Platie Babys 0.0

[Leedsboi86]

Hey everyone!!

Do Platies eat there babies?
Just noticed in my newish tank(I was putting 2 plant bulbs in) a lil platie swam past me hand.

Didn't even know they were preggie.....

Not holding much hold they will survive but just kinda shocked

 

[three-fingers]

Yes, yes they do.

If you have enough cover they may hold out long enough until they are just too big to fit in their parents mouth, though this is unlikely in a small tank.

If they didn't eat their babies, you would be wishing they did though - you'd be overrun with platies after a few months!

 

[Amunet]

I have 2 platy females in a 5 gallon. One of them gave birth and neither ate any of the babies. That's not to say that other platies won't though. Just my 2 didn't
I thought they did at first b/c after a few days the fry disappeared. But then I noticed them swimming near the bottom of the tank.
I didn't do anything special to help them. I fed the adult platies as normal and apparently enough food went down to feed the fry as well.

 

[three-fingers]

Lol, my male platy specifically follows the female when she if giving birth to eat the babies, It's how I know to get the net out and look for baby fish.

Must be nice for your fry to have parents that don't eat them . It seems I have brought my fish up to be bad parents...

 

[chibi]

My platies have never eaten their babies (they have surprisingly large fry! They're much bigger than guppy babies ), although I'm sure it happens. If you have a fry live past 3 days, he should be good to ward off another platy. Now, an angelfish or something of the sort, I'm not too sure about... ;D

 

[Leedsboi86]

Not seen the lil fry again so I assume he's been eaten.
He was a really pale orange colour too!

He's either hiding or eaten >.<

 

[chibi]

Not seen the lil fry again so I assume he's been eaten.
He was a really pale orange colour too!

He's either hiding or eaten >.<

My one platy fry, who is in a 6 gallon with about a dozen guppy fry, is very orange too. He's starting to develop color, but it still very pale. I can spot him easily. I wonder why they're not gray like other fry...

 

[Tacklebury]

I find it a bit hit and miss. Sometimes i find 4-6 fry in the tank and then a few weeks later there might be 40!!!

Its true what three fingers says. I started with 4 playies / mollies. They gave birth to 8 fry, these have now grown into adults and i now get fry every couple of weeks. Luckily the young adults only have 10-15 but Skip, the Grand mother of all my fry can bang out a good 50 in one session!

I leave them in the hatchery until they are about 2 months old, or if i have both hatcherys full with fry its the oldest out and in with the new, this way the strongest fish survive and the weak don't.