Adventures In Livebearers

[HeatherW]

Last night I moved my hifin Mickey mouse platy to the 2 gallon birthing tank.
This morning there were 15 babies. I moved Mom back into the main tank.

This afternoon there were 4 fry left alive.

I tested the water. Nitrites were at 1.6 mg/L
The kit says 0.8 and below is ideal but most fish will be fine with up to 1.6 mg/L
I don't trust it. Anyone know?

I immediately moved the 4 into a breeder box in the main tank. Water there was 0.3 mg/L or less (zero).
They spent the next hour dying anyway.

The silver lining: either last night before the birth or this morning after, Mom had 1 in the tank that survived.
It is hidden so well in "baby grass" I'd have to rip apart the tank to get it.
But last time I left the single survivor it eventually disappeared.
I actually kind of hoped I'd siphon him tonight, but I didn't.

So again I'm fryless, hoping a single trooper makes it while being unwilling to stress everyone else with a hunting escapade.

Thanks for listening,
Heather

 

[phoenixfire]

Trust me heather...these guys are machines...you will have some new fry soon...i hope u have a good home for them...or a hungry mouth that will take them eagerly...i just got rid of my male swords because of that...they will soon overpopulate your tank and become a nusense...good luck though!

 

[Annastasia]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I think the nitrite did them in in the small tank, and stress of moving did them in in the big tank. How long did you acclimate for?

 

[HeatherW]

I didn't acclimate. *pouts*
How would you acclimate?

I woke up to fry, removed Mom back to the main tank, and went to work.

I came home that afternoon to 4 fry and 11 bodies.
Tested the water in 3 gallon fry tank. Red (bad with my kit).
Tested the 20 gallon tank. Yellow (low or no nitrites).

So I panicked, figuring I had to get them out of the death trap ASAP.
I plunked them into a plastic floating breeder.
They died from the shock over the next hour.

Thank you for your resposes to all my posts Annastasia.
It helps a lot.

Heather

 

[phoenixfire]

dependeing on her size try a breeding net or trap...traps work better in my opinion...the females go through a fasting period for a couple of hours while and a little while after they have there babies...that way u just remove mom and leave the babies in the trap with water u know is safe...always worked for me and ive had over 200 successful batches with about 30 fry...

 

[Annastasia]

Well, fry are more sensitive then other fish, so they need to be acclimated for longer. The best way to acclimate is just stick them in a large Ziploc, or even a bag from the fish store if you still have one. Take some water from the main tank, put it in, let it sit for about 10 minutes, add a little more, let it sit...etc. I take about an hour to acclimate my fry, just to be safe.

Another option is the drip method. You can find more information about that here. Even though it's marine, the same method applies.

To prevent this from happening next time, make sure the tank stays cycled. If it has a filter, run it along side the one in the 20 gallon to keep the bacteria going. If it doesn't, I'd recommend you test it and do daily water changes as long as the mother and fry are in there. I like your idea of putting the mother in there, but it'd also be a bit better if it was larger. Could you possibly go up to 5 galllons or so?

It's too bad it didn't work out this time, but you'll know for next time now. And believe me...there will be a next time with Livebearers!