Guppy Fry Are Dying! :'(

[simon24]

Out of 12 fries, 4 are still alive. 2 of them are sick now. I mean they haven't eaten anything the past 5-6 days. They swim through the small crushed flakes on the surface of the tank. I do a water change once everyday to be sure the water don't get dirty. The 2 who are sick are laying on the bottom on one side but none of them can swim anymore. they do twitch once in a while. I don't know what i did wrong and i need help. Is there anything i can do to save my fries?  The biggest of the 4 is doing fine, his/here swimming skills are good etc. but he wont eat. (Flakes is the only food the pet-store sells) 

 

[~heidi~]

I am so very sorry to hear about your babies. I am NO expert but can you get baby brine shrimp? my babies never eat crushed flakes very well either but they love the brine shrimp. If you can't find at your pet store, amazon sells them. Good luck. I know you will get some excellent advice from the people on this board.

 

[simon24]

I have tried the egg yolk too, it seems like they decided to not eat anymore...:'(

 

[Jessman]

Have you mashed the flakes up finely? They can eat fine flakes.
Is their temperature correct? Around 26-28C?
How are the ammonia levels?
How old are the fry?

I have 22 fry at the moment that are a week old, and all i do for mine is keep them in their own tank which has a big plant in the middle suitable for them to hide in, i keep the temp at 28C, this temp helps them grow faster, and i feed them 'first bites' food for fry around 4-5 times a day. All of them are happy and healthy, i havent lost a single one.
This is what i do for all my fry when i get them and i have never had a single one die on me before.
Oh by the way, i got the first bites food from ebay! Its a green and purple sachet which will last a while, very cheap too!

 

[guppylovepuppylovelol]

OK, Try mixing the food with a little water and I've heard that if you boil an egg and mix the yoke with a little water, it may work.  

 

[lolobunnz]

Where are they living?

Why are you doing daily water changes? (New tank? Uncycled?)

How long have you had the mother fish?

This could be from uncycled tank, bad genetics, stress from water changes( are you using something to make your tap water safe?).... please provide more info. Are you making sure new water is close temp to water in tank?

Sry I couldn't be of more help. But please give some more info for our more experienced members to work off of.

I'm sry for this tine that you are having . My hopes are with you and your fry.

 

[simon24]

I can't unfortunately afford a small tank and a new filter for my newborn guppies. So i'm keeping them in a normal sized container and a borrow the heater most of the time from the main tank. ( I know it's awful but i'm trying to do my best). I do the water change almost everyday because the water gets dirty really fast and i use a blue substance to make tap water more safe. I was planing on doing this process until the little ones got big enough to not be eaten so i could transfer them in the main.
I mean it was working for 5 weeks when suddenly they began to get sick. One died the other night, 2 left.  

 

[lolobunnz]

Oy. Good effort but the whole situation is the cause of your hardship. If they are five weeks old put them in main tank they are fast enough to get away from adults at this age. If they don't survive it is for the best for they could already be permanently negatively affected by the conditions they have been living in.

It was a real lot of good effort you put in for them and I'm personally proud of how much you've tried. But it may be too late but I would definitely place them into the main tank ASAP after feeding the adults.

Good luck to you

 

[Ny82]

Sorry to hear about your troubles with fry. I used to never be able to keep them alive. I agree with what jessman says, I have 4 batches of babies. They are all put in the main tank at 3 weeks old. I have a separate tank for the babies and the temp is around 28 degrees. I too do daily water changes because I feed them 3-4 times a day. I feed mine tetramin baby food. I also get fresh brine shrimp as a treat it's only 75p a bag-grab it while I can lol.
 
You say you have them in a container with a borrowed heater-can you float the container in the main tank? The babies need the heat 24 hours a day. I know you are trying your best. Can you get a breeding trap from your LFS? It's a small plastic container with vents on either side, that floats in the main tank. You can put the fry in there. What I used to do, before I had 2 tanks was take the thermometer and stick in on the tank wall in front of the filter. Then I would hook the trap on the thermometer and that way the water in the trap was always moving. 
This is the one I have
http/www.swelluk.com/aquarium/fish-breeding-tank-dividers-17/breeding-traps-nets-135/marina-3-in-1-breeding-trap-262026.html?ref=shopping&utm_source=product-search&utm_medium=googlebase&gclid=CJ6euKzw-bcCFXQftAodQkkA0w
 
Where about do you live? If you were near me I would give you mine as I don't use it. Try and get one - pets at home sell them. It's not ideal as it's small but it's better than nothing. 
Good luck.

 

[Smelliot]

With my fry I've always had success with extremely finely ground flakes! However some do die choking on them, are the fish free swimming? They may be getting eaten by the parents.