Can fish die giving birth to babies???

[Fishboy856]

Hello there. Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while in here (been so busy with work). Anyways; this morning when I woke up; I found one of my Platies floating on the top of the tank; and upon further inspection; I did realize that this fish was deceased. I removed the fish, and as I was testing the water to see if there was any quality conditions that may have caused the death (as I have made it a habit to do with any death in my tanks); I realized that there was 3 - 4 babies swimming around the plants. None of the fish in my tank appeared to be pregnant; but I was wondering if they may have been the cause of death to my Platy. As I already stated; the fish did not exhibit any signs of pregnancy ( swollen belly, induced appetite, "gravid" spots, wierd behavior, etc.); however is it possible that she had these babies and stressed her to death??? I now feel bad that if there were any other signs that I could have noticed; I would have been able to place her in to the breeder tank (the kind that floats on the water); and been able to pay better attention to her. Also; every night before I go to bed; I observe them for a few minutes this way if I do wake up and there's any problems...I could possibly have a better idea of what may have happened; but she was swimming around with the other fish without a care in the world; so thought everything was ok. I do water testing 1-2 times a week (depending on the look of water and fish activity) and also do a 15 - 20% water change every 2 - 3 weeks.

 

[Blueiz]

Yes they can, and some die shortly after giving birth..

 

[meegosh]

Short answer, yes. Its hard to say one way or another without being there to see what happened. I had a female guppy that died while giving birth a while back. It had dropped around 15 fry and then it began to swim up and down, brushing itself against the side of the tank. I knew something wasn't right immediately. I removed her from main tank and put her in QT. She dropped 3 more fry within an hour and then passed away. Giving birth can stress the fish and if she was ill before giving birth then that can complicate things even further.

 

[kellyinvancouver]

Giving birth will sometimes cause an internal rupture or a prolapse of the anus or uterus. Livebearers have pretty big fry so this is not unheard of.

 

[mgamer20o0]

not uncommon at all. meegosh said the stress of it along with just being over all weak from it unable to recoup.