Family Argument On Whether She Is Pregnant

[RobGoldsmith]

I have a baby!!!!!
I dont know what to do with it
last time the fish pecked at it through the fry enclosure, it died!
I have no other tank ready
Do i let it fend for itself?
How old until it is too big to be eaten?

Help

 

[RobGoldsmith]

Ok so i have put the baby in a fish bag and made a series of small holes across it, they are very small so i know he wont get out... only worry is that water wont get through it!

 

[Harlequins]

Do you have a spare plastic tub you could fix to the top of your tank and pop an airstone in there that should be ok for now,its going to be a good 6 weeks before they're big enough to go with adults.

Congrats on your fry

 

[RobGoldsmith]

Thanks for the reply! My 1 fry haha! Will it be ok without its own filter system? Does it need anything else in there? Weed? Food? Oxygen, filters etc?

Thanks again
Rob

 

[Harlequins]

If you're going to keep it in the bag,i would change the water daily using the main tank water and maybe pop an airstone in there to help with circulation

 

[RobGoldsmith]

I have made holes all over so that the water can circulate and also added an air stone.

My main worry is that they will fight in there or that it will be too small for them. Also i havent seen them eating yet, the flakes just seem to be sitting all along the bottom, im now worried they may get poisonous sat there. How do i know if they are eating Would hate to see them die!

 

[OldMan47]

If you are keeping that fry in a bag, make sure you change the bag water every day. That can be done easily enough by simply squeezing most of the water out of the bag and letting it refill through the holes you have. By flushing the bag that way, you should be able to prevent any build of things like ammonia. The single fry will be quite difficult to feed simply because it is hard to feed little enough food for one fry. When I have 20 or 30 fry, I will crush 2 or 3 adult flakes into a powder to feed them all at 3 times a day. With a single fry, you can hardly avoid overfeeding. That will make the frequent water changes, bag flushes, even more important.

 

[RobGoldsmith]

I am struggling to feed them so little, i have been doing 1 flake, but i swear they dont even see it! They eat the weed a lot but rarely the food. This is tricky, nearly 2 weeks gone though and all three still alive, 2 black and 1 transparent. I didnt know the dad fish, when will i be able to tell what type of platy they are?

thanks
Rob

 

[OldMan47]

A platy will start to show some of its adult colors at around a month but it can easily take 3 or 4 months for the full color to show.

 

[RobGoldsmith]

Hope they make it! id say 1-1.5CM long now. It is all a shot in the dark, i seem to always have food left over but i am always scared of them not having any food. They seem ok, the black ones have been very dark since day one, the transparent one has black spots and looks smaller as i cant see its tail.

Every day is a panic! But they are still here

 

[OldMan47]

Relax a bit Rob. If you feed regularly and do enough water changes to keep their water pure, the fry will grow. It is sort of like the movie where they said "if you build it they will come". If you care for your livebearer fry, they will survive and prosper.

 

[RobGoldsmith]

haha "aquarium of dreams"

 

[RobGoldsmith]

Quick update

Three weeks have passed now, I still have my bag... more importantly I still have my three fish!

I have one which is very clear with a yellow tint, it has black marks on the top

I then have two very black ones.

The babies dont look like the bright red male i have in with the female, but i have only had her a couple of months, is there anyway i can tell what type of platy they are? or what their dad would have been? or could it be my red male still?

Thanks

Rob

 

[OldMan47]

Are you sure those are platies? The black ones look almost like molly fry based on their shape.