How To Breed For The First Time

[butler boy]

me and my mates are wanting to breed platies and we have a 50 lt tank free and i was wondering what chance we would have and any tips you have got

 

[dunchp]

me and my mates are wanting to breed platies and we have a 50 lt tank free and i was wondering what chance we would have and any tips you have got

Buy a boy, buy a girl, buy some plants and they will do the rest. You don't even need soft music and candlelight

If you keep just a pair or maybe a trio, plant the tank heavily enough and provide enough hiding spaces at low level then you shouldn't need a trap.

 

[Colin_T]

buy 6 females and no males. Add lots of floating plants and feed the fish well. In a month you will have young.
Platies are kept in mixed sex tanks at the shops so any females you buy will already be pregnant. They can also carry sperm packets and use these for fertilising their eggs later on. Therefore a male is not needed for at least 6months.

 

[5teady_2012]

Agree with dun, buy 2 females and 1 male so he dose not constantly harras 1.

NOticed colin posted at same time so edited....

If your lfs do mix sexes then colins idea is good. (not all lfs do mix)

 

[Colin_T]

Hi 5teady

do some of your shops seperate their male and female livebearers?

 

[dunchp]

Both ideas are good.

 

[5teady_2012]

Hi 5teady

do some of your shops seperate their male and female livebearers?

All my lfs do m8, the females are all still pregnant though most of the time

 

[LauraFrog]

*gets jealous of Steady*

Why can't mine do that? All the hotties are knocked up by some run of the mills male! The mickey mouse marking is the WORST - when it crops up in F1 it takes about four gens to get rid of it. Don't ask me how but it does. I hate it.

 

[butler boy]

ok i will take the advice and see if the do seperate the females from the males if they do then buy 2 females and 1 male
but if they do then buy 6 females

 

[dunchp]

ok i will take the advice and see if the do seperate the females from the males if they do then buy 2 females and 1 male
but if they do then buy 6 females

In a 50 litre tank, I would start off with 3 females, don't forget that if they are pregnant already you are going to get plenty of fry in the first few weeks / month.

Try to pick only pregnant females (the ones which look fattest).

Good luck.

 

[butler boy]

ok lets get this straight if they seprate them buy 2 females and 1 male but if the dont seprate them buy 3 females

 

[dunchp]

ok lets get this straight if they seprate them buy 2 females and 1 male but if the dont seprate them buy 3 females

That is about the size of it. Yes.

Platies store sperm which means that if they have been 'exposed' to a male then they will more than likely be pregnant for numerous broods. I prefer to keep them in groups of males and females, but if you want to just buy females then that would work fine.

 

[butler boy]

thnak you for all your replys and tips i will remember them