You must have been excited on noticing that your female guppy is pregnant and about to deliver. You might now be wanting to take the utmost care of your female guppy. However, while researching ways to take care of a pregnant guppy, you may come across the fact that female guppies die after giving birth. So, is it true? Do guppies die after giving birth?
Guppies do die after giving birth. This is mainly due to stress. Apart from stress, there are other factors too that can lead to the death of your female guppies. Labor complications, inadequate water parameters, any prior sickness, or illness to your female guppies can lead to their death.
Let’s examine in detail the causes of pregnancy-related death in guppies.
Why Do Guppies Die After Giving Birth?
Giving birth to a new life is taxing. It does take a toll on your health. For guppies too, it is no different.
That is why you may notice that many of your female guppies suddenly die after giving birth.
Here are some of the major reasons why guppies die after giving birth:
- High Stress: Stress is a major cause of the death of a guppy. When your female guppy gets pregnant, she is more susceptible to stress. You will immediately notice some changes in the behavior of your female guppy. A change in her swimming pattern, refusal to eat, trying to hide, or sitting at the bottom of the tank due to stress are some of the noticeable changes.
- Sickness: It is possible that your female guppy is already sick before getting pregnant. Sickness can be due to improper water conditions, bacterial infection, or any other reason. This can again lead to the death of your female guppy after her delivery.
- Inadequate Water Parameters: This is again one of the most common reasons for the death of your guppy. Bad water is not good for your guppy’s health. Your guppy will feel stress due to unfavorable water conditions, which can lead to its death.
- Complications During Labor: Like humans, guppies also sometimes face complications during labor. Complications can arise because of the fry getting stuck in the canal of the female guppy. This can happen because of any deformity in the fry. In addition, there may be labor complications due to stress or unhygienic water conditions too.
- Stress Caused Because Of Keeping Female Guppies In A Breeder Box: A breeding box is usually used when you have a large tank and do not want to set up a separate tank for the pregnant guppies. Many people typically keep their pregnant female guppies in a breeder box for about 10 days before they are about to deliver. This can result in the female guppies getting stressed if the breeder box is small in size. In a small breeder box, guppies can get cramped and not find any place to hide. This can cause stress to your female guppies, and it may eventually lead to their death.
These are the primary reasons that lead to the death of pregnant female guppies.
But, you can certainly take good care of your female guppies during their pregnancy to avoid their death.
Here are some of the important precautions that you can take to make sure that your female guppies do not die after giving birth:
- You should always ensure that the quality of the tank water is good. Apart from that, you should make your pregnant female guppy feel comfortable in the tank.
- You can keep plants in the tank for cover. This will provide a good place for your guppies to relax and will reduce stress.
- You should also continuously monitor your guppies for any pre-existing diseases or illnesses. A healthy diet should be fed to your guppies in order to avoid any complications during pregnancy.
- Water parameters should be ideal for your guppies at the time of delivery. Pregnant female guppies prefer warmer water temperature in the range of 72° to 79° Fahrenheit. If the water is cooler, pregnancy can last longer.
Recommended Further Reading:
- What Do Guppies Eat – The Ultimate Food Guide For Guppy Owners
- Here’s Why Guppies Swim At The Top Of The Tank
- Can Guppies Live In Saltwater? Here’s What We Found
- Can Guppies Eat Betta Food? (Here’s What You Should Know)
How Long Does It Take Guppies To Give Birth?
Guppies take around a month to give birth. The gestation period of a guppy is anywhere between 21 to 30 days.
However, this time period can vary.
Guppies have a tendency to breed a lot.
They give birth to as many as 30 fries at a time.
However, under extreme conditions, the number can be as low as 2 to 3 or as high as more than 100 fries.
Now, once your female guppy delivers the fry, you might wonder what to do next?
What Should You Do After Your Guppy Gives Birth?
Giving birth to a fry can be a little stressful for your female guppy. So you should take special care of your guppy.
If you had kept your female guppy in a breeder box, then you should first remove the female guppy from the breeder box and shift her to the main aquarium.
You also need to take care of the fry. You can do that by providing a well balanced and nutritious diet to your fry.
Quality food such as flakes in a powdered form, baby brine shrimp, baby fish food can be given to your fry.
Initially, you need to feed your fry several times a day in small quantities.
You can also decorate your tank with lots of plants and rocks. This will give a place for your guppy fry to hide and to relax as well.
Related Further Reading:
- Do Guppies Eat Each Other? And How To Stop Them?
- Can Guppies Live Alone? – Here Are Crucial Things To Consider
- Can Male Guppies Live Together? (Crucial Things To Consider)
- Do Guppies Need Oxygen? + Ways To Increase Oxygen Levels
Parting Thoughts
Guppies are exceptional breeders.
But they do tend to die after giving birth because of various reasons.
The majority of the main reasons are listed above in this article.
Apart from that, you should provide favorable living conditions, eliminate stress, ensure good water conditions, maintain appropriate water parameters, and provide a healthy diet to your guppies for them to live a long life.
