you.
At this point, it is hard to make in suggestions. But 90% of the time is stress.
If you do not have any plants in the tank, i would pick up hornwort. It is a nice floating plant that doesnt take to many demands. This will allow the females and babies to hide and will give them comfort.
jim
yashinfan
08-13-2003, 11:28 AM
I find that guppies who do not have any salt in their tank water die much more often than others. Having some salinity in your water works wonders with livebearers!
tricksterpup
08-13-2003, 12:34 PM
Hmm.. from what I have read and noted is that many liverbearers do not need salt and survive very well with out salt. Please check out the following website.
http://tcoletti.tripod.com/molly_salt_debate.html
The main issue for many livebearers is a hardness factor and clean water. If you have clean hard water, 9 out of 10 times you will not encounter any issues with your fish. The salt makes the issues caused by irregular water changes and over crowding tolerable.
Salt is basically a myth that has been passed around our trade for a very long time. If you do regular water changes, this should help your fish.
Another great site for links is this:
http://tcoletti.tripod.com/thelivebearer.html
by Dr. Ted Coletti (writer for FAMA and of the ALA)
jim
Casper
08-14-2003, 2:30 AM
I had the same problem with female guppies dying, before and after giving birth.
I decided to not have them anymore cause I had trouble dealing with them dying all the time.
I never found a solution.
hope the suggestions about water and plants here help you!
they are very pretty fish, but worse than rabbits when it comes to breeding! lol