New Baby Platy!

[altselgreen]

Hi Guys

I just found a small baby platy in my tank looks to be the only one! His or Her father had died quite a while ago and his mum died about a week ago. I have never had little fry before and I actually can't believe he's made it I am now really worried that he might get eaten. So is there anything I can do.

Unfortunately I didn't know the mother was pregnant, she didn't have a gravid spot or anything (except she was fat) so I don't have a breeding tank to put him in and my other tank isn't a good place either. I can't go to my lfs since it closed at 6. My dad is abroad and my mum isn't experienced with fish.

Please Help!

Sam

 

[Pinkiee]

Do you have any plants in your tank. My babies hide in plants and seem to make it ok.

If not try and give it somewhere to hide.
When I very first had babies in my small tank I hung a small net plant pot over the side of the tank suspended by a paper clip, crude but it worked.

good luck with it

 

[altselgreen]

Hi Pinkiee

Yes, I do have plants in my tank in fact he's at the back hiding in a plant now. Unfortunately my mum doesn't have any net plant pots, but I was thinking is it possible to catch him and put him in a transparent bag like the fish come from the fish shops. Then I can clip it on the side of the tank. Would that be ok or should I just let him hang around the plants at the back?

Please Help!

Sam

 

[iain.betson]

Hi Pinkiee

Yes, I do have plants in my tank in fact he's at the back hiding in a plant now. Unfortunately my mum doesn't have any net plant pots, but I was thinking is it possible to catch him and put him in a transparent bag like the fish come from the fish shops. Then I can clip it on the side of the tank. Would that be ok or should I just let him hang around the plants at the back?

Please Help!

Sam

Hi, do you have any old plastic pots (clean ones) punch some tiny holes in it so the water can get through give it a good rinse and susspend it from the side of tank, if you have any java moss or similar plant put this in to give it something to hide behind. this should do untill you figure something a bit more perminent out. Apparently crushed flake is good to feed them.
Good luck
My platy gave birth today while i was at work

 

[altselgreen]

Hi izzakstahn

Thanks for your idea, unfortunately I can't catch him. I've been watching him a bit and the other fish don't seem to be bothered about him. So hopefully he will survive. I'm gonna speak to my dad tonight to see what he says.

Any other suggestions would be grateful

Sam

 

[silver tipped]

Hi,

You'll be surprised how robust the little fry can be. My platies give birth in my main tank with tetras and rainbows and yet still a few manage to survive.

If you have plenty of plants then that will give him/her somewhere to hide. I have also heard of poeple placeing marbles in the tank (I am not sure if they have to be special ones for aquariums) but it provides tiny nooks for the fry to hide in.

I feed my fry the same as the adults (flake and frozen bloodworms). I just make sure that the flake ect is crushed to a powder cos the have tiny mouths.

My fry are now about 6 weeks approx and the other fish don't even bother to chase them anymore. They grow quick so he'll soon be able to hold his own.




Good luck

 

[bgormley]

Hi there
I found a baby platy also the other day! So i went straight out and bought a breeding net to put him in but do you think i could catch him?? It ended up last night with me removing all artificial plants/ornaments from the tank and then i caught him. And to my surprise I founds two other babies too!! So now i have 3 happy little chappies in the breeding net with a few bit of artificial plant for them to hide in (i just snipped some off the other plants). While i was at it i managed to get rid of loads of snails that had appeared too.

Good luck catching him - but remember if you take out your ornaments you might find you have loads!!!

 

[altselgreen]

Hey Guys

Thanks a lot for all your help! I've realised that my baby platy is too big to be aten! Haven't found any more yet... He (in fact I think it's a she) is growing really fast. Always out the front of the tank, a great baby fish!

In fact I like her so much I'm thinking of breeding some more livebearers. I have kept Mollies, Guppies and Platys but never bred them (except the pregnant platy which I didn't know about) any ideas?

What size breeding tank am I gonna need? I'm thinking about 5-10 gallon? What fish would be the easiest to breed? I love mollies but i've heard they're gonna need a 20-25 gallon tank. I also really like platys would they be ok?

Any ideas?

Sam

 

[Annastasia]

All babies look like females in the beginning, you'll have to wait until it matures a bit more to tell it's true sex.

All common Livebearers are easy to breed, essentially just add water and the females are pregnant. The tank size would depend on which one you want to breed. Though I'd go for at least a 10g. If you're serious, you'll want a fry tank too. Mollies do need a bigger tank, and brackish water too. At the very least, hard and alkaline freshwater.

What type do you think you want to breed?

 

[altselgreen]

Hi Annastasia

I would like to breed platys. I've heard that Guppies and endlers can breed together, is that true? But platys. Could I breed the different colours to create different types of platy?

Thanks

Sam

 

[bucsfan914]

i just found 12 baby platies in my main tank today also! i think their might be more in my HOB filter and hopefully they are not dead....but the others are all safe in my baby tank...some even have thier colors to!

 

[Annastasia]

Hi Annastasia

I would like to breed platys. I've heard that Guppies and endlers can breed together, is that true? But platys. Could I breed the different colours to create different types of platy?

Thanks

Sam

Okay, then I'd say 10g minimum. And yes, you can breed different colors together, however it depends on the genetics and recessive/dominant traits as to what you'll get. One parent's color may be dominant, so all the fry will look like them. It's hard to say.

Yes, Guppies and Endlers can breed together however that is a bad idea, because you want to keep the Endlers pure.

 

[altselgreen]

Thanks a lot! I'm still gonna need to do some research though!

Any more tips?

Thanks

Sam

 

[Annastasia]

Have you tried reading the pinned topics and FAQs? Also the profile for Platies?

If you have any questions after that, ask away!

 

[altselgreen]

Thanks everyone!

I think I'm gonna be okay from here! Once again thanks!

Sam