The fry are pretty good judges of when it is safe to be in the open. If any fish threaten them they will hide for another day to be safe and if not they usually get it right.
Platy Fry - Already! - Pictures Added
- Thread starter Tropical_Fish
- Start date
Duck and Dive
Fish Herder
Baby guppies can get away from adults in fast darts for cover. But in open water adults can keep up a consistant speed whereas the fry can only swim in fast bursts, so decor and plants are needed.
Tropical_Fish
Fishaholic
They're platy but I presume the same applies!
They have some fake plants and the bog wood has bits they can hide in where the fish can't get, they also hid in the gravel - and blend in really well.
Of the three I can see - two are larger than the other one - the two larger ones are getting quite brave and are swimming in open water but the little one gets about an inch a way from his hiding place then darts back in again!
Duck and Dive
Fish Herder
Sorry! Spend too much time with guppies! Yes it applies to most species of fish.
It does not apply to most fish but does apply to the most common of livebearers that you will find in the LFS, including platies.
Tropical_Fish
Fishaholic
Fry count is up to 5 now, more are appearing as they get braver!
Tropical_Fish
Fishaholic
Well the ones that have survived so far so to be avoiding being eaten. They're getting much braver and swimming in the open more. The female platys aren't bothered by them and don't chase them - 2 of the guppies seem to have a chase but don't get anywhere near, the largest male (probably the only one that could easily eat them) doesn't seem bothered, the other male platy chases them a bit and gets close but they tend to outsmart him. (he followed the female around non-stop after she gave birth - presume he ate the others?)
How long do they take to get to the point where they are no longer classed as fry?
The only other thing that slightly worries me is feeding. I have read about buying special foods and feeding them 6 times a day. Obviously I can't do this, and can't really feed them at all! They must be getting some food and I've been plunging a bit of crumbled flake into the tank so it sinks faster. Is that enough?
Final Question for today - Are fry territorial? They seem to be having their own hiding places and more or less stick to them. I have one who has the plant and front hollow in the bogwood, one lives behind the statue, one lives under the back of the middle bog wood and two live round the fake bush/right hand piece of bogwood. Of course they may be switching places they all look more or less the same except the one round the back of the bogwood looks smaller and acts more skitish than the rest. They occasionally venture away from their choosen place but if you watch them they end up going back
How long do they take to get to the point where they are no longer classed as fry?
The only other thing that slightly worries me is feeding. I have read about buying special foods and feeding them 6 times a day. Obviously I can't do this, and can't really feed them at all! They must be getting some food and I've been plunging a bit of crumbled flake into the tank so it sinks faster. Is that enough?
Final Question for today - Are fry territorial? They seem to be having their own hiding places and more or less stick to them. I have one who has the plant and front hollow in the bogwood, one lives behind the statue, one lives under the back of the middle bog wood and two live round the fake bush/right hand piece of bogwood. Of course they may be switching places they all look more or less the same except the one round the back of the bogwood looks smaller and acts more skitish than the rest. They occasionally venture away from their choosen place but if you watch them they end up going back
Harlequins
***Corydora Crazy***
My fry has certain spots,i usually find the red fry and a few orange ones hang out by the thermometer,another few hide behind the heater,i often see the blue platy hovering on top of the sponge filter,the rest just hang out near the bottom unless its feeding time,once i lift the tank lid,they start swimming up to get it,so they are learning 
Tropical_Fish
Fishaholic
This is one of my fry now at about 1 week old, you can now see the tail.
Can anyone who know anything tell me anything else yet!?
Can still only see 5 at any one time and they come out for food at feeding time - the fish sometimes chase them but they don't seem bothered!
Another pic - not sure if it's the same one or not.
Can anyone who know anything tell me anything else yet!?
Can still only see 5 at any one time and they come out for food at feeding time - the fish sometimes chase them but they don't seem bothered!
Another pic - not sure if it's the same one or not.
Nice looking little fish Tropical. You can get faster growth with special fry food but they will also survive on small bits of food that the adults miss and will grow a bit slower eating that. If your tank is at all mature, the fry will also find food all over the tank. There are microorganisms growing on and around the plants, on any snails that you might have and the thin layers of algae you can never seem to get rid of are loaded with microscopic life. What this means to your fry is that the food they get from the fish feedings are a welcome easy meal but not the only one that they get in a day. With only 5 fry in a tank they are probably eating a nice varied diet of which you are supplying about half. If you ccan get your hands on some daphnia or other very small live food, they would really go crazy for them but in the meantime frozen daphnia is one of my favorite fry foods and the adults in the tank would love it too.
