Guppies are known as million fish as they can be pregnant right after giving birth. In addition, guppies can breed out of control if we keep males and females together. Sometimes female guppies die after giving birth, and there can be various factors behind it which we will discuss in this article. So, why did my guppy die after giving birth? Let us find out.
Stress is the main reason behind guppy dying after giving birth. However, there are also other factors like difficulties during labor, inadequate and unstable water parameters, illness, and lack of nutritional food. Good care minimizes the chances of guppy dying after giving birth.
In this article, we will discuss the reasons for pregnant guppy dying after giving birth and how we can minimize the chances of this happening. Also, we will learn about how to take care of pregnant guppies. So, let us get into it.
Contents
Why did my pregnant guppy die after giving birth?
These are the simple explanation behind your pregnant guppy dying after giving birth:
- Your guppy was having difficulties during labor.
- There was too much stress caused to your pregnant guppy.
- The pregnant guppy was living in inadequate water parameters.
- Your pregnant guppy was already sick.
- Pregnant guppy gets stressed out while being in a breeding box.
- Not getting the same water conditions while moving into a new aquarium.
Difficulties during labor
The gestation period of guppies is 30 days or sooner if the water condition is ideal.
If there is no adequate water condition provided to pregnant guppies, the gestation period can stretch long.
The longer it lasts, the risk of complications will increase during labor.
Guppies are life bearers and give birth to fry.
A pregnant female guppy can give birth to a hundred fry at a time.
During labor, there will be complications when the pregnant guppy cannot release the fry out.
There can be several reasons behind that:
- Guppy fry can get stuck in the birth canal because of deformities or overdue pregnancy.
- Poor water conditions can cause complications during labor.
- Stress can also be the primary factor for difficulties during labor.
Stress
The stress level of female guppies gets increases when they get pregnant.
This happens naturally, and we cannot do anything about it.
But we can take care that they don’t face too much stress because of other issues like:
- Bad water conditions.
- Unstable water parameters.
- Noncompatible or aggressive tankmates.
- Lack of hiding places.
- Lack of nutritional food.
These are the signs which will indicate that your pregnant guppy is under stress:
- Your guppy will swim erratically.
- Your guppy will remain at the bottom of the tank.
- Your guppy will start losing its color.
Also read: Are My Guppies Stressed?
Inadequate water parameters
Inadequate water parameters will create difficulties for pregnant guppy during labor.
Water conditions play a major role in preventing your guppies from coming under stress and other complications during pregnancy.
Unstable water parameters will cause stress to your pregnant guppies and can result in miscarriage.
Illness
Your pregnant guppy may be already suffering from some illness before and during getting pregnant.
It is possible that your female guppy was sick when you bought it from the pet store and was pregnant as well.
Your female guppy can also get sick in your care because of unstable water parameters, inadequate water conditions, and infections.
However, you can recover your pregnant guppy from a disease if you can detect it in its early stages and if it is curable.
It will be wise to get familiar with the diseases which can affect your guppies and learn how to cure and prevent your guppies from them.
Stress while being in a breeding box
A breeding box is an option if you don’t want a separate tank for your pregnant guppy and already have a big enough tank.
The breeding box will get attached to your guppies aquarium.
Guppies can come under stress by living in a breeding box.
They will not find enough space and a place to hide, which will cause stress and can cause passing away.
You should keep your guppies in a breeding box only for a period when your guppy is about to release fry rather than for weeks or more.
Keeping your pregnant guppy in a breeding box for a long time will cause stress.
New aquarium
Moving your pregnant guppy to a separate tank will have many risks which can affect your pregnant guppy.
One of the major factors here will be water parameters.
If the new aquarium does not have the same water parameters as before in which your pregnant guppy is living, then the guppy will become stressed.
Make sure to set the new aquarium’s water parameters as it is in the home aquarium.
Also, create a hiding place in a new aquarium.
Ways to minimize the chances of guppy dying after giving birth?
These are the ways to minimize the chances of your pregnant guppy dying after giving birth:
- Provide ideal water parameters to your pregnant guppy.
