You are happy to see your guppies getting pregnant and cannot wait to see the guppies fries swimming around your fish tank after the gestation period. To your horror, your mummy guppy shortly dies after giving birth. The key question on our mind is why do guppies die after giving birth? Guppies normally do not die after giving birth unless they are already sick when pregnant, they feel stressed out during the process, have complications during pregnancy or poor water conditions. Read on if you are keen to find out more about why female guppies can die after giving birth.
Table of Contents
Will Guppies Die After Giving Birth?
Without proper care, guppies can die after giving birth due to environmental factors like conditions in your fish tank or stress or disease-related factors.
Stress
It is best to keep your female guppy away from other tank mates while giving birth and after giving birth. Male guppies may harass the female that is already weak after giving birth. This can cause the female to die. Use a breeder box to help keep your guppies safe during the labor process.
Complications During Pregnancy
Random complications may occur during the birthing process. These are rare and cannot be prevented as no prior knowledge would be available for you to prepare a plan to prevent the death of your guppies.
Sickness
A sick guppy can give birth but can die soon after due to the previous illness. The female guppy’s immune system will be weak after birth and this can lead to her sickness overcoming her.
Poor Water Conditions
It is important that the water conditions remain the same before, during, and after pregnancy. Maintain the aquarium’s cleanliness, the pH level, and temperature.
New Aquarium
Moving a pregnant guppy to a new tank after pregnancy can shock her system and cause unnecessary stress. Both of which can cause your guppy to even die before giving birth.
What Do I Do After My Guppy Gives Birth?
You will have to quickly remove the mummy guppy from the baby fries and place her in a separate aquarium. Guppies do not take care of their newborns and will even eat them. Therefore, it is not advisable to place the baby fries with other adult guppies in the same fish tank.
References
- Female guppies die after giving birth! – Aquaria Central – https://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/female-guppies-die-after-giving-birth.14680/
- Female Guppies dying after giving birth – Fish Forums – https://www.fishforums.net/threads/female-guppies-dying-after-giving-birth.11847/
- Guppies Die After Giving Birth – Tropical Fish Forum – https://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/livebearers/guppies-die-after-giving-birth-13442/
- Mother guppies dying after birth??? – The Planted Tank – https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/8-general-planted-tank-discussion/55130-mother-guppies-dying-after-birth.html