Tropical_Fish
Fishaholic
My tanks isn't *that* mature yet, it's only had fish in a for a few weeks following the fishless cycle I did.
I haven't got any sign of algae yet (and never had any during the cycle). The tank is Never in direct sunlight, which I presume will slow any algae growth.
I haven't got any snails.
So far the fish have had mainly flake food with a little bloodworm, the fry don't like to come to the surface for food but swim up towards the top - so I have been crushing the flake up very small and dunking it into the water, they then feed on those little bits - at the same time I feed teh fish larger flakes to keep them at the top.
Can't really feed fry foods, but will look out for frozen daphnia.
I feel a bit guilty as I didn't do my weekly gravel vac this week (with 25% water change) due to being a little worried about sucking the fry up. I tested the water and got:
ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 20ish ppm
pH: 7.6ish
Am I right that as the water stats are fine I was OK to leave it? If they stay like this should I move to a fortnightly vac anyway?
Many thanks for the replies!
I haven't got any sign of algae yet (and never had any during the cycle). The tank is Never in direct sunlight, which I presume will slow any algae growth.
I haven't got any snails.
So far the fish have had mainly flake food with a little bloodworm, the fry don't like to come to the surface for food but swim up towards the top - so I have been crushing the flake up very small and dunking it into the water, they then feed on those little bits - at the same time I feed teh fish larger flakes to keep them at the top.
Can't really feed fry foods, but will look out for frozen daphnia.
I feel a bit guilty as I didn't do my weekly gravel vac this week (with 25% water change) due to being a little worried about sucking the fry up. I tested the water and got:
ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 20ish ppm
pH: 7.6ish
Am I right that as the water stats are fine I was OK to leave it? If they stay like this should I move to a fortnightly vac anyway?
Many thanks for the replies!
Harlequins
***Corydora Crazy***
Fab pic,glad your fry are doing well 
I'm no expert,but has long has your water stats are good i'm sure it'll be ok to miss a gravel vac,i was wary about doing a vac and water change but they do tend to move out the way,i even ended sucking up one,it ended up in the bucket so i popped it back into the tank.
I now do a small water change and vac up leftovers every 2 days in the fry tank,i think i read they grow better with fresh water,
Wish i could get a decent pic of my 3 week old fry,the pic either comes out blurry or all flash!
I'm no expert,but has long has your water stats are good i'm sure it'll be ok to miss a gravel vac,i was wary about doing a vac and water change but they do tend to move out the way,i even ended sucking up one,it ended up in the bucket so i popped it back into the tank.
I now do a small water change and vac up leftovers every 2 days in the fry tank,i think i read they grow better with fresh water,
Wish i could get a decent pic of my 3 week old fry,the pic either comes out blurry or all flash!
Tropical_Fish
Fishaholic
To take the pictures I did the following:
Wait until it's dark outside
Switch off the lights in the room
Switch on the tank light
Sit in front of the tank a couple of feet away
Lock the focus on a fish.
Take pictures with the flash on.
Sometimes you focus on the glass so have to move the camera forward to get the focus right (whilst holding the focus lock)
That seems to work for all except two of my guppies - they both have quite silvery bodies and I can't get a good shot of them!
Wait until it's dark outside
Switch off the lights in the room
Switch on the tank light
Sit in front of the tank a couple of feet away
Lock the focus on a fish.
Take pictures with the flash on.
Sometimes you focus on the glass so have to move the camera forward to get the focus right (whilst holding the focus lock)
That seems to work for all except two of my guppies - they both have quite silvery bodies and I can't get a good shot of them!
You can get away with fewer water changes as you suggested. I would go in the other direction in a tank with new fry. The fry will grow better if you go to twice a week water changes instead of just weekly ones. In a young tank like that your feeding is probably all that the fish are getting to eat so do add in a little variety to their diets. No single food, no matter how good their reputation may be, is good enough for any fish.
Harlequins
***Corydora Crazy***
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