Morbid Question...

[Ltygress]

This is kind of a sick question but um...
Can guppy fry who are ready to be born, live in their mother's abdomen after her death and find a way to emerge?

I ask because I pulled all of my remaining fish out of the hospital tank two days ago. The only thing I left in there was a dead female guppy up against the power filter intake. There were no fry in there then, and I knew it because it has no gravel and the water level was below the black trim. I don't see any of them getting caught in the power filter, because the media had been taken out since it contained carbon. Any fry getting sucked up in there would have been spit right back out the top.

I left the dead female guppy in there to help that tank cycle, since it never got a chance before being put to use (plus antibiotics were used).

But I just found two guppy fry in the hospital tank. The dead female WAS pregnant when she died. There was another female in there but I didn't THINK she was pregnant. And the dead one was against the filter intake, but sideways with her back wrapped around the intake and her stomach facing away from it, so emerging fry COULD escape the flow. Do you think it's possible that these two fry were ready to be born, but um... ate their mother's guts until they could get out?

If not, I'm wondering where in the hell they managed to hide that I couldn't see them while taking all other fish out AND doing a 75% water change....

 

 

[Bubbelzzz]

Not shure, since guppys are ovoviviparous. So they hatch out of their eggs in their mother. So if they where healthy they should be able to develop at least if there is enough oxygen inside (very unlikely). The thing is, how did they manage to get out of the fish? I suppose they would be trapped inside and die off. 
So I don't think so. Even If they where just about to pop out. I think it is more likely that you missed them. This fry can be hard to spot and if they would keep still, is this almost impossible. 

 

[betta fish]

I'm thinking you may have just missed them when doing the change over since there were only 2 and they are very small unless you were specifically looking for fry, it is easy to do even in a bare tank they could have just stayed very still and laid low. I don't think it is possible for guppy fry to eat their way out of their mother once she has died if they are still within her they will die too, she could have given birth to them just prior to her death either way they are lucky and I would keep them to live on in her memory 

 

[Ltygress]

They are indeed lucky. Hardy little punks, too! All those medications I tried to use on those fish, and nothing helped the mother. Plus the tank was uncycled and VERY cloudy the first day after I took them all out. I haven't even tested it, but I'm pretty sure those little guys are swimming in heavy ammonia - even with that 75% water change.
 
But I'm floating a glass vase in their tank now (since they have a heater already set to 85-ish) with an airstone, and I just dropped some brine shrimp eggs into it. I crushed up some flakes, but they didn't seem interested at all. So tomorrow I'll try the baby brine shrimp.

 

[Ltygress]

Well, that was quick, although I'm surprised they lasted that long. They were both dead on the bottom this morning. I guess the cycling water parameters finally got to them, or all the medications still in the water. I didn't even get a chance to release the baby brine shrimp for them. I guess the baby platies will get those, in hopes that they'll be big enough for the platies to eat.