Fry Log - Birth To ?

[Annastasia]

Okay, well, I've decided to start a fry log of my two Platy fry growing up, due to there being a lot of support behind it. I'll take a picture every week until they are mature. I'll also add in my comments and their size at the time of the picture. Hopefully this will be helpful for all you new Livebearer owners out there, and perhaps some of the old ones too! Just keep in mind, all fry grow at different rates so don't feel bad if your's mature faster or slower then mine. This is just a guide.

1 day old - 0.5 cm

Comments: Not much to say about them at this time.... they're cute?

1 week old - 1 cm

Comments: Started to get a little bit of color on the fins, as you can see! They are also a lot more active now, swimming this way and that. Started eating finely crushed Freeze-dried Bloodworms.

 

[tank212]

Wow they lookin good and growin fast. Mine are 2 weeks or so and range from 1-2 cm. I also have a lone fry I scooped up a week or two before those and hes about double the size of my other fry. I had an interesting find I got a platie that has black spots on his/her tail so I am excited to see it grow. I think my fry are marigold mickeymouse and marigold and black non mickey mouse. It's pretty cool to see what colors they grow up to be. I wish I could give you some pics of mine.

 

[Annastasia]

Thanks.

Your's sound really cute! It's so fun when they are crosses because you never know what they are going to turn out like. For example, I got a wagtail/Rainbow Platy cross. Cutest thing ever, blue streaks with an orange backround.

 

[HeatherW]

Of my 15 fry from last week 9 are alive.
Have not lost any more since the first 24 hours!

They are from 2 moms and are starting to get colour.

4 are mickey mouse on a blue and grey background like their mom.
3 are clearish yellow with the twinbar marking, I think they will be golden like their mom.
1 is fully clear, so maybe no markings yet.
1 is bright orange!

So I'm thinking the orange is from the dad, and I don't even know which Mom it is from.
Anyway, yes, very cute and exciting.

Heather

 

[Weaver]

Cheers Annastasia
They are looking good.
Didnt realise they would take the freeze dried bloodworms so early on
Amazing growth in such a short time

 

[Annastasia]

Yeah, I start them out early on the foods like that. These are the youngest that have actually eaten it though. Most of them just look at it like " ". Do you like the format though? I tried to keep it simple, like you said.

 

[Weaver]

I think the format is fine and a lot of people will find the whole thing very useful
How often are you feeding them livefoods and how varied is their diet at the minute?
Cheers

 

[Annastasia]

That's what I'm hoping.

No live foods yet. I don't have any BBS at the minute, but should I find some at my LFS next weekend they'll get that. Currently, their feeding looks like:
9am: Flakes
12pm: Bloodworms/Brine Shrimp OR flakes, depending on how big their tummies are.
3pm: Fry food
6pm: Fry food
9pm: Bloodworms/Brine Shrimp

I know, I overfeed on the high-protein, but they get only about half a meal out of those. I found out exactly how much to give them so they won't get bloated or constipated. It's worked for 13 batches now...so I figured it must be good.

 

[tank212]

I was feeding mine microworms and flake foods the first week but I think theyre too big to eat them now. All I'm feeding ATM is flake food 3-4times a day on the week sine I'm in school and a little extra on the weekend.
I don't know why but they are scared of me even when I've been feeding them all this time you think they would get use to me.

 

[juliehainsworth]

I have approx 45 sunset platy fry in a nursery aquarium which I have had for approx 1.5wk (29) and since Saturday (16). All are around 1cm the ones which were born 1.5wks ago were .5cm when born yet the ones born on Sat were approx 1cm the same size as the older ones (not sure why). In total I had 30 born on Saturday but dont have room to raise all so let some fend for themselves in community tank (still see some flitting about here and there).

When I placed them in the nursery tank for the first time (they were born in a trap) they all more or less hid for the first couple of days but now on a morning and when I get home from work most of them are swimming about at the front of the tank begging for food (they sure can put alot of food away)

Mine are fed on Freeze dried tubifex, ground flake, and liquifry at the moment. Might try a small amount of crushed peas see if they'll take it or not.

Hope yours continue to grow well..... What colour are your parents? My fry are yellow like they're parents and have started to get the black line on they're tail........ Not sure what age they're meant to develop they're full colouring though

 

[Annastasia]

Mine have a Rainbow Platy father, and either a bright orange with black stripes hi-fin mother, or a orange wagtail mother. The last batch was all wagtail..so I'm hoping this one comes from the high-fin. It isn't looking like it from the coloring so far though.

 

[juliehainsworth]

It sounds quite interesting! I've never thought about crossing platy's before I've only ever bought them from the same tank in the LFS. How many males to females do you have..... I did have three females to two males up until last night when one died (wasnt a shock she wasnt very happy)

 

[Annastasia]

2 males, 2 females, but they are in different tanks. I seperated them because;
A. 2 females died
B. I wanted them to stop breeding, because I'm breeding Variatus and only have so much room.

We're just working off the stored sperm now.

Crossing them isn't a big deal, because most of the colors you see out there now were developed from crosses with other colors, or even Variatus Platies or Swordtails. I think the best cross I've gotten would be Rainbow Platy/Red Platy. Bright red fading into blue fading into dark blue. 'Twas very cute. Not that I did it on purpose, but I just keep a bunch of Platies and most fry do survival of the fittest, so I don't get to see a whole lot of crosses. This one, however, was very fit.

 

[juliehainsworth]

That does sound interesting....

I must admit I do think mine are crossed swordtail somewhere as one male has a slight point to his tail (he's the most dominant one)

Think I might seperate soon....... Both females are pregers not a suprise really but they can give birth in community and we'll see who survives...... Its quite interesting to watch them ......... My beta went into sulk after his hunting atempt failed and the fry disappeared (he nearly got himself stuck lol)

 

[Annastasia]

They probably are, or perhaps he just didn't get much of the Lyretail gene. It's so hard to say with them these days, they've been crossed all over the place.

Seperating before they are very pregnant is a good idea, because sometimes the males will follow the females around constantly to try to make them abort the fry so they can eat them.