Hello - New Here!

[Natasha74]

Hi All
 
Am new here, and a returner to tropical fish keeping!  I kept TF about 15 years ago - mostly Oscars, plecos and cichlids - but have decided, due to my 3 year old son to get another tank with "pretty" fish.
 
I initially purchased a 35l tank, but was finding it difficult to stabilise (nitrite in particular) so I have recently purchased a 125l tank and am currently cycling it.
 
I decided to go for a fish-in cycle, and have added a large handful of gravel from my existing tank as well as some water and a small stone - the initial "new tank" syndrome of cloudy water has now cleared and the tank is testing fine.
 
I currently have 6 fish in the tank.  3 male guppies, 1 male swordtail platy and 2 females.  I was aware that fish-in cycling can be a risky business, so was prepared to lose some or all of the fish, BUT I now have a problem - the two female platys are pregnant - very obviously so.  I would really not like to lose them or the fry so is there any advice you experts can give on how I can make sure the tank supports these girls?  I can't transfer them over to the 35l tank as there are already a few too many fish in there and I am struggling with nitrite in that small tank....
 
a photo of the pregnant fish is attached - I had some people over on a facebook forum agree with me that they are pregnant - unless you think otherwise?
 
Thanks for the advice!
 
 

 

[the_lock_man]

Definitely pregnant.
 
My advice to you would be the same with or without fry - daily water changes. Have a look at the green link in my signature area, it details what you need to do to keep ammonia and nitrite down, and it would also apply to your nano tank too.
 
We have a specific section further down the forum for questions particularly related to small "nano" tanks, such as your 35l. Feel free to post any questions you have, we are a pretty friendly bunch here.

 

[Natasha74]

Hi, thanks for the reply - well the question over pregnancy has been answered - I just went down to the tank and found a lot of babies.  I have put both females in the breeding box and captured as many of the babies as possible and put them beneath the "V".  Switched the lights off and will leave them alone for a bit and pray I've not stressed the females out too much.  I have no idea which one gave birth, or if its both - but i'll wait and see what happens in the birthing box...

 

[the_lock_man]

Just be wary of the box - if it's a small one, even one female can literally be stressed to death, and you have both in there.
 
Also be aware that these ladies will be giving birth to upwards to 30 fry every 4-6 weeks. By using a birthing box, you will be allowing more fry to survive than would in the wild, where the vast majority are eaten, pretty much straight away, often by the parents. You don't have the tank space currently to support that level of increase over a long period, and many people find it difficult to find LFS who are willing to take them from you. It may be beneficial to leave the females in the main tank, and allow nature to do its thing.

 

[Natasha74]

was thinking that - have just got back from LFS and have bought several new plants (fake ones) to help the babies hide but rather than be left with dozens of fish my tank can't cope with, I thought I might just release the girls and keep the 5 or 6 fry I managed to catch in the box and then let nature take its course. 

 

[the_lock_man]

Sounds good to me.

 

[Natasha74]

Have caught 18 fry so far.  Going to leave it at that as I can see that only one of the females has given birth - the other is still pregnant!

 

[Lunar Jetman]

I just used to leave them in the main tank and let nature take its course. Otherwise you'l end up being overrun.

 

[Natasha74]

Good news is that my fish-in cycling is going well - just tested the water and zero ammonia, perfect PH - very slightly raised nitrite but that was fixed with a water change.  Water is clear and fish are lively and swimming well.

 

[the_lock_man]

Excellent.
 
Your target is to be able to go a week without having to do those extra water-changes. Then you can call yourself cycled. Or, at least, you can call your filter cycled.

 

[Natasha74]

Babies!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Congrats!