- Feed nutritional food to your pregnant guppy.
- Create a stress-free environment for your guppy.
- Ensure having lots of hiding places for your pregnant guppy.
Ideal water parameters
Inadequate water parameters will make your pregnant guppy take longer to release the fry.
The more time pregnant guppy will take to release the fry, the more there will be a risk of complications.
Pregnant guppy prefers warmer water.
Provide your pregnant guppy with a water temperature of between 72-82°F.
With ideal water temperature, stable water parameters are equally important.
Water temperature issues occur when you decide to move your pregnant guppy to a separate tank.
If you plan to move your pregnant guppy to a separate tank, then first adjust the water temperature of the other tank as it is of your guppies aquarium.
Also, keep the water clean as pregnant guppy will become weak because of stress and will be easily vulnerable to various infections.
| Particular | Requirement |
| Water temperature | 72-82 °F |
| Water pH level | 6.8-7.8 |
Also read: Can Guppy Fish Live in Tap Water?
Nurtitional food
Providing your pregnant guppy with good nutritional food is essential for their health.
Ensure to provide your pregnant guppy with varieties of nutritional food to minimize the chances of dying after giving birth.
| Food | Serving Quantity | No of Times |
| Veggie pellets | One pinch at a time | 2-3 times a day |
| Brine shrimp | One pinch at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Mosquito larvae | 10-15 pieces | 2-3 times a week |
| Tubifex Worms | One pinch at a time | 1 time a week |
| Earthworms | One pinch at a time | 1-2 times a week |
Also read: Best Homemade Food For Guppies.
Stress free environment
Stress can affect your pregnant guppy in a critical way.
Your guppy can come under stress because of various reasons:
- Overcrowded tank.
- Inadequate water conditions.
- Aggressive tankmates
- Lack of hiding place.
- Lack of supply of nutritional food.
Make sure there is no aggressive fish present in your guppies aquarium like angelfish.
You can have tetras, platy, molly, shrimps like peaceful fish in your guppies aquarium.
Never make your guppies aquarium overcrowded with guppies and other tankmates.
An overcrowded tank will make it difficult for your pregnant guppy to swim freely, and there will also be a lack of oxygen in the water.
Hiding places
A pregnant female guppy needs a hiding place to release a fry.
Guppy will also need a hiding place to protect themselves if they find any danger, like aggressive tankmates.
Consider adding lots of live aquatic plants to your guppies aquarium.
Aquatic plants will make a good hiding place and help you improve the quality of water.
How to take care of a pregnant guppy?
We now know from all the above information that stress can be the major factor affecting your pregnant female guppy.
You can care for your pregnant guppies by doing all these things:
- Feed them good quality nutritional food.
- Maintain adequate water conditions and parameters.
- Make sure that the water parameters are stable.
- Keep a regular check on your pregnant guppy.
- If you find any signs of disease, take action immediately.
Keeping care of all these things will ensure that your guppy fish is healthy and not suffering from any issues.
Ensure that the guppies with deformities should not mate as deformities can transfer to the fry getting born.
It is crucial to keep a regular check on your guppies even after releasing the fry, as female guppies can get pregnant just after giving birth.
However, for taking care of your pregnant guppy, you need to know how to detect if your guppy is pregnant.
How to know if my guppy is pregnant?
These are the signs which indicate that your female guppy is pregnant:
- Your guppy will have a black spot, also known as a gravid spot, behind the anal fin.
- Your guppy will have a big round belly.
- A pregnant guppy will lose its appetite.
- Your guppy will be still in one place and will be inactive.
- Your pregnant guppy will show hiding and aggressive behavior.
- Your guppy will mate.
Conclusion:
There can be various factors behind pregnant guppy fish dying after giving birth. Stress is the main factor for this happening. Other factors can be complications during labor, inadequate water condition, and illness.
We can minimize the chances of pregnant guppy dying after giving birth by providing our pregnant guppy with an adequate and stable water parameter, nutritional food, and a stress-free environment.
Reference: NCBI