What's up with my Guppy??

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crackenhunter

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I had a heavily pregnant female Guppy and was all set to move her to the breeding trap.

I went to the tank and I couldn't see the fish, when I found it she was more or less sitting on top of the filter. She finally managed to muster the energy to move and I noticed that the gravid spot was gone but no sign of any fry.

Usually she is very active and constantly shunning the attention of a rather "active" male but now it's as if she can't be bothered.

Is this normal behaviour? Could it be that she has given birth and the fry have been eaten? Is it just the fact that she's tired after pregnancy that she's as inactive (my girlfriends theory!), although I'm slightly worried about the fact that she hangs about the top of the tank a lot!!

Water parameters are pH 7.0 Amonia 0 and Nitrates 0, the only thing is the Nitrite is high 4.0 but the guy at the aquatic centre says not to worry about it because it's a fairly new tank (6 weeks). I have been changing 20% of the water twice a week and all of the fish seem ok (10 Neons & another Guppy)

Thanks for any help. :)
 
It's possible that she has ingested the fry due to stress or perhaps some illness. One of my female guppies did this after I transferred her to a maternity net :-(
 
The breeding for them is quite stressful and difficult they've got a load of babies inside them after all! Sometimes moving to the breeding net/tank means there's too much stress and she'll abort the pregnancy, as CCL says ingesting the whole lot. If at all possible try and let her give birth in the tank and then take out the babies into a breeding net or seperate tank when she has them that way there's little risk of her ingesting the whole lot although some may be eaten by her tank mates!!

The good news is it'll only be a month before she'll have a new batch of fry and hopefully this time you'll be more succesful! :thumbs:
 
I agree with william, also, here is a helpful tip for telling if they have already given birth. After giving birth, female guppies are not activa and dont eat for about 24 hours so if she isnt eating for a day, then shout HURRAY!, you should have some fry in the tank somewhere(usually in the gravel at sides of tank during day, otherwise, during night they swim around)
 
Bradley said:
I agree with william, also, here is a helpful tip for telling if they have already given birth. After giving birth, female guppies are not activa and dont eat for about 24 hours so if she isnt eating for a day, then shout HURRAY!, you should have some fry in the tank somewhere(usually in the gravel at sides of tank during day, otherwise, during night they swim around)
Thats a good point you make yes the mother on giving birth releases hormones which results in her not being hungry this is a natural protection in the wild to ensure she doesn't just give birth and then eat the babies!! :)
 
Hey, there is always next time, right!
Look at it this way," Perfectionists stay the same while the rest keep on improving"
Good Luck and if all else fails, Try and Try Again! :fun:
 

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