Guppies Die At 1 Month Old?

4 Adult guppies fine. About 20 fry, fine.

When guppies get at a month old and beginning to color in, they tend to die for no reason.
I had 16 month old a week ago. After 2 died today, I have 8 or 9 left.
Is this a normal process?
Is this a reason why guppies have so many in the first place and so often?

I added a cap of Prime, a little aquarium salt, and a little fungus/ich med just in case.

 

I'm pretty sure the reason fish have so many babies is because most get eaten in the wild.......not because they are going to just die off for no reason.

I don't think it's normal. How crowded is the tank?

 

tank size and parameters

 

4 Adult guppies fine. About 20 fry, fine.

When guppies get at a month old and beginning to color in, they tend to die for no reason.
I had 16 month old a week ago. After 2 died today, I have 8 or 9 left.
Is this a normal process?
Is this a reason why guppies have so many in the first place and so often?

I added a cap of Prime, a little aquarium salt, and a little fungus/ich med just in case.

can you reword this a bit. I am quite lost as to what you are saying?

 

Guppies that survive the first few days are generally pretty bulletproof if the water is reasonably good. They need some minerals in the water and require little else. Any genetic problems usually take a few more months to surface in my experience.

 

The only reason I can see for losing any livebearer fry at a month would be:
not enough water changing;
overfeeding.

Overfeeding doesn't always show on the test kits. It can also lead to velvet, a parasite that seems to use decaying food as a good start up. It is very hard to detect on fry, but since fry only tanks tend to get overfed, it can be a silent sort of killer.

 

tank size and parameters

Tank: 30 gal. Parameters: hasn't been tested in 2 weeks, at the time though all were good.

 

The only reason I can see for losing any livebearer fry at a month would be:
not enough water changing;
overfeeding.

Overfeeding doesn't always show on the test kits. It can also lead to velvet, a parasite that seems to use decaying food as a good start up. It is very hard to detect on fry, but since fry only tanks tend to get overfed, it can be a silent sort of killer.

Overfeeding may be possible but the ones dying look like they haven't been eating and have a little white ball looking substance from where they poop.
Found a dead grown male this morning, was fine yesterday. No sign of any problem.

 

Overfeeding may be possible but the ones dying look like they haven't been eating and have a little white ball looking substance from where they poop.
Found a dead grown male this morning, was fine yesterday. No sign of any problem.

My experience with guppies is that you shouldnt assume anything but you should pay atention. By that I mean that unless you see something wrong fisically or if they are acting weird (and I mean a group of them not just one) you shouldnt do anything different.

Guppies are quite resilient fish but with large numbers come grater odds of deformities and genetic defects. I would also say guppies when they are small won't mind much about any overcrowding. At a point I had about 50 fry in a 10 gallon and before anyone comes saying it was overstocked they had plenty of swiming room, circulation and I was very careful with feeding. I donated them when they got some size into them.

IMO they could be getting picked on by the adults. The white poop is more concerning but I don't know what to make of it. As for the dead male all I can say that it happens sometimes.