From 26 To 1 :(

[SouthernCross]

Just need to vent...

So I've been attempting to raise a batch of my platy fry for the last 3 months now. My females are always dropping, but I have pearl gouramis so if I want to keep some, I need to have her give birth in a breeder. After about a week and a few deaths, I had about 26 in my breeder net. Then, unfortunately when cleaning the tank one day the net got tipped somehow when I put it back, and all bar four of the fry escaped into the tank and were eaten. This was all within ONE hour, I noticed the net was lopsided, and already not a single fry was to be seen. Honestly, to all of you complaining of being overrun, get a pearl gourami, you will never see fry again.

Anyway, so I've got my four. I thought it was maybe a blessing in disguise because then I didn't have to find homes for so many - but four I could definitely keep myself. But the box just got tipped again, because the handle had gone wonky and I thought it would be okay, but it wasn't. They were at least 3 months old by now I just looked in my tank, the box is empty, and I can only see my 'big' platy fry swimming around -->Funny thing was, one fry had grown huge (at least twice the size of the other three) for some reason. I noticed it was a bit of an aggressive food hog, maybe that had something to do with his growth.

So all I've got now is my one little fry. I figure if he was going to be eaten, he would have been by now, so I won't put him back in the breeder box. I'm just so cut up...I put so much time and effort into feeding them regularly, making sure they were safe, and now they're all gone bar one. It just seems to take soooo long for them to grow up, I don't know whether I will try again. Unless I can get another tank.

Let's all hope my one little fry survives for the sake of my sanity....

 

[theotheragentm]

What else is in the tank? I'd be very surprised if the Pearl Gourami ate all those fry in an hour. At any rate, some fry will never be eaten, even when they are small enough to fit into the mouths of other fish in the tank. There's not really an explanation for this, but some fry just act like they're the boss of the tank. Hopefully your one fry survives. You may even have other fry hiding if have a lot of decorations or plants.

 

[SouthernCross]

Hi

Well I have three pearl gouramis, my big male (in my av) and two females. The other fish I have are cardinal tetras, platies (obviously) some corydoras and recently a BN plec. I'm not kidding, the fry did get eaten in that one hour that time. I do have a fair few plants, but it's not what you'd call densely planted. I'll post a tank pic if you like. My background and ornaments are quite dark, so the little yellowish fry pop out against the background quite well, so they aren't hard to spot --> I've searched the tank quite well, I even checked the filter, but I couldn't see the other three unfortunately.

I can tell when my platies have recently dropped as my females are light coloured and quite transparent - I can see all the eyeballs one day and then the next they're gone, and not a fry to be seen, EVER. All my fry that I don't keep separated get eaten in a short time, without a doubt.


My little lone fry is about 2/3 of the size of my smallest cardinal tetra. I hope she makes it...

 

[LauraFrog]

I raise platies and mollies, and I don't bother with breeder nets. I have a bristlenose and platies and mollies in a community tank (nothing else) and it's densely planted, so I get about three-quarters of the fry out before they are eaten, and that figure will improve now that I'm being forced to give away Pointer.

I just pull out the fry and keep them in seperate containers. No filters, no aeration, nothing, just fry and food. They live. I do a 50% water change twice every day, so that should be complete water turnover every two or three days. I can keep fifty in a bucket when they are small.