Found A Fry - Questions?

Jonno · Oct 18, 2007

Hi there,

Tonight i found a fry - however i;m not sure what it is! I bought some new neon tetras last week so it could be a neon tetra fry that snook in from the LFS, alternatively it could be a platy, however my plati has been alone for about 3 months now so how could it have had babies?

Also - it was in a tank containing neons, the 1 platy, 3 rummys and a cory - i have since moved it into a fry trap in my main tank, however it seems lonely! Would the other fish have eaten him in the smaller tank, if not shall i put him back?

Jonno.

monica · Oct 18, 2007

Dont put him back, they will eat him. He might look lonely, but he isn't. As long as he can see other fish, he is fine. But maybe look for more fry. You have a neon tetra fry, because platies birth after only 1 month, not three. Even if she stored sperm. If you have live plants in your tank, give him a half a stem, as this will provide a bit of nitrition for the little guy ashe grazes. Feed him crushed flakes and/or and live/frozen foods. Hope that helped.

theotheragentm · Oct 18, 2007

I disagree. It's most likely a Platy fry based on a guess. Platies can continue to give birth after there is no male present for about 6 months, once a month. Just because you never saw any fry before doesn't mean they weren't around and eaten. Tetras are pretty good at picking off the fry.

helterskelter · Oct 18, 2007

theotheragentm said:
I disagree. It's most likely a Platy fry based on a guess. Platies can continue to give birth after there is no male present for about 6 months, once a month. Just because you never saw any fry before doesn't mean they weren't around and eaten. Tetras are pretty good at picking off the fry.

I also agree with it not being a neon tetra, and that platies are well documented in being able to store sperm for several months and peoduce several broods in that time.

you fry will be fine in a net and just crush a little flake food in your finger tips and it will soon grow, after about 3 months it should be a good size to not be eaten by it's tank mates and then you can release it.