Need Ideas For Vacation And Fry Care

jaimeg · Dec 16, 2006

I'm hoping to get some idea of what to do with my (unexpected) fry over a vacation.

I have already arranged for a neighbor boy to care for our tank while we are gone. We are going to be gone for almost 3 weeks. He can only come every 3 days, as he does not live nearby. The plan was to have him peek in at the fish and feed them every 3 days. (I got the every 3 day idea from this forum...saying it will help keep the fish from being overfed by the boy and to keep the tank clean until I do a water change). Two days ago, we woke up to about a 12 red platy fry. My son pestered me into rescuing them into a breeding tank.

Here's my dilema...I don't have a way to feed the fry 3-6 times per day...only 1 time every three days! I have already called all my local pet stores and no one will take them. Well, they'll take them and put them into their tanks and let them be eaten...but I could do that here!

Will fry survive that scarce feeding schedule? Is it best that I just let them go to be eaten? Any ideas that I haven't thought of yet? I have considered putting an auto feeder over the breeding tank...but I think that would WAAAY over feed them. I can't sink any more money into buying a breeding tank and putting it at the boy's house.

Thanks for any fresh ideas!

Tolak · Dec 16, 2006

Those fry will probably not make it being fed every 3 days.

If they are in the tank with the adults, who are used to being fed daily they will probably get eaten. If not, lack of food will thin the ranks.

A fry tank doesn't have to be an actual tank. A dozen fry will do fine in just about any container that holds a couple of gallons. Setting up a rubbermaid container with a sponge filter at this boy's house shouldn't set you back but a few dollars. I grow out angel fry in a 10 gallon the first couple of weeks, 250 at a time. If angels do fine at 25 per gallon, a dozen platys in a gallon or two will be ok, and perhaps add a budding aquarist to the ranks. :good:

dwarfgourami · Dec 16, 2006

In a mature planted tank, they should survive by eating little critters that live off the plants: I've had platy fry born while I've been on vacation and it's worked fine. In a bare breeder tank, it might be harder. If you have plants in your other tank, I would either move the fry in there and let them take their chance, or move the plants into the breeding tank.

jaimeg · Dec 16, 2006

So are you saying to stuff all my plants into the little breeder tank? That just might work. I have 3 smallish clumps of live plants. It is only a 10 US gallon tank. So they eat stuff off the plants? Algae? (My mature platy eat up the algae food I put in for our snail!)

Thanks for the ideas.

drsoda007 · May 11, 2008

jaimeg said:
I'm hoping to get some idea of what to do with my (unexpected) fry over a vacation.

I have already arranged for a neighbor boy to care for our tank while we are gone. We are going to be gone for almost 3 weeks. He can only come every 3 days, as he does not live nearby. The plan was to have him peek in at the fish and feed them every 3 days. (I got the every 3 day idea from this forum...saying it will help keep the fish from being overfed by the boy and to keep the tank clean until I do a water change). Two days ago, we woke up to about a 12 red platy fry. My son pestered me into rescuing them into a breeding tank.

Here's my dilema...I don't have a way to feed the fry 3-6 times per day...only 1 time every three days! I have already called all my local pet stores and no one will take them. Well, they'll take them and put them into their tanks and let them be eaten...but I could do that here!

Will fry survive that scarce feeding schedule? Is it best that I just let them go to be eaten? Any ideas that I haven't thought of yet? I have considered putting an auto feeder over the breeding tank...but I think that would WAAAY over feed them. I can't sink any more money into buying a breeding tank and putting it at the boy's house.

Thanks for any fresh ideas!