stillborn (?) platy fry

[nino]

just got home from camping this weekend, my parents took care of my expecting female platy (and other fish). they were looking for babies but could not find any. so when i came home today i saw that my platy was thin and the fry eyes were no longer visible in her tummy. i didn't see any fry hiding in any of the plants but finally noticed a bunch lying around in various parts of the gravel. many looked all curled up, like they'd never even swam around. i dont know what happened! this is the first birth that she's had (with me atleast). the only thing i can think of is a few weeks ago is that she looked ready to drop her fry so i moved her into a breeder trap. there she freaked out and it looked as though afterwards her baby fry were disapearing in her, as though being reabsorbed. so i put her back into the tank and after a week or so the eyes of the fry were coming back and then she gave birth this weekend.

any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. maybe i'll find some live fry in the plants after all, who knows...

 

[barbiya]

I had a similar experience the first time my platy gave birth. The fry will bury themselves in the gravel. I wouldn't try to disturb them, but get a magnifying glass and look through, see if you can see any movement. They will stay in the gravel for quite awhile, days. My biggest concern was that they'd end up trapped.

Look closely for gill movement before you write them off as still born.

Hope this helps.

 

[barbiya]

I'm sorry, after rereading your post, I'm wondering..Are the fry curled up on top of the gravel? Or in it?

If they were stillborn, I'm very sorry. The only consolation is that she'll likely give birth again in a month or so. But it's a very sad thing when you've been expecting them.

 

[nino]

yeah, they were curled up just lying on the gravel... they look very dead

 

[plysha]

a few of my baby guppies did that and they weren't died you can also use a flash light to see better if they are alive they will move when you put the light on them...
Are they turning white?
Hope this helps
Sorry to hear about your little fishies I know how it feels... I had a few still borns that came out in a ball and stayed that way....

Take care and try not to feel to bad

Erin

 

[barbiya]

I'm so sorry! Poor little things. Not a pleasant thing to happen.
I hope the momma is okay.

 

[nino]

i'm not sure if the mom is ok... she's been hiding in the plants a lot or in the top corner. could it be that she's a little stressed out or something worse?

 

[!guppy!]

woa man that is a terrible thing to happen :\ am sorry for ya, and i hope next month your platty has 200 fry to make up for it

 

[sunflower]

My platty had some fry last week and she hid for a few days afterwards too.

I think giving birth can be very stressful for them and they just need a bit of time to recoup afterwards.