More and more, now, I see people recommending Livebearers to people for their tanks. I have absolutely no problem with this, as they are great fish, but sometimes they neglect to mention their fry capabilities, or/and their possible stocking. I wrote this topic in hope that it will help people learn a little more about what they are getting into before they buy these fish.

Stocking Livebearers
The best way to stock most Livebearers, to insure no problems, is one male per 2-3 females. However, this also amounts in huge numbers of fry. And this doesn’t always work…for example, with Swordtails, it’s best to have only one male in a tank, with 4 or more females. Male Swordtails can be aggressive with each other, and sometimes kill each other. As I see it…there are 3 possible stocking options:

Mixed Gender:
As I said already, this is the best to insure no problems. However, you will have tons and tons of fry over a few months, and then they all need homes…etc. Plus you need to raise them. You can cut down on the number of fry by doing a “survival of the fittest”. This is when you let the fry be born in the main tank, and some of them will get eaten. I know, it sounds cruel. But it’s nature. Chances are, at least a few will survive. Fry aren’t stupid…they’ll find somewhere to hide, and figure out how to get some food.

All Female:
This will work with almost all females. Females tend to be very peaceful, with each other, and other fish. You will most likely have no problems with this kind of tank, especially with Platies and Guppies. Also, sometimes females get overlooked because they aren’t always as pretty, or flashy as the males. But they are gorgeous in their own way. They can store sperm though, so count on some fry if they aren’t separated from birth. More on storing sperm is further down.

All Male:
This is generally the more aggressive tank you’ll get with Livebearers. With Platies and Guppies, it’s best to have bigger numbers of males…5 or more is ideal. This will spread out the aggression, and not have one male being the weakest one that will get picked on, and maybe even killed. Of course, having an all male tank will depend on the fish. Some will tolerate other males, some won’t. You will have to watch this tank, as long as you have all males in there, because the happiest looking community can turn deadly in a short time. Sometimes even overnight. Make sure they all get enough food too, as this can be a big cause of aggression. And of course, make sure the tank is big enough, and there is enough hiding places for them to get away from each other. I would not recommend trying this kind of tank with Swordtails though. That can be a problem right off the bat. However, if you have a big tank (55 gallons +) you can sometimes have Males together. It is recommend you have at least 5, otherwise there will be a dominant one that can constantly make like miserable for the less dominant one.

With all male tanks, there is going to be some nipping. It’s normal. None of your fish is going to look like a gorgeous little show fish. But don’t pull them out right away and give up unless it looks really bad…just be prepared, it’s not going to be a calm community (most likely).

Of course, the success of any of these tanks depends on a few factors. Some people may be able to keep 2 Male Platies together, while others had a group of 7 and one killed all of them. It depends. The best thing to do, is watch the fish, and if there is any sign of bad agression, remove the fish.

Storing Sperm
So. You got a female Platy from the fish store a few weeks ago. You find fry in your tank a few weeks later. But you have no males. How can this be?! Well, the reason this happened, is your Platy has a nifty little trick. She can store sperm from just one mating with a male, and have up to 7 pregnancies with it, over however long a period of time. For example, almost any female you buy from a fish store is pregnant. You have to be prepared for this when you go to buy females. I can almost guarantee, you will have babies.

This happens with all Livebearers, not just Platies. Also, though they may all store sperm, the number of fry they have depends on each individual fish.

Fry Numbers and Pregnancy Rates

Mollies:
Mollies can have fry every 4-8 weeks, approximately. Some Mollies can have over 100 fry in each pregnancy, depending on size, and age. Obviously the bigger the female, the more fry she will have. They also have big fry, so you can’t keep these fry in breeding boxes, or breeding nets for very long, as they will overstock quickly. The best bet for these fish is separate fry tanks, preferably pretty big. At LEAST 10 gallons. Also, if you are considering feeding these fry to other fish to cut down on numbers, make sure they can fit in the fish’s mouth. We aren’t talking little Guppy fry here.

Platies:
These cute little fish can have a lot of fry too. They can have around 70-90 max fry each month, depending on if you have Maculatus or Variatus. Variatus Platies grow bigger, and can therefore have more fry. However, you do not usually get the numbers you get from Mollies or Swordtails.

Swordtails:
These are also pretty big fry producers. These fish get to bigger sizes, much like Mollies. There have been accounts of well over a hundred fry from these fish, but this of course depends on age and size. As a note, Swordtails can be pregnant for up to 2 months, so don’t worry if a month goes by and you don’t have fry!


