Platy Gave Birth But Killed Them All

[Bristlenose1804]

Hi guys
as the title says my very pregant platy gave birth while I was at work yesterday.I had her in a breeding trap
but all the babies are dead and theres bits missing.
Im so upset.this is the first time in over a year since I started keeping fish I was able to get one into a breeding trap in time and she goes and kills them all
WHY? Does anyone know?
thanks

 

[dwarfgourami]

They do. At least some of them.

Don't think it's even necessarily to do with stress as I've had it happen under very favourable circumstances (in their usual tank, well fed, fine water stats, no harrassing going on).

Livebearers just don't have any parental instinct; it's a snack to them. Some mothers seem to do it and others don't. Personality? Different effects of hormones? Who knows?

I would say the best way is to let her give birth in the main tank next time and stick LOTS of plants in, including some floating on the surface. At least it gives the babies somewhere to hide. That's how my fry survived after several batches of devoured offspring. And at least it is kinder to the mother not to put her in the trap (though I appreciate that you may not feel very kindly towards her at the moment).

 

[Angry_Platy]

She ate them for one reason.....HUNGER.
Livebearers get very hungry right after they give birth and here she was surrounded by quite a few moving targets. Especially in a confined space where the fry can't escape her mouth

 

[Ddraig Goch]

She didn't eat them or they would not be in bits, they would have been swallowed whole.

She probably didn't kill them at all, it sounds to me like they were born that way. It sometimes happens, she maybe gave birth early due to stress and the fry weren't formed properly, or it could have been some complication with the pregnancy. Her next batch could be fine.

How may other female/male Platys have you got?

Have you thought about getting a small breeing tank? You could then put the pregnant female in that, it would cause her much less stress and you should get some fry.

Hope you have better luck next time.

 

[dwarfgourami]

She didn't eat them or they would not be in bits, they would have been swallowed whole.

She probably didn't kill them at all, it sounds to me like they were born that way. It sometimes happens, she maybe gave birth early due to stress and the fry weren't formed properly, or it could have been some complication with the pregnancy

Ah, I did wonder about the "in bits" part, as the ones I've had eaten were all swallowed whole; that explains it.