Omg - Surprise Fry ! What To Do ... ?

[rk4n3]

I recently completed a fishless-cycle on my 29-gal tank, and then moved my three female platies and one glolight tetra to it from their 10-gal previous home.
 
Since the 10-gal is nicely cycled as well, I wanted to start getting some new fish, so I bought a small/young male fancy guppy, and have had him alone (or so I thought) in the 10-gal for a couple days.
 
This morning, I was surprised as heck to see a tiny little platy fry hanging around the heater !
 
I suppose this means one of my females gave birth in the 10-gal before being moved, and they must have eaten all of them but this one little survivor

 
So, I'm wondering about the best way to this little one's survival - will the guppy eat him/her ?  Should I do something in particular food-wise ?  I have these cubes of tiny freeze-dried brine shrimp that crumble up into almost microscopic particles, and I also have micro-pellets.  When I put these in the water, the little fry seems interested in them, but is so tiny I can't tell if s/he is actually getting to eat any.
 
The fry is in the upper-left corner:

 
 
Thoughts ?
 
Thanks in advance,
rk4n3
 

 

[The chilly dipper]

Im Guessing you want to keep judging from your level of concern , maybe keep him in a seive to act as a trap until you can buy a proper trap.
 
It is best to have another tank for him to go in but that is not allways available or necesary so do what you can to keep him away from the adults because he will get eaten

 

[rk4n3]

Yeah, I want to keep him ... I have lots of room in the other tank, so when he's big enough he'll go in there.
 
So, what's the concept and working-details behind a "trap" ?  Is this something my LFS can likely help me with ?
 
Thanks

 

[The chilly dipper]

Yeah the traps are very simple and just keep the fish away from the fry look at this:
 
 
https/www.google.co.uk/search?q=fish+fry+traps&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=iDy2Udm-F8aN0AXYjoCgDw&biw=1360&bih=575&sei=kjy2UanjAZCY1AXvroG4Cg
 
 
Of course i will allways say that keeping fry this way for too long may make him unhappy.
 
If your water flow and movement in the tank is not great its a good idea just to freshen up the water in the trap by getting a clean cup and pouring water out of the filter into the trap, this will force excess dropletts of food out and freshen the water in the trap.
The trap has slight cut outs but the water still may need freshening up due to how small the slits are.
 
Really simple and easy..for my fry all i have ever done is give them very finely ground flake food and they have been fine but you can be alot more generous if you want to hehe

 

[rk4n3]

Excellent - thanks so much !
 
I called LFS, and they have what sounds like a perfect trap in-stock, so I'll be off
to get that tonight.  Then, I'll also be prepared for the next time I notice a pregnant platy

 

[The chilly dipper]

pictures please if poss

 

[Arcticfox1977]

Just to let you know I also have 2 surprise platy fry. I don't have another tank,net or box for them. I've left them in our tank and are thriving. They are at the stage where they are swimming about with the others.

 

[The chilly dipper]

Just to let you know I also have 2 surprise platy fry. I don't have another tank,net or box for them. I've left them in our tank and are thriving. They are at the stage where they are swimming about with the others.

well normally fry will hang about under rocks and other hiding places but all it takes is1 hungry fish and thats it game over

 
Rule of thumb for me was and has allways been if its small enough to fit into bigger fishes mouth i class them as at risk.

 

[rk4n3]

WOW - I have 5 fry !
 
I brought home a really nice/slick breeder box, and as I went to catch the one fry I knew I had, I saw another.  As I stirred things around netting those two, a third popped out.  Trying to catch that third one, he slipped down in between gravel/rocks, so I figured out how they were hiding.  I moved the gravel around a bit and got him netted.  Then, I decided to do a gravel cleaning and water change, and sure enough - a fourth one popped out.  After the water change, I scanned for a few minutes for more, and didn't find any.  Then, on a hunch, I checked the bucket I siphoned the water into, and sure enough - there was a fifth in the bucket.
 
I've scanned and stirred things up on and off for a couple hours now, and no more are popping out, so I think I have them all.
 
I've also got some new fish in the 10-gal:  1 mickey mouse platy and 5 glolight tetras, which are basically "restocking" of the ones I lost due to not understanding to cycle my tank initially.  Hopefully, things will go much better this time
 
Thanks for the info/advice !

 

[rk4n3]

Just to let you know I also have 2 surprise platy fry. I don't have another tank,net or box for them. I've left them in our tank and are thriving. They are at the stage where they are swimming about with the others.

 
Hey, Arcticfox - any tips on how you can tell when the fry are ready for release into the community ?
 
I only ask because I've never done this before, and because I'm imagining it a little difficult to tell just by comparing their size to the "mouth sizes" of the other fish ...
 
Also, roughly how long does it take for the fry to grow to that stage (ready to release into the community) ?
 
Thanks,
rk4n3

 

[Arcticfox1977]

I am sorry, but I left my fry in our tank. Wasn't expecting fry. I know it might sound cruel and insensitive but if our fry live they live. If they get eating the we let nature take it course.

I'm sure someone else will tell you when its ready. I've only been in the hobbie for 6 weeks.

 

[the_lock_man]

The mouth-size thing is the only way - it doesn't matter how old a fish is, if it will fit into another fish's mouth, that's where it will end up, whether it be a fry or 6 years old, or whatever.
 
A lot of people say that they couldn't possibly let a fry get eaten, it would be cruel. The problem is that they are projecting human, mammalian, values onto a non-mammal species. As mammals, we are instinctively programmed to care about our offspring, to ensure that they reach maturity and that the species survives - that's how we've evolved. It's also why mammals in general, and humans in particular, have small numbers of offspring at a time. Birds are exactly the same.
 
Fish, on the other hand, generally go for quantity over quality. They don't care if fish reach maturity or not (generally speaking anyway, there are obviously some exceptions, eg cichlids), the chances are some will because there's just so darn many of 'em.
 
Therefore, if you intervene to ensure that each fry reaches maturity, you will soon be overrun with fish. Mother Nature is usually best left alone to do her thing.

 

[Lunar Jetman]

I agree with TLM, when I kept livebearers, apart from the first time, I always used to just let the fry fend for themselves in the main tank. I looked at it as nature taking its course. If some survived it was meant to be! I always had survivors to the point where I had to give some away on more than one occasion.

 

[The chilly dipper]

The mouth-size thing is the only way - it doesn't matter how old a fish is, if it will fit into another fish's mouth, that's where it will end up, whether it be a fry or 6 years old, or whatever.
 
A lot of people say that they couldn't possibly let a fry get eaten, it would be cruel. The problem is that they are projecting human, mammalian, values onto a non-mammal species. As mammals, we are instinctively programmed to care about our offspring, to ensure that they reach maturity and that the species survives - that's how we've evolved. It's also why mammals in general, and humans in particular, have small numbers of offspring at a time. Birds are exactly the same.
 
Fish, on the other hand, generally go for quantity over quality. They don't care if fish reach maturity or not (generally speaking anyway, there are obviously some exceptions, eg cichlids), the chances are some will because there's just so darn many of 'em.
 
Therefore, if you intervene to ensure that each fry reaches maturity, you will soon be overrun with fish. Mother Nature is usually best left alone to do her thing.

+1 the lock bloke