First-Time Fry "Mom" - Help!

[mandi]

Ahh! Guys you know that picture of my red wag platy I posted a few days ago and asked if she looked pregnant? Well she started having babies this afternoon! Thankfully I had gotten a breeder net just in case, so I put her in there. I think I've counted 5 babies so far!

I'm really nervous she's going to eat them though and I keep watching her (the dad is circling outside the breeder net trying to get to them too!). How do I know when to take her out?

Also, I read the pinned articles and they said to feed the babies finely crumbled fish flakes. Is there anything else I can feed them? I want to make sure they're strong and healthy. I just mixed up some brine shrimp so they should hatch in 24 hours or so -- would that be good to feed them?

Thanks guys -- ANY advice would be great. This is really my first experience with tropical fish, and I've only had them about a week! I'm a little panic-stricken right now!!

 

[wrs]

well from what ive read, platties will not eat their babies, but im pretty sure thats wrong.

get the babies a tank for them. a heater and a spong filter. put the heater high, and feed a few times a day. you can also feed liquid fry food.

 

[sunflower]

Hi Mandi.

Congrats on the fry. I had my first Platty babes about 6 weeks ago.

Plattys do eat their own fry.

If she hasnt had another one in say half an hour or so I'd put her back in the main tank but keep your eye on her incase she starts again.

Oh re the feeding, u can get Liquifry Number 2 for livebearers. Feed them that for a few days then moved onto finely crushed flake til they get bigger.

Keep us posted!

 

[littleme1969]

First a nice cup of tea for the expectant grandparent ..or is that aunitie or uncle..lol
Have you got a clump of weed you can put in the net to give the fry some cover from mum? They tend not to try and eat them till they have finished.

Baby food.. I use Liquifry No2 made by Interpet. It comes in a liquid form and is added as drops to the water. They also do a follow on powdered baby flakes for when they are a bit older. I also crush up dried blood worm with fish flakes to a powder in a little Pessel & Mortar that I have.... works a treat and means you get them wined onto the proper fish food easier.

imop platy fry are very bright little things...unlike guppy fry that just swim around and get eaten tey are very god at hiding and staying really still so not to get eatern.
The males will be as much interested in mating with the female as hes is wanting to eat her babies ... Men...they're all the same..

Hope all goes well, let us know how many she has... its exciting...mine had 12 2 days ago

 

[mandi]

Thanks for the help guys. I hope my LFS sells the Liquifry stuff you're talking about. I'll check tomorrow right after work. (Hope they'll be ok till then -- with it being sunday everything is closed!) I guess this means I'll have to invest in ANOTHER tank.

THe reason I was so worried about her eating them is because last night my twinbar platy (which I bought Friday) started having babies -- and the red wag platy (the one thats having babies now) was eating them as soon as she was having them. I've been trying for 2 weeks to get ahold of some java moss but no place in town has it -- guess I'm going to have to order some. Anyway, after last nights incident thats why I went out and bought the breeder net. I'm very glad I did. Hopefully a few will survive.

 

[sunflower]

I wasnt expecting my first fry but I'm sure glad I had a big grass like plastic plant in the tank cos that's where they were hiding - looking straight at me with their great big eyes as if to say "Come on then, we're here, when u gonna rescue us?"

 

[littleme1969]

looking straight at me with their great big eyes as if to say "Come on then, we're here, when u gonna rescue us?"

Bless..they are so cute...mine did the same.
I took the mother out in the morning as she had just finished her quarentine and another guppy mum that had just given birth the day before(babies were in a breeder net) . Not aware that she too had had a batch in the night . I switched the light on to check all was well and a pair off little eyeballs greated me from behind a leaf..lol .. I eventually found 12, but my they are good at hiding. But so cute

 

[mandi]

Update on the Fry:

This morning I got up for work at 7 AM, and like always I get up and feed the fish before I do anything else. I happened to notice that there was another loose fry in the aquarium, so I spent probably a good 10 minutes trying to get it in a net and move it to the breeder-net. (Didn't help that I was still half asleep!) So I think that makes 6 fry. Not many.

