New To Breeding - Pregnant Platy?

[Annastasia]

You can get a group of Cories for the bottom. They won't eat algae, but that is just easier to scrape off by yourself. However, if you get these, that means less fish you can keep. I guess you could have 6 Guppies and maybe 3 small Cories. However, you would really need to keep up on the water changes. I wouldn't get an apple snail, as they have big waste producers and get huge...I've heard of some attacking Bettas, so I definitely wouldn't trust them with fry.

Yes, keep the Guppies in one tank. If you want to raise fry, you definitely are going to want a fry tank. Only keep maybe 2 females max in the fry tank at once, otherwise you'll just have other females eating the fry.

I'd get some fry food for the first few weeks. That is basically full nutrition without the hassle. Then you can move onto very finely crushed flakes, and small bits of freeze-dried. However, don't feed too much freeze-dried because it can cause them to become bloated and constipated. Also, as I'm sure you know with Betta fry, feed them often! 3 times a day at least, 5-6 is better.

 

[williams22]

Sorry for a stupid question but, are cories the same as cats? I have a panda cat and 4 oto cats that I could use. What type would you suggest?

 

[Annastasia]

Not really. Cats usually refer to Catfish, which is a huge group of fish. Cories are Catfish, but they aren't exactly the same per se...

The Otos would be okay. They eat algae, and also need good water quality, so they will work well with the Guppies and their frequent water changes.

Your Panda Cory will work good too, except get more. Cories do best in groups of 4+. They also need good water quality, and make sure to clean the substrate often. Also, use sand with them, because they are very prone to bacterial infections.

So I would get maybe 4 Guppies now, 3 females 1 male. Keep up on your water changes in this tank for sure, the fish need it!

 

[williams22]

What makes a fish a cory then? Sorry for the questions but I just don't understand this. Also, would it be okay to just have guppies in the tank and make sure to do water changes?

 

[dwarfgourami]

What makes a fish a cory then? Sorry for the questions but I just don't understand this. Also, would it be okay to just have guppies in the tank and make sure to do water changes?

Catfish are a big family of fish. Corys (corydoras) are a subgroup, a genus, within that family. So all corys are catfish, but not all catfish are corys.

Corys are scavengers so they will eat any leftover food, but they will not clear up other fish's waste- and of course whatever they eat comes out the other end as their waste. Basically there is no fish that will keep your tank clean in the sense of getting rid of poo and not producing any of their own. The idea that every tank needs or can have a fish that acts as a kind of vacuum cleaner is a myth. The only creature that will do that is known as a gravel cleaner.

So if your main concern is to keep your fry clean I would keep them on their own, just do frequent gravel cleans/water changes and be careful to feed only small amounts.

 

[Annastasia]

Also, would it be okay to just have guppies in the tank and make sure to do water changes?

Sure! You don't need any other fish, just Guppies will be fine. You'll need to clean the substrate, and scrub the sides but it is really not that hard, especially in a 10 gallon.

 

[williams22]

Well I bought fish today! 2 males and 6 females. Three females have quite large gravid spots and are very fat (maybe they will spawn soon?), two have medium sized spots, and one is fairly small. I also bought a breeding net just in case I need to put fry in it. How soon do you think the females can give birth? Will it be a week or so since buying them stresses them or could they be good to go any minute?

 

[Annastasia]

Sounds like a good number. I wouldn't keeo any other fish in the Guppy tank at all though, that should be enough.

The females can give birth any time really. Maybe after a few days, since they need some time to settle in first. In the future, I wouldn't buy heavily pregnant fish though. For these, try to make it as stress free as possible, maybe turn off the lights for now, make sure the tank has lots of hiding places, keep the water good. All these things will help them not abort or have birthing difficulties.

 

[williams22]

For the guppies that seem fairly fat and have a dark and large gravid spot, should I leave them in the tank with all the guppies, place them in a breeding net, or move them to the 10g with the pregnant platy I have? If they give birth in the tank with all guppies will all the fry be eaten?

 

[Annastasia]

It's up to you. Personally, I'd pick between one of the two tanks. Depending on how planted the tanks are, I'd say the fry stand about equal chances in both tanks.

 

[williams22]

My female platy has now been alone in her tank for 3 days and doesn't swim around too much. She mostly sits inside a tree stump ornament I have and I haven't seen her eat in a while. Is this normal? Should I be worried? She seems quite large, I'm hoping she gives birth soon.

 

[Annastasia]

Yeah, it is somewhat normal for them to slow down and hide a lot before they give birth. However, what were your latest water stats in that tank? And does she appear to have any visible signs of illness?

You can also gradually raise the temperature to about 78-79 to help move things along.

 

[Ddraig Goch]

For the guppies that seem fairly fat and have a dark and large gravid spot, should I leave them in the tank with all the guppies, place them in a breeding net, or move them to the 10g with the pregnant platy I have? If they give birth in the tank with all guppies will all the fry be eaten?

I wouldn't put them in a breeding trap as this would cause them more stress, and they have already been moved from the shop tank to yours, moving them to a net might be too much for them.
Do you have lots of hiding places for the fry? Lots of plants (some floating) are good, and maybe some rocks, slate is quite good for fry to hide under.

My female platy has now been alone in her tank for 3 days and doesn't swim around too much. She mostly sits inside a tree stump ornament I have and I haven't seen her eat in a while. Is this normal? Should I be worried? She seems quite large, I'm hoping she gives birth soon.

Females do tend to hide more when they are heavily pregnant, she should be eating though, if you have live plants in the tank she could be pecking at them. You could try putting one of your pregnant guppies in with her, maybe a bit of company will perk her up.

Good luck.

 

[Annastasia]

Edit: Nevermind.

 

[williams22]

As far as I can tell it has been about 2 days. However, when I leave the room and come back she is sometimes swimming about, so maybe she eats so from the bottom then. When she sees me she generally hides in her stump.