Disoriented young guppies
Young guppies, around a week to 2 months old, sometimes develop pointed tail fins. The fins then look like small brushes. The young then become disoriented and die. Usually one after the other is affected, more rarely many young at the same time.
The cause is unclear. Sometimes it looks as if the boys were overexerted by a too strong current. The boys may have been weakened by an illness. A possible cause due to the pinched caudal fin is fin rot.
guppy disease
In a condition often referred to as guppy disease, guppies pinch their fins and become increasingly stiff. They eventually sink to the bottom and die. The disease can kill an entire population of guppies. Other fish species are apparently not affected. The addition of table salt may help.
Possibly. Such diseases are the velvet disease, which is not recognized correctly.
Guppy stands head up.
At shows, it is often observed that guppies that are placed in water do not take it well and stand helplessly upside down in the water. The caudal fin is often torn and frayed.
In most cases, strong water changes and the addition of a little salt, which is previously dissolved in water, help.
The spine bends.
In guppies, a curvature of the spine can be a sign of inbreeding. The affected guppies must not be used for further breeding.
A new line must be crossed in so that the curvature does not occur more frequently in the following generations. A suitable male or female is fetched from friends, breeders or dealers and paired with their own healthy guppy. Both animals should be at least 5 months old, because it is only from this age that any weaknesses can be ruled out with certainty.
Because the females store sperm and can have offspring several times without further fertilization, young males and females have to be separated after a month. The females can store sperm even before sexual maturity. The males are therefore placed in another aquarium immediately after mating and the young are separated by sex immediately if the sex can be identified.
Pregnancy problems in females
In older females, actual pregnancy symptoms can often be observed, including shortness of breath, loss of appetite and uncoordinated swimming movements. Given the number of young animals carried by the females, this is hardly surprising. Most often, the symptoms disappear after the young are born.
Female discards eggs.
A female may drop a few small, yellow eggs. The eggs are about 1.5 mm in size, transparent with a white spot on top.
These are unfertilized eggs or stillbirths that are dropped by the female.
Females die after a few births.
Often the females die after 1 to 2 births. If no acute illness, e.g. B. by intestinal parasites is present, the strength for further births can simply no longer be sufficient. The females practically die of old age.
Females that throw often and a lot should not be fed as tightly as is otherwise recommended for fish. Such females often look emaciated. With an estimated weight of 1.5 grams, they have hardly any power reserves. If only a little is fed once or twice a day, these scarce reserves are almost used up by their active swimming between two feedings. The females live almost constantly on the verge of starvation. 5 feedings a day are recommended for such females. Each portion should be large enough to be eaten.
Newly bought guppies die.
It is repeatedly reported that newly purchased guppies swim to the surface of the water after a short time. Sometimes they stop in one place. At times they seem clumsy. Then again no difference to the obviously healthy guppies can be determined and after a few days the animals die.
In such cases, there are probably several causes. Guppies from normal aquarium shops were often found in large fish farms, e.g. B. grown in Asia. Possibly they are treated there or during transport with antibiotics, salt, etc. in such a way that they are hardly resistant to diseases. Once they have survived the stressful transport from Asia to Europe and into the home aquarium, they are exposed to various pathogens there.
In addition, there are often unfavorable housing conditions, e.g. g. aquariums that have not been run in, overstocking, etc. Even the originally robust guppies regularly die out in masses.
It is advisable to buy guppies, like other fish, from local breeders if possible. As a rule, these animals are much more resilient.
Guppies eat a food tablet: