Pregnant Guppy Died

tim3d

tim3d

Medium Fish
#1
May 15, 2010
56
0
0
Montreal, quebec, canada
#1
Hi

I woke up this morning to find one of my female guppies dead in a plant. Now, i have left her in the water in a net for the moment, before i confirmed that she is dead.
The female is clearly pregnant, and i had noticed her always hovering inside one plant, and lying down on the driftwood next to it. I assumed she was getting ready to spawn. She was bloated, and just looking like she ready to blow with fry. The last two days she started burying her self in the plant to the point that i was concerned she was wedged, but upon inspection she was fine. Now today, shes seemingly dead.

I have never dealt with guppy reproduction yet, this was a first attempt, so is this normal and shes just in a pretend to be dead state while she births? or is she really dead... and if so can i save the fry? or is it finished?

The water conditions are pristine, lots of hiding places, and very few predators to cause problems. Any help would be appreciated so that i know id i should dispose of the body before it starts contaminating my tank.

thanks
 

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OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#7
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#7
lauraf said:
Ahhh, okay - I see what you mean. There is a visible dark spot which could be confused with an actual 'gravid spot' - is that just because the skin pigmentation is quite light with this fish?
Click to expand...
The 'gravid spot' in fish does not prove pregnancy, it only proves its a female. It can be unfertilized eggs showing through the skin, or fry to be dropped.

I breed only egg layers and that is how I can tell the difference in male/female. For fish that do not show any easily seen external differences(males and females look alike), if you feed them well with a good variety of foods, the females get fat with eggs. They are not pregant since they are not livebearer fish, but clearly show a 'gravid spot.'

Not very good pics, but here are 4 egg layers that show 'gravid spots.'



These all laid eggs with a male 3 days later. Clearly no gravid spot after the deed was done!
 

tim3d

tim3d

Medium Fish
#8
May 15, 2010
56
0
0
Montreal, quebec, canada
#8
ok, but then where did the guppy fry in my tank come from? one of the three are pregnant... and that one seemed to be the best candidate... hope this isnt a possible disease that is contagious...
 

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OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#9
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#9
I am not saying she wasn't pregnant at one time or that she wasn't when she died. Just her physical appearance does not seem to be pregnant (my opinion only) but more a manifestation of Mycobacterium marinum.

Mycobacterium marinum is contagious and some experts say that 80% of commercially bred fish from the Orient have it or carry it. It is also called "Fish TB," it is contagious to humans, expressed as a rash on those parts of your body that come in contact with the water (usually fingers, hands, and arms).

6 fish I recently purchased to be dithers in one of my larger tanks are showing symptoms of it (curved spines). They are still in a QT tank and I do not touch the water with my bare hands (I use gloves) and all implements that I've used for water changes, nets, fish food, etc., are used only for them. Sadly, I will likely have to make the decision to euthanize them.
 

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