Guppy Premature Birth?

**yoshispal80** · 05-06-2012, 1:06 AM

Hello all! I had a female guppy give premature birth, or at least thats what I think happened. She was looking deceivingly pregnant for a long time and I kept putting her in the breeding tank....then nothing. I would put her back in the big tank (20 gal) and she would stay in one spot. Websites said that if she is staying still like that then she was close to due with the fry. Anyhow, I moved her back into the breeder and the next morning when I got up there were 6 eggs...yes eggs in the bottom. They were not moving, yellow, and I could clearly see 2 black eyes in each one. I am assuming that this was a premature birth? What could have caused this? Sadly to say the mama guppy died tonight...I'm wondering if she was sick before giving birth. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

**excuzzzeme** · 05-06-2012, 3:35 AM

Guppies don't have eggs as such. They are babies and tail is wrapped around the head until birth. Since they stayed in a wrapped condition, it is likely it was a still born birthing due to her being ill. A brood of six is quite normal for a first batch. I have seen them as small as 3-4. All depends on how mature the fish is when fertilized. Not much you can do at this point except to empty and clean out the tank.

**SubRosa** · 05-06-2012, 6:26 AM

Originally Posted by excuzzzeme

Guppies don't have eggs as such. They are babies and tail is wrapped around the head until birth. Since they stayed in a wrapped condition, it is likely it was a still born birthing due to her being ill. A brood of six is quite normal for a first batch. I have seen them as small as 3-4. All depends on how mature the fish is when fertilized. Not much you can do at this point except to empty and clean out the tank.

Absolutely wrong Jeff. Poecilids such as Guppies have eggs essentially the same as egg-layers. It 's just that fertilization is internal, and the female retains the eggs until they hatch. Goodeid livebearers are completely different and have a placenta-like connection between mother and each of the young. Since Poecilids use a simpler form of fertilization, sperm can be retained to allow multiple broods from one breeding. Goodeids require a separate fertilization for each brood.

**yoshispal80** · 05-06-2012, 6:26 AM

I figured that was what happened. Thanks for the info!

**SubRosa** · 05-06-2012, 6:26 AM

To answer the OP , yes it was a premature birth.

**yoshispal80** · 05-06-2012, 2:33 PM

So what factors can contribute to a premature birth? Just so I know for next time.

**mykidsmylife** · 05-06-2012, 4:56 PM

Moving her in and out of a breeding box repeatedly will stress her and cause her to drop her eggs. It's extremely stressful on them and pregnant momma's do not handle that at all. If she dropped eggs, then she was far from ready to have them. Just "sitting" in one area for an extended period of time doesn't mean she is going to have them. My guppies seem to hang out in one spot a lot of the time. You can tell when a female guppy is close because she will take on a very boxy look to her belly.

**excuzzzeme** · 05-06-2012, 5:22 PM

When you go by OP's description of the eyes being evident, they have already progressed beyond fertilization stage. Without pictures it's a guess how far along they were but definitely aborted far too soon. Causation is a wild guess since many things can cause a guppy to abort the birthing process. Stress, illness, the list goes on ............. .

**JPark457** · 05-13-2012, 7:02 PM

Sounds like they were premature or stillborn as others have said. I had lot of trouble with trying to move them to breeders or breeding tanks and stressing moms out. I started planting the tanks and just scooping out babies whenever they show. I think the fry take the change much better than the pregnant females.

**livebearerfreak** · 05-13-2012, 7:14 PM

most likely she died from stress.. dont put her in a breeder trap.. that stresses out the female, and handling her everytime you think she will give birth also stressed her out.. if you feel she is close, move her to a holding tank ( seperate tank of like 5 or 10 gallons and let her give birth naturally there ) female livebearers give birth about ever 28 to 30 days.. so expect another batch within 25 days.. and just a FYI, if a female is hit, she can store sperm for up to 6 months without a male.. so once a female is hit, you could take out the male for about 4 to 6 months and she will still give birth without the male..