Can you force feed a guppy peas?

So, recently one of my guppies died and I couldn’t help her because she just wouldn’t eat. At first I thought it might be dropsy but from what I read online it’s very contagious, but none of my other guppies seem to be having the same problem so I thought it might be from constipation or swim bladder. I tried to feed her peas but she wouldn’t eat it and died not to long after. I just wanted to know if you could force feed guppies in case anything similar happened again so I can try and help the guppy instead of not being able to do anything.

 

I’m sorry for your loss. There’s no real way to force feed a fish. If you managed to find a syringe small enough to fit in there mouth and then held them down, you’re more likely to damage them than nourish them. If your fish is not eating, it’s because that’s their instinct when they are sick. You can soak food in garlic or provide live food to make their food more appetizing. As for frozen peas themselves, if you want to help a bloated fish/ fish help poop, daphnia is a natural laxative for fish. A fish can go quite awhile without food if needed, I don’t think your fish would’ve starved to death unless she wasn’t eating for a month or two. It’s more likely the condition she had that killed her.

Dropsy is most often due to poor water quality. What are your parameters? Is the tank cycled?

With dropsy, your only hope of helping the fish is to catch it extremely early and treat with a good antibiotic, like kanaplex. Even then, the odds are stacked against the fish. Because dropsy acts quickly and causes a lot of internal damage, even once treated, the fish may be weak or prone to having the condition again. If the dropsy has already led to organ failure or internal damage is too severe, you should euthanize the fish with clove oil. Your judgement is best, but if a fish has pineconed, showing no interest in anything, clearly in pain, and showing no signs of improvement, please euthanize as there is no point in allowing the fish to suffer. You should also quarantine sick fish or any new arrivals to prevent contagious infections from spreading and providing a safe place to treat a sick fish.

Dropsy is usually caused be an internal bacterial infection, due to poor water quality, stress, improper care, etc, but can also be due to an internal parasite (such as camalanus worms). Internal parasites that cause internal damage will lead to dropsy when there has been severe internal damages or stress allowing secondary (internal bacterial) infection.

It’s hard to say what’s happened without the details. What size is the tank? How many fish? How long have you had them? Did you quarantine them? What are your parameters? Is the tank cycled?

 

Sorry about not answering for a while, but for your questions. I think it’s a 10 gallon tank or something similar, probably 20+ guppies, and I’m not sure how long I’ve exactly had them since they in a sense come and go. After a while we did quarantine that fish that died. I’m not sure about the parameters sorry or if it’s cycled, but we do have a filter so maybe? I don’t think it was dropsy since majority of the fish were fine and the ones that did die was normally from getting stuck in the filter or natural causes. Sorry again for it being so long.

 

Sorry about not answering for a while, but for your questions. I think it’s a 10 gallon tank or something similar, probably 20+ guppies, and I’m not sure how long I’ve exactly had them since they in a sense come and go. After a while we did quarantine that fish that died. I’m not sure about the parameters sorry or if it’s cycled, but we do have a filter so maybe? I don’t think it was dropsy since majority of the fish were fine and the ones that did die was normally from getting stuck in the filter or natural causes. Sorry again for it being so long.

Even with 20+ fish, they shouldn’t be dying normally. Guppies, even those that are inbred, should live at least a year or two, though it should be longer. If a fish is getting stuck in the filter, it means the fish was already dead or extremely weak from another cause. Even when a fish is sleeping, it still moves, and they are aware enough that if you were to turn on the lights or startle them, they would dart away. They wouldn’t get stuck in the filter, even while sleeping. If they are intentionally swimming into the filter out of curiosity or to find another place to hide, then that would be possible, but I doubt your intake is open. I highly recommend you learn about the nitrogen cycle. If your tank is not cycled, it is likely you are getting spikes in ammonia or nitrite that are killing your fish. You should also invest in a test kit, liquid is more accurate. Even in an established tank it is important to monitor parameters as sometimes issues happen with the tank that cause parameter spikes. When it comes to cycling, a filter is important as this is where majority of your beneficial bacteria will be. How long have you had the tank? How many fish are dying and how old are they when they die? What is your water change schedule? It sounds like your water quality may not be the best, and this is why your fish are dying. It also sounds like your tank is overstocked. If you are trying to breed guppies in a 10 gallon, they are going to overpopulate the tank very, very quickly. With just the adults there is hardly any room to accommodate fry. I would invest in a larger tank, or have a strict rehoming plan for your guppies to prevent overstocking. Overstocking creates crowded, stressful conditions and the fish may be producing more waste than the tank can handle.

The thing with internal bacterial infections or fungal infections is that they are caused by a bacteria/fungus that is constantly present in the tank. They will only be able to infect a fish when the fish is stressed or weak. If your tank is overcrowded it would make sense the fish are stressed, though it could also be poor water quality. Is your tank heavily planted? Plants not only help your fish hide and feel safe but also helps remove nitrates.

 

We’ve had the tank for about 3 years I think. The fish that have 2 fish that have recently died I think we’re maybe 6 months and maybe a year, not to sure though. We do a half water change maybe 1 every 2 weeks, and in a few days we’re gonna change it. Plant wise I’d say it’s semi planted, if that makes sense, but most are fake. Theres maybe only one or two real plants.

 

With that many fish in a smaller tank, I would up your water change schedule. The bioload is high for a smaller volume of water so it’s important to manage that. It would help a lot to know parameters, but I’d say up your wcs to 40% weekly and see how that goes. It may take awhile to see results since nitrates build up gradually, but I think your fish will appreciate it greatly. They should be living much longer than a half year- single year. Guppies average about 2 years, but many fishkeepers have reported their guppies living upwards of 3 or 4 years