Guppies:
These fish are probably the biggest fry producers in the common Livebearer world. Their nickname isn’t Millions Fish for nothing! They can have big amounts of fry, every 4 weeks. I’m going to say the max is 100, but it may be more. Also, these are probably the hardest Livebearers to get rid of, as they are pretty common. Also, if you leave this fish in the tank, and do a survival of the fittest...they may not get eaten, if you have just Guppies. Some Guppies refuse to eat their fry, so take this into account also.


Now that you know what your Livebearer is capable of having fry wise…let’s talk a little more about fry. Here are a few facts:

• Yes, fry are adorable. When you first see them in your tank, you think “Oh my gosh, I want to save them, and grow them up and keep them all!”. This is great, I know the feeling. However, these fish can have massive amounts of fry.
• All these fry need homes. I can pretty much guarantee you don’t have 50 friends who are willing to take fry each month. LFSs will sometimes take some, but you have to check with them. Do not expect money for them, unless they are a rarer type. And still…we are talking pennies, most likely.
• If you don’t separate your fry, your fry will have fry. And then they will have more fry. You can very quickly have hundreds of fry. I recommend separating your male and female fry as soon as you can sex them. Don’t wait. This is what will get you. Also, check your female tank frequently. Some Males are late-developing, and will look like females for a long time. Once they get their gonopodium…they could impregnate every female in that tank. That’s a lot more fry.

Just a few things to think about before you buy them. Don't let this discourage you from getting Livebearers though....you'll probably fall in love with them, and their personalities once you get them. But there are few kinks to figure out along the way!

This post has been edited by Annastasia: Nov 17 2006, 01:37 PM

That was very informational anna, i think it should be a pinned article myself.

being a guppie keeper myself i know how hard it is to keep these fish under control, i keep a male and a female tank so that i can do controlled breeding between selected fish, and even then, i let my fry develope in an adult community to ensure that only the strongest survive and that im not over run, but i still end up with a few from every spawn that find a way to survive.

another thing u have to take into account is the personality of ur adult fish, not all fish are fry eaters, my cousin has a tank full of guppies, they breed like mad and none of the adults touch the new borns, they just wont eat em. so you could end up with some fish that wont even eat fry, what then?

thank you anna for the info, i enjoyed reading it

Great information I also think this should be pinned.

Thanks guys. I don't know if it's good enough to be pinned though...it's just my thoughts on the things that don't always seem to be said.

My main aim was just to help people new to the Livebearer world.

no, it good enough to be pinned. but i do have a question. in u article u were talking about breeder traps and that would be good for the first few weeks. what about if ur not keeping all the fry? is it ok still? i really need to know this.

I personally don't like breeding traps at all. I like nets better, but I figured I should put the breeding boxes part in. I'd recommend you get a Breeding net, or a fry tank (Better choice). Either way, if you aren't keeping all the fry, just put in the ones you want.

This post has been edited by Annastasia: Jul 11 2005, 01:44 PM

That was very informative and must have taken you some time to complete.

Thanks very much for taking thr time to share your knowledge with us. and yes I think this would make an excellent pinned article as a lot of questions commonly asked have been answered here.

This post has been edited by john5748: Jul 11 2005, 02:02 PM

sorry, what i ment is net. but ok, i recently bought this female silver molly, along with a female black and a male 24 karat, and when i bought my silver, she looks sorta pregnet, not like ultra fat, but like mid stages. so, i am too lazy to check the top of the page, how many rounds can they give birth too?

7.

However, I wouldn't put her in a Breeding Net. Mollies are too big for that, to really be happy. Just take the babies you want, and put them in the net. Be careful though, since Molly fry are pretty big, they can overstock the breeder net quickly. So just watch for that.

And thanks very much John. You flatter me.

This needs to be stickied

i pmed william, hopefully he listened.

I think he's pretty busy right now, so don't keep PMing him if he doesn't reply or do anything. After all, he can't spend his whole life on the forum (Like some of us nuts do... ).

I PMed another mod, and said you all wanted it to be pinned. However, I'm still not sure if it's good enough...

oh come one, i've been on other forums where when someone says poop in the topic it gets stickied.

Great post Annastasia- well worth a pin.

Wonderful information.

great posting, agree it should be pinned. Can I just add that people frome the UK cannot feed fry to other fish as it is illegal here. Anither point to think about when breeding livebearers.

what are fish that usually eat fry...im talking about a 10 gallon tank here, and i have shrimps and gouramis, and a mollie

Tetras, some catfish, most Barbs, some Gouramis, basically any fish that are big enough to eat one, and feel like a snack. The list is pretty big.

In your tank, I think the biggest problem would be the Gourami, and perhaps the Molly if she felt like eating her own fry. What kind of Shrimp?