Livebearer Pregnancy Question

[Darkseid76]

Well I'm not sure whether I'm posting this in the correct area but it is related to breeding.

I lost my green swordtail yesterday and I believe she may have died from pregnancy complications. My water parameters are all in line. She wasnt stressed because their is only one male in the tank and she chased him more often than not.

She was very close to her next batch because she was starting to have that square shape to her belly. So yesterday morning I noticed she wasnt as active as usual. So I shut off the filter and lighting on that side of the tank. I figured she was ready to birth. But when I came home from work She was lifeless at the bottom of my tank.

It was so sudden that I couldnt believe it was disease related and it wasnt her first birth. She had 4 babies about a month ago and they are all alive and well.

So I'm just wondering if its possible she died from the stress of birthing complications.

55 gallon planted with water sprite, floating and planted, java moss and a few rock decor. Bioload: 2 Red Wag Swordtails male and female, 2 Sunset Platies male and female, 3 neon tetras, 3 otocinclus, 1 golddust molly female, 1 balloon molly female and the 4 baby swordtails no more than 3-4 weeks old. Water temp 80 degrees, 0 ammonia 0 nitrites.

So I'm wondering if anybody has had a similar experience.

 

[alia258]

I havnt seen any problems like that, I have guppies and this is my first time, and her first time as well, and I haven't seen deadly birthing complications. What's your tank info? (size, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, pH, chemicals used in the water, any medicines or dechlorinater used, plants used, if they're live of fake, a list of decorations used, and the such)

 

[gabysapha]

The chances of it being due to birth compared to a variety of other reasons are pretty low. There are so many things that can cause the death if fish, and it may be just a coincidnce that it happened during pregnancy. Animals are typically a little weaker during pregnancy, consideringthe amount of energy that goes into the babies, so she could have been weakened and more susceptible to water parameters/disease?

 

[alia258]

Gaby s. your thoughts are exactly what I was thinking! If there is a low difference between my guppies and your fish, I assume the 90% of their life is spent pregnant thing is the same as well. This being the fact, females are generally weaker than males, and more suspect able to tank disease and level spikes.

 

[Darkseid76]

I use Seachem Prime. Do water changes once per week. Plants are live. Ph is around 7.4-7.6. Its hard to believe it was disease because she died so quickly. I'm very diligent about water changes and overall care. I havent had any casualties in the past few months and havent introduced any new fish.

 

[Talvari]

I'm sorry to hear that!

I work at a lfs and I have seen a few times in the past two years where a female died during birth. The female would be in the middle of popping a baby out, and it would get stuck. 24 hours later, the baby is still stuck and the mother is dead. Ive also seen it where a female was too young to give birth and her body wasnt quite ready for it, and the female dies before it gives birth.

There are a lot of different possibilites. More than likely, you'll never know what caused it. Just keep an eye on the rest of your fish and when you feel ready, get another female swordtail or two. Usually you do best with a ratio of a least two females to one male.

 

[Darkseid76]

I was thinking that myself. When i netted her body out she practically burst. I counted at least 16 babies. I wish I could have helped her.

 

[alia258]

You have her live offspring? That means you get to keep her genes at least! ^^