Still born babies ):

[mizu-chan]

So after a long wait my swordtail has finally started to give birth, and from what I can see all of her babies are deformed and already dead. ):

What caused this?

[MedRed]

meth... on a serious note... sorry for your losses :-(

[lauraleellbp]

Could be lots of things; poor genes (hers and/or the male's), poor water conditions, poor nutrition (those could have been experienced perhaps before you even got her), she might have given birth prematurely or had complications...

If she makes it through OK and has more babies down the road, whether or not those turn out healthy would help you narrow down some of the options. You may never know for sure, though.

[mizu-chan]

meth... on a serious note... sorry for your losses :-(

thanks ): Hopefully it wont happen again.
My fish need drug counseling. lol.

Could be lots of things; poor genes (hers and/or the male's), poor water conditions, poor nutrition (those could have been experienced perhaps before you even got her), she might have given birth prematurely or had complications...

If she makes it through OK and has more babies down the road, whether or not those turn out healthy would help you narrow down some of the options. You may never know for sure, though.

I'll see what her next batch is like. Really hope this is a one time thing. :/

[@marko@]

did you use a breeding trap?
most of my guppy fry let themselves sink down to the bottom, and then start swimming. the stillborn ones are a different color too.
so if you didnt watch one until it touched the gravel, it may have picked itself up and started swimming.

[bulrush]

Poor genes could be caused by lots of inbreeding.

Don't use those breeding traps. They really stress out the mother. Just keep the mom in a tank, like a small 2.5g, with lots of java moss or plants for the babies to hide. When the babies are born, remove the mom, and let the babies grow up there.

[mizu-chan]

Here's and update on what happened:

So I ended up falling asleep last night after I watched her in labor for about an hour. I had actually transfered her into my old 5 gallon to i could provide her with enough space. From what I could tell all of the ones were dead. They came out white and completely lifeless. Never the less I left a big ball of java moss just in case.

And guess what? I wake up this morning and amongst all the casualties I see 3 little fry swimming around happily in the java moss!

I already scooped out the dead ones and moved the mom back in her tank. I'm most definitely going to keep and close eye on these guys. (:

[CaffeinatedCake]

All right! At least some survived ^^

I hope they hold out well, best of luck~

[honor]

haha sweet, love happy endings.

[@marko@]

ha, well i guess you cant have ALL 50 dead at birth. lucky little guys, hope they turn out alright.

[MedRed]

yay!!!

honor... keep it pg... I Keed! I Keed!

[BiscuitSlayer]

I don't know about poor genes, but the female might have mated with a close realative. Inbreeding could be the source of your problems. Certain animals are good for X generations of inbreeding. Snakes are a good example. Most species of snakes can inbreed for 3 generations and then you start seeing problems after that.

Of course it is never a good idea to inbreed on purpose.

[valerietheangel]

Congrats on the surviving babies! Stress could also be the cause of the stillborn babies. I've read a few articles where serious livebearer breeders say not to move a pregnant female right before she's ready to give birth because it could cause her to abort the fry. I haven't ever gotten super serious about breeding livebearers but it might be something to read up on.

[lauraleellbp]

Originally Posted by BiscuitSlayer

I don't know about poor genes, but the female might have mated with a close realative. Inbreeding could be the source of your problems... Of course it is never a good idea to inbreed on purpose.

Says Biscuit. From Georgia! (So's my mom, so I can poke fun... heck- we're probably related, too!!)

[mizu-chan]

Originally Posted by CaffeinatedCake

All right! At least some survived ^^

I hope they hold out well, best of luck~

Yup. Just thankful some of them made it (:

Originally Posted by honor

haha sweet, love happy endings.

haha me too

Originally Posted by @marko@

ha, well i guess you cant have ALL 50 dead at birth. lucky little guys, hope they turn out alright.

lol, thanks. (:

Originally Posted by MedRed

yay!!!

honor... keep it pg... I Keed! I Keed!

haha. I saw that

Originally Posted by BiscuitSlayer

I don't know about poor genes, but the female might have mated with a close realative. Inbreeding could be the source of your problems. Certain animals are good for X generations of inbreeding. Snakes are a good example. Most species of snakes can inbreed for 3 generations and then you start seeing problems after that.

Of course it is never a good idea to inbreed on purpose.

Yeah, I don't think these are related, but you can never tell if you get them from a LFS.

Originally Posted by valerietheangel

Congrats on the surviving babies! Stress could also be the cause of the stillborn babies. I've read a few articles where serious livebearer breeders say not to move a pregnant female right before she's ready to give birth because it could cause her to abort the fry. I haven't ever gotten super serious about breeding livebearers but it might be something to read up on.

Thanks so much! Yeah I thought it was going to be like another two days before but I guess she was just ready.