Gwen's Babies (platies)

[PrairieSunflower]

Well... I decided I want to create a little journal for my first ever platy babies.

They were born on December 22, 2012, there are 25 of them (thought there were 23 but the other two were good hiders!)

Early on I did have trouble with one of them flashing but that rectified itself by the next day and is still a mystery. They have all survived so far.

This is Gwen (aka Mommy), she is the cream and black platy, the other platy is Rosie:

Gwen came home from the LFS already pregnant so the father is a mystery. So far, the babies are almost all cream colored, two of them are more yellow, and a few of them have 1 black dot already.

Some baby pictures:

December 22, 2012

December 26, 2012

I was initially worried about my babies as I have had some problems with my last couple of batches of guppy fry, nearly all of them clamped up and died and I still have no idea why. So, I worried when the one started flashing. But, its been 6 days now and they are all alive, all swimming, all eating, and no one is clamping.

Today I have moved them out of the breeder net and into my shrimp tank... I seem to always have the better luck and the best growth with babies that spend their first month with my shrimp.

I should add... I don't believe that Gwen gave birth to all her babies yet. When she gave birth on the 22nd her gravid spot looked clear again... but yesterday (27th) I could suddenly see a bunch of little black dots again. I am thinking come another week or so we will have more babies... a staggered birth maybe? When I saw the black dots the last time it was about a week before these babies arrived.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I've actually managed to take a pretty decent picture! I can see the fins! Usually my picture taking is blurry!


A baby, 6 days old.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Was starting at my babies today. One is funny... looks like someone drew an ear on it with a tiny black marker (must be its gill that is black)... and another is so completely transparent I can't even see that it has a tail until it is inches from the glass!

All of them are still a base of anything from transparent to pale yellow, and maybe 1/4 are developing black markings... most on the back end of the body, one has a strip on the tail and a small bit have black markings on the rest of the body. No other colors turning up so far... still hoping for a surprise in the mix.

I'm sure there are more babies to come soon as well.... Gwen's gravid spot is getting really black... more so than the last time!

 

[PrairieSunflower]

The babies are 2 weeks old today.

Here is a good example of the colors that they are becoming.... a bit blurry though.
Every single baby except for one has at least one black spot. There is was completely transparent baby with no spots at all, but it is a very weak baby and I doubt it will live. All the others seem really strong though.

One of the white ones.

 

[lolobunnz]

I see some little spots! Love spotties

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I have some with a whole lot more spot but all of those ones hid and I couldn't get a picture of them. I have one that looks like it has an ear drawn on the side. LOL

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Check it out!!! I was expecting all the babies to be either white or cream with black spots and...... ta daaaaa... these two have orange fins starting!! Yay!

NOTE: Nothing wrong with that baby's eye... its just the glass is really scratched up but it is the only one I have for pictures.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

One day shy of 3 weeks old. Here are the ones that agreed to be caught for a photo. LOL

 

[lolobunnz]

Awesome photos!

 

[Fish12345]

lolobunnz do u buy fish online

 

[PrairieSunflower]

No. I've bought shrimp and assassin snails online, but I am leary to buy fish online (mostly because they seem so easily traumatized).

I've bought all my platies from Maidenhead aquatics, same with my neon tetras and two of my guppies. My oldest guppy is from Pets at Home and all the rest her offspring.

Oh wait. You weren't asking me. LOL

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I was trying hard to get a better focus picture of these two babes... BUT... this was the best I could do... as I was also aiming to have them both at the same distance from the camera to show off their sizes. LOL

It is probably obvious, but this is my biggest and smallest baby... in fact... tiny weenie there is so small she is the same size as my 1 1/2 week old grey babies!

I know, I am already calling her she... but I am really hoping she is a she because that will mean I will keep her for sure... and I am quite fond of her already. BE A SHE.... please!

 

[PrairieSunflower]

My babes are doing well for the most part. They turned 1 month old on the 22nd, unfortunately, two of my older platies got ich (no idea where that came from) so they are still in the midst of being treated.

The one I was most carefully charting the growth of (mainly because I can always tell it and its markings from the others... the one with a black line at the bottom of its tail)... managed to kill itself in a bizarre, or not so, manner. I can't figure out how it did it, but it managed to get stuck in a part of my filter that it shouldn't have.... I have a sort of directional lever with what I thought was no space... but, somehow the baby managed to get itself wedged there and died. Boo.

Hopefully the ich will be cleared easily and soon. The babes are all looking fine, but my two adults who have it are looking rather sorry for themselves still... hoping they perk up soon.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

My babies are growing really well. Even the tiny one has caught up a bit in growth and no longer looks as drastically smaller than the others.

This one is my favorite and soooo hoping it will be a female. Still no signs of any males in the bunch, hopefully they will start showing their genders soon.

The majority of the babies look like this one.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Well, I haven't updated lately.

My babies are now about 1 1/2 months old. Most of them are doing well despite a terrible time we are having treating ich. I do suspect the tiniest of them all won't make it and I am considering just culling it. I'm sure it is more than just the ich and treatment. It is struggling to cope and grow really. It also looks "different", maybe it is more a feeling or a light thing... but its body just looks somehow... "too long". To be a big more dramatic about it. Gwen had a second batch of babies thereabouts 2 weeks ago. I decided not to keep them and just didn't feed the tank she had them in hoping that would take care of the problem. I did end up spotting one lone survivor which I took pitty on and moved it into the platy tank since it managed to not get eaten and not starve to death! Even that baby is making strides and catching up to the tiny one.

The rest of the babies are doing really well, some of them look like they will grow really big one day. I have yet to see any hint of even a single one of them being a male. I was expecting to see something by now. Keeping my eyes peeled! LOL

I am hoping the current treatment of heat and meds will rid the tank of ich finally as I've really been wanting to move the biggest of the babies to the community tank but it isn't yet safe to do so.