On my lunch break, I'm going to call around and see if anywhere stocks Liquify #2. Would they carry it at Petsmart, or am I probably going to have to go to a LFS to find it?

Also, the mom seems a little out-of-it. She's not eating (which I understand is pretty common), but she's not swimming much, just kind of resting on he plants. Is that normal?

 

[littleme1969]

You should get the liquifry from a local pet shop. Most stock it here in the UK. But if not the LFS will deff have it

I bet if you look real close in your tank you will have more
I didn't even know mine were there till i saw a pair of eyes ..little monkeys. They really now how to hide. My breeder tank is only 8.5 gallon. The fish had already gone into the main tank, so I removed the plants (they were mostly plastic so not an issue) at first I found another 3 then another...and another.. it took my a whole hour to find all 12.. and thats with nothing in the tank other than gravel and the breeder net .. they lie on the bottom and don't move, hard to tell them from the gravel I had to switch the internal filter on in the end, its not very powerful so no danger of sucking them up... but the current was enough to make them move and I netted them one by one.

Just a not about tank test results... Fry are dirty little monkeys and you will notice a sudden increase in both ammonia and nitrate .. I was shocked.. 2 days after birth 24 fry.... and the test went from 0 to 0.4 for the ammonia and 12.5 to 50mg for the nitrate..scary stuff.. So you will nedd to watch out ..and do daily water changes if needed.

Mom...
Mine ate almost straight away (greedy monkeys) and were swimming as if nothing had happened. So keep a close eye on her. Is she in the net or in the tank?
She really should have finished by now ..Just keep a close eye on her, it may have been a hard birth and she may need a good rest. I'm aware a lot females do need a good rest period after and that is most likley the reason. If the males in the same tank as her that won't help...he will chase her around wanting to mate. That's why I always move mine to a seperate tank to give birth about a week to 10 days before I think they are due. Then they can have peace and quite before and after the birth. I always move them in pairs so they have company too. Its worth the risk of loosing a few fry to have a happier fish

Hope all goes well and have a close check in your weed. Just move it gently, you never know who will be hiding

 

[mandi]

Thanks for all the help guys!!

Update:

I got home from work today and discovered about 2x as many fry in my breeder net as I had counted this morning. Apparently they hid VERY well in the java fern I'd put in there. I also got 4 more out of the tank itself. I moved them to my 5.5 gallon tank and they're doing well.

I got Liquifry No. 2 for them today, and I also got Hikari "First Bites" which is like a flake food, but its so fine that its like a powder. I fed them once after work, and am waiting till this evening to feed them again (morning, afternoon, evening).

One question though -- should I *see* them eating? Its tuff with the Liquifry because it kind of disolves, but I want to make sure they're getting enough -- but at the same time I don't want to over feed them and dirty the tank.

 

[Wisperian]

No.. platies will eat their fry just not as often as guppies n others do! and yes I suggest a breeder net and keeping the fry in the same tank in the net until they're big enough to be set free because a sudden tank change are not good for fry

 

[littleme1969]

Depends on the amount of fry you have IMO
I had 24 in a breeder net and after 2 days it was full of poop..lol So not a good idea. I already had a tank set up ready and they went in there when they were 2 days old without any problems what so ever. All eating and swimming around just fine . As long as the temperature and chemical make up of the water are close I don't see a problem. They get far more exercise and so buid up a good apetite in the seperate tank. I prefer it this way..it works for me...

If you watch closely you will see them nibbling at food particles..they just kinda take a lunge at it..lol
As for dirty tank... yes overfeeding is not good for them but as they are growing its equally important that they have a good balanced diet. 3 times a day sounds just fine to me as long as they are eating up whats given.

I myself do daily water changes as fry are little poo machines I clean the bottom as I'm doing it to keep the poo under control and test the water every few days . as things can turn nasty in a short space of time with a fry tank.

So how many do you have now? about 16?