PLaty was pregnant, where did the fry go?

[Lexie3787]

If you read my other thread, It says how I came home to find that my bf got me 2 platies, they ended up being pregnant etc etc etc and I came home from school today to find 1 platy not pregnant anymore, but no sign of fry anywhere? Could they have gotten eaten by my gourami, corys, female betta, or platies?

 

[Joby]

Platy fry are very very good at hiding and I wouldn't be surprised if you found 2 or 3 survive. Although there are plenty of fish in your tank that would make a quick snack of them

 

[Lexie3787]

Thats what I was afraid of, if you read my other thread, I was asking for help, I didnt know what to do with the pregnant platies because I wasnt planning on getting female platys (i still say read the other thread if I confused you) but ya, no one responded so I didnt know what to do. Ah well. Thanks

 

[paulthegreat]

Hey Lex,

If you have a lot of plant cover then some fry may pull through. You could get a breeding net or trap and that will keep the others from getting at the fry(you do not have Yoyos to suck them through the sides of a trap). Even without a male the females could hve three or four more batches of fry from one mating. They take about a 30-50 days depending on a lot of factors so you could get the smaller tanks up and running before then. HTH

Paul

 

[Lexie3787]

Ya i looked through the tank and found absolutely no fry. Ill have to get a breeding net. I dont have any live plants, never even thought about getting them. Infact I have no clue about them, don't you need sand? Or can you have gravel. Also I have 2 mini aquaclear power filters in the 10 gallon, someone told me to use pantyhose so fry won't get sucked up, should I do this?

 

[paulthegreat]

If you do not find any fry then skip the panty hose for now. My plants do great in my 5-8mm gravel. Finer gravel or corse sand is good as well, fine sand can get too packed and cause other problems. Live plants are great if you find some that work for you, there are a lot to choose from. I have to thin mine out every couple of weeks or they get out of control. They can also help to keep down algea and use nitrate as fertilizer. Lots to be said for live plants. It can make it harder to find the fry though which is also good, since it makes it harder for the other fish to find them as well.

 

[Kittycat]

Fry can hide in floating plants like java moss, just buy a few clumps of those. Or if you get plants that have to be in gravel, there's also the option of just putting them in pots (so you won't have to put gravel in entire tank).

 

[Lexie3787]

Thanks, what care does java moss need though?

 

[vidiots]

No care is involved if you buy plastic baby grass. You may find some fry when you are cleaning the tank keep a close eye out for them while vacuuming the gravel. They often get sucked into powerfilters so peek in there periodically. Putting a screen over the filter intake only gets stuff stuck to the intake instead to the filter foam and needs to be cleaned off frequently and quickly becomes a pain (I've tried it) and am unsure that it helped any. The only difference was they got stuck were they could be eaten at least if they get stuck in the filter they are easy to remove and sometimes survive.

 

[platyperson]

Mabye your female reabsorbed the babies?

 

[Kittycat]

Java moss is low maintenance as a plant, needs only low light. I don't give it any special care, just throw it in the tank, it survived where other plants haven't. The down side, though, is that they might be a little "messy" because they're free floating when you disturb them, though they'll settle fine at the bottom of the tank after a minute or so.

 

[SMSBrunetteGirl]

Ya i looked through the tank and found absolutely no fry. Ill have to get a breeding net. I dont have any live plants, never even thought about getting them. Infact I have no clue about them, don't you need sand? Or can you have gravel. Also I have 2 mini aquaclear power filters in the 10 gallon, someone told me to use pantyhose so fry won't get sucked up, should I do this?

Well I got a fish net breeder,I think you just put the fry in it and thats all.

 

[Germyzero]

Maybe your filter sucked up your fry?