Endler mama won't drop fry

[Brandiggity]

I've looked over other threads and have done everything I can think of to get this girl to drop her fry.. It's been MONTHS since she was first showing signs of pregnancy. Now she's huge, squared and her gravid spot keeps getting bigger.

I've redone her tank with plants, I've made sure the parameters are good, I've made the water a bit warmer, when I noticed guppy daddy stalking her and stressing her out I moved her to my community tank into a birthing box.
She's looked ready to pop for weeks now.. and I just don't know what else to do to get her comfortable enough to drop her fry.
I've heard that they could just die before even giving birth if it's been too long??
She goes through phases of hiding out, not eating and such as if she's going to drop em, but then she goes back to her normal fishy self, eating and swimming around just fine...
She doesn't seem stressed out in the birthing box and I've been feeding her a bit more than usual the last week just to see if maybe that's the problem... but no change.
I'm at a loss here.

Any advice or tips would be amazing.

 

[Autumnsky]

So strange. Maybe she has had fry and ate them?

Are you familiar with the nitrification cycle? The article in my signature has some helpful tips and information about that. Sometimes varying water parameters could cause stress on the female.

Are there many females to the number of males in the tank?

To be honest, I would move the pestering male(s) away and let the female stay in the normal tank she is usually in.

 

[Brandiggity]

I had her in the tank alone for almost 3 weeks. I took the others out and put them into the community tank. And still no fry. There was only one guppy in the tank with her, and 3 cardinal tetras that basically just do their own thing.
It's possible she dropped some and ate them I suppose.. I've never seen any and her body shape hasn't ever gone down, just bigger lol.
I've really done everything I can think of. The water parameters have always been okay, the only thing I can think of was the heat wave we had a few weeks back. The temp in that tank spiked and she wasn't doing well at all, but I managed to get the tank cooled down quickly and within a couple days she was back to her normal self.

 

[Autumnsky]

Maybe at some point she will settle down and get more comfortable. Guppies, as livebearers have one basic purpose in life and that is to make babies. So the question of is my Guppy pregnant is pretty much always yes. They can store the sperm from the males for up to 6 months or more. Quite incredible.

So if she doesn't have any babies now, she will in the future if she's been around the male.

The Guppies and Endlers I now have in my community tank give birth but the other fish eat almost all the babies. I might get one survivor.

Last year I had about 2000, yes thousand, offspring from my Guppies and Endlers and they have fish with them now which will to keep the numbers in check.

The best thing is to make sure you do plenty of water changes and keep the water as good of condition as possible to keep the fish good and healthy.

What is your pH?

Do you know the rest of the water parameters like GH / KH?

 

[Brandiggity]

It's really not a question if.. she IS for sure pregnant. She's huge, and her gravid spot is about as huge as she is, and protruding. She's been this way for weeks upon weeks.
I only know the parameters that my master test kit tells me lol. My Ph is always around 7. It'll float between 6.8 and 7..

I just bought a new heater to replace the auto one I have which doesn't allow me to change the temp. So I'll see if that works. The auto one I have keeps the temp around 80°

 

[Autumnsky]

I didn't mean to say she might not be pregnant, more that she would continue to have babies even if she may be only dropping a small number at a time. Mainly that there should be more fry in the future to look forward to.

The water parameters could cause a problem mainly if the pH was very low. And if the water parameters ammonia, nitrIte and nitrate are in the safe levels it isn't likely that problem.

And temperature is okay. You might turn down the new heater down to around 77F unless it would be a problem for the other fish.

Stressed Guppies can hold the fry and absorb them... but she should look a bit more normal and then begin to look more gravid again.

Young, new mother Guppies can also give birth to few fry, which may be eaten by the fish.

How many males and females are in the tank? I would divide the males to a different tank and let the females enjoy the peacefulness and see if that reduces the stress, along with making sure the water parameters remain in the safe level. Maybe moving her around caused her to clam up.

The females don't really like a breeder box because usually it is bare and wide open looking without a space for the momma to hide and feel safe.

A normal gestation is usually around a month. A little longer if the water is cooler.

Maybe add some Guppy grass or Anacharis something you can leave floating which grows like a weed for tank keepers in your area. This would give cover and a feeling of security.

Other than that I am out of ideas.

So what a puzzle.

 

[Brandiggity]

Right, so I've done all that.

I had her in a 5 gallon tank with 2 male guppies, one died shortly after I got him so there was just the 2 for a while.
Once the mama got bigger I moved the guppy out, he kept chasing her and nipping at her butt, assuming still trying to mate.
So I moved him into the community tank and left the mama alone in the 5 gallon in hopes she would drop fry.. she didn't.
My male guppy was being chased down by one of my bully tetras so I put him back into the 5 gallon and put mama in the breeder box. She was in the 5 gallon alone for about 2 weeks or more.
I've got fake plants and real plants in the birthing box with her so she does have cover, I keep crushed flakes in there for her and babies when they decide to come, in hopes she won't eat them as soon as they drop.

And so this is where my problem is lol.

I've done everything I can think of.. I'm testing the parameters more often too.

Should I maybe just put her back in the 5 gallon tank?
Since she's been in the birthing box I've added more plants and moss and plan on getting a few more full plants to put in.. I've got water wisteria, money wort, Java moss and one other (forget the name) in there currently.

 

[Autumnsky]

I would get a couple healthy, nice looking females put them in a quarantine say the 5 gallon for about 10 days. If they look okay and not acting ill, sitting at the top or bottom, hiding ragged tails or spots, etc. Showing up then hold them longer. Keep the water changes a couplentimes a week about a 25% pwc idea being no water parameter stress issues help them make it through the stress of transition.

This way the Guppy momma can feel more secure with more females around and the male will have the chance to chase some females but not exhaust just one.

If you want to raise some babies then this would be a good plan.

If you do not want lots of babies consider, a group of male Guppies and Endlers.

Additionally, about the breeder boxes nets... they can collect food and waste and have a micro climate? Of poor quality water because the water basically sits and very little exchange of water happens. This has happened to me quite a few times untill I figured out what it was. Then I would pour new treated or tank water in to help keep it fresh at least daily and especially after feeding say an hour later.
Though

 

[Brandiggity]

I have thought about that also, getting more females. I haven't settled on it yet though lol.
I wish I could attach photos without URL, the way I have her birthing box set up, is right beside the filter outtake. The water flow runs right along side of the birthing box and the floaters are circulating within it. It's not a crazy current or anything...�� But I will try pouring some of the water into the birthing box next water change. She seems really chill, eating just fine and all.
I'm stumped.

 

[Autumnsky]

Me too.