I had 2 of my best females in my pride die while giving birth.in one week. Water is perfect. Never had this happen before. Someone said it happens to him with his guppy operation as well. Seems odd to me. Anyone else?
Strange but normal...I guess.
- Thread starter Sparky
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Mmathis
TurtleMommy
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Are you talking about guppies — since this is posted in “indoor tanks?” I know they are live bearers, but don’t know anything about breeding, birth, etc. The first thing that I thought of, was as with goldfish and koi, maybe the female wasn’t in top health. Please let us know if you find out anything.
Indeed I am. Health wise they were prime. 2nd batch for one of them without issue. When observed close to labor they’re moved to my birthing tank. It’s quiet with lots of grass for hiding. Totally at a loss and double checking everything.
Wow Sparky, that’s weird. Losing one is not completely unusual but two is a disturbing ‘flag on the play’ issue. Were the deceased fish siblings? Could be a genetic thing. Given they were put into the birthing tank weeks ago, transfer shock is doubtful, especially since your water quality is good. Are you feeding live foods? Possible contamination? One thing I discovered way back is stray voltage and it’s potential negative effect on some fishes. Do you have any electronics (submersible heater, circulation pump or internal filter) inside the tank? All of them emit imperceptible stray voltage and that normally isn’t a problem. But one might be a defective ‘trickeler’ and that could be source of stress or at least a contributor to the deaths. I would seriously test for stray voltage. All of my aquariums, freshwater and brackish water, are outfitted with titanium ground probes to head off that issue. Hope this helps!
Stephen
Stephen
Wow! Didn’t even think about that and I’m an electrician. Food checked out as the same bloodworms go to my other tanks with no ill effect. Love the drain probe concept. Inductance alone can do strange things in h2o along with stray voltage. I have a breeding pair in the birthing tank right now. Might need to pull out and blow the dust off the PQ analogue meter. My digitals won’t see that stuff. Thanks man! Are your probes bonded to equipment ground then?
My question is the ratio of males to females. with koi a larger male can certainly do some damage tot he female if not kill her. if you have to many males that could be the problem though I know they are substantially smaller but the can harass the female tirelessly
My main strain are kept separate until 1x1 mating. I pull a breeder male and female into an empty 10 gallon. Let them mate (really fun to watch) and pull the male after 4-5 days. The female at that point is alone and well fed for usually 26-32 days. I find the birthing boxes create too much stress so I keep a close eye after 20+ days. After birth I pull the female and heavily feed the fry. In my colony tanks it’s Willy nilly but the ratio is usually naturally 2:3. Harassing yes but lots of hidy holes for the gals if they get sick of boys.