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Is My Guppy Sick or About to Drop Fry?
By mandywilder from the MandyWilder department, Section Ask Guppylog Posted on Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 12:08:59 PM PST Tags: (all tags)

One of my guppies is pregnant, but not sure how pregnant. She has been staying at the top of the tank for 1 1/2 days now. Is she sick? Or about to drop fry? Her belly is big, but I have seen bigger! I am a new breeder.=P

[editor's note, by Scott Lockwood] Please read the F.A.Q. and Immediate Help sections before submiting a one liner like this. Please also refrain from using special characters, unless necessary.

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Is My Guppy Sick or About to Drop Fry? | 3 comments (3 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Is My Guppy Sick or About to Drop Fry?ż? (none / 0) (#3)
by DaysSweetDaze on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 05:38:35 PM PST

After just a few fry batches it becomes REALLY easy a lot of times to tell if the fish is about to give birth... at least with my ladies!
My fish, though, usually only hide at the top, towards the back of the tank, when something is wrong... My pregnant girls usually display labor by hiding in one spot, and then acting sort of frantic; not holding still. There is heavy breathing, and often the tail starts to sag. They will eat a lot, and spit it all out.
A really motionless fish is usually sick...
I have a tankful of females that act like that, for some reason, and while they didn't die, they have also never given birth. Not a one of them.

Also, my girls almost always look 'really pregnant' all the time, except the day after giving birth when the gravid spots becomes more red or orange. There are a lot of reasons a fish could become bloated and pregnant looking...

I hope things turn out for you. Guppies give birth like crazy... but that never made it easy for me to breed them, either. It was quite a challenge.

Re: Is My Guppy Sick or About to Drop Fry?ż? (none / 0) (#1)
by Alisa on Sun Dec 11, 2005 at 09:42:53 AM PST

Without a picture it's really hard to say. Are all her fins clamped looking? That's a sure sign for me that the guppy isn't feeling well. Is she hiding in the corner? Are your males dancing like crazy around her? Those are some signs that she might drop soon.
You should try to check out the Immediate Help section for more information. Tell us how it goes!

If she is staying right at the surface she (none / 0) (#2)
by unclescott on Sun Dec 11, 2005 at 09:20:23 PM PST

might be in need of more oxygen. Of course, if the other fish are fine, that probably is not the case. As Alisa notes, females will seek out hiding places to drop fry.

You could always, gently, do a 25% water changewith water which has sat a few days and is about the same temperature as the tank. ;)

Do you know when she dropped before? If there a way she can be isolated in a breeding net? (Not that plastic thing please.)

For further reading, please see the sections in Immediate help on

Breeding
Pregnancy and Birth
Fry Diet and Safety

There is actually a 40 question checklist you could use - if you have the time after a water change. It is in
20 Questions for new fish owners or owners of sick fish

We kind of figured for inflation. ;)

By the bye, this is one of those questions, asked every couple of weeks, which is best asked as a diary Mandy. We're glad to see you here and so my vote is for your "Mulligan." :)

All the best!
uncle scott

[ Parent ]

Is My Guppy Sick or About to Drop Fry? | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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