Hi! Rearing platies is not difficult.
The first job is to keep them safe from the other fish, particularly for the first few days when they haven't really got their bearings and are small enough to fit into most fish's mouths. As Iceman says, you can either add plant cover to protect them or put them in a breeder net for the first few weeks- after that, they will need to come out before their growth is restricted.
Second job is to keep them fed. Lucklily, platy fry are quite big at birth so not difficult to feed- they will take crushed flakes or you can buy special powdered food for them. 3-4 times a day will help them to grow and if there are plants or algae in the tank they can also nibble at tiny critters (infusoria) that live among them.
Third job is to keep them clean. Frequent water changes help, particularly as you are feeding more often than you normally would.
By the time the boys start showing their gonopodiums, you want to separate them, so that they do not make their sisters pregnant. Check with a shop at what age they will take them.
I just got platy for my tank. These are the first fish the tanks have seen. I have a bridged 10 gallon and 20 gallon.
I have placed 2 pairs in the 10 gallong and 3 pairs in the 20. They have used the bridge and crossed back and forth a few times, as everytime I come home from work, some of the fish are in different tanks. Anyways, the one set of Platy, midnight platy have always stayed in the 10 gallon tank, and have picked out a small spot back in the plants where they like to hide.
After the first night I got back from work, I was watching them and saw a streak. I kept close watch and sure enough its a baby midnight platy, same color as the black gravel. So far I have counted 5 of them at once. There is lots of plants so they appear to be hiding well and scoot off to a tight space when the bigger ones come around.
Because they are already free its impossible to catch them, so they will have to fend for themselves. It would be hard to catch the bigger platy as well due to all the plants they can hide in. I'd rather keep the parents in the same tank anyways as they have shown no interest at using the bridge to the other tank.
I crushed up some flake food to very very tiny peices, the water currents of the tank generated from the filter and bubble stream, cause a natural flow around the tight space where the castle wall butts up against the tank were a plant is stuck in the corner.
I watched the babies and sure enough they darted out and caught some of the flake specs as they floated by. So it appears they have lots of hiding and should be fairly successful I hope.
The tank does not yet have a clown pleco in it and will be adding one next week. Hopefully this doesn't make things worse for the babies, but if its like my other pleco, it doesn't move much anyways.
