Since a new tank set up from June, every female guppy has died around birth…
I have a 220 litre tank, 25 deg C with an assortment of fish including:
2 peppered catfish
some mollies, platies both who are regularly giving birth and fry surviving
neon tetra school
a few penguin tetras and glowline tetras
a few scissortails
a few danios
There is quite a bit of real plants in there too.
We have had about 6 female guppies over the last three months die around birth time when they have been looking very big and ‘boxy’.
Last week I purchased a breeder/try trap (which don’t seem too popular on here) and put two females in it with a divide between them. After two days they had both given birth to a total of about 40 fry. I then took the mothers out of the trap and returned them to the main tank. Within a day or two, two more female guppies had died (I assume the mothers, but not sure, as all my females look pretty similar!)
I put a third female in the trap over the weekend and three days on no fry, so I let her go, but within 24 hours she was also dead. It seems whether in a trap or not, no females are surviving, while I haven’t lost a male guppy. I have had a couple of other isolated deaths in the tank from other breeds but nothing like the poor female guppies.
I have kept the ratio of males to females at least 2:1 or 3:1 since we first got them.
My local aquariums have suggested the following:
Are the females most susceptible at a particular stage of pregnancy?
I am at a loss as to what I can do to fix the problem. Would love your help!
I have a 220 litre tank, 25 deg C with an assortment of fish including:
2 peppered catfish
some mollies, platies both who are regularly giving birth and fry surviving
neon tetra school
a few penguin tetras and glowline tetras
a few scissortails
a few danios
There is quite a bit of real plants in there too.
We have had about 6 female guppies over the last three months die around birth time when they have been looking very big and ‘boxy’.
Last week I purchased a breeder/try trap (which don’t seem too popular on here) and put two females in it with a divide between them. After two days they had both given birth to a total of about 40 fry. I then took the mothers out of the trap and returned them to the main tank. Within a day or two, two more female guppies had died (I assume the mothers, but not sure, as all my females look pretty similar!)
I put a third female in the trap over the weekend and three days on no fry, so I let her go, but within 24 hours she was also dead. It seems whether in a trap or not, no females are surviving, while I haven’t lost a male guppy. I have had a couple of other isolated deaths in the tank from other breeds but nothing like the poor female guppies.
I have kept the ratio of males to females at least 2:1 or 3:1 since we first got them.
My local aquariums have suggested the following:
- They are being attacked… so get traps for them.
- Diet - I currently feed them tropical flakes with frozen brine shrimp two days a week.
- You need more females.
- Water condition/temperature - set at 25 deg C and weekly replacing water and using water conditioner and Cycle when adding new water.
Are the females most susceptible at a particular stage of pregnancy?
I am at a loss as to what I can do to fix the problem. Would love your help!