My fish is delievering

Question
I have a question about my creamsickle giving birth. I just got her today from Petsmart and put her in the breeding tank that separates her and the fry can fall to the bottom. The problem is that some of the fry are still in eggs, but you can see that they're in different stages of development. Also, some are being born dead, but some have survived. I thought that they were supposed to be born live, and was wondering if some of them, that are almost fully develop  might still make it. Also, how long will she be giving birth? She's had about 20 eggs and fry. Thanks for your time,
Krysta

Answer
Hi Krysta;

Poor little thing. The stress of being moved to a new home has prompted premature delivery. What happens with livebearing fish is the eggs hatch inside the mother just before delivery and it only looks like a live birth. They aren't "attached" to the mother at all inside like mammal babies are to an umbilical cord. The eggs are protected inside her until hatching time. Hopefully the rest will survive okay. She will have more in 4 to 6 weeks and can have anywhere between 10 to 50 or so every time. Good luck and I hope she does okay...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins