Pregnant Platy's What Do I Do?

[foxxybrownn]

I just registered to this site today and I was looking for information on how to ensure that my frys make it this time. I went to the pet store and due to the other fish or the female fish my last two batches of fry all died. They sold me some high tech breeder station which has two completely different chambers and you have to hook the air pump to it so that when the fry are born they float down and to the nursery. However just about everyone on this site keep talking about a breeder net. Any information or suggestions would be welcome. If the plastic breeder stations stress the fish ...why don't they stop selling them? i kind of feel dumb because I have put alot of money into my 80 gallon tank and I can't get this breeding thing right. I mean I have the two easiest fish to breed, platy's and swordtails!!!! How hard can it be? Thanks in avance.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I just registered to this site today and I was looking for information on how to ensure that my frys make it this time. I went to the pet store and due to the other fish or the female fish my last two batches of fry all died. They sold me some high tech breeder station which has two completely different chambers and you have to hook the air pump to it so that when the fry are born they float down and to the nursery. However just about everyone on this site keep talking about a breeder net. Any information or suggestions would be welcome. If the plastic breeder stations stress the fish ...why don't they stop selling them? i kind of feel dumb because I have put alot of money into my 80 gallon tank and I can't get this breeding thing right. I mean I have the two easiest fish to breed, platy's and swordtails!!!! How hard can it be? Thanks in avance.

First of all- why did your fry die? Were they eaten or did they actaually die? If the second, you need to pinpoint the reason for them dying (water quality, current, sucked in by the filter etc)- if the first, it's a matter of protecting them.

I had to wait quite a while before any of my fry escaped uneaten. I am not keen on putting the female into a breeder net/trap whatever as I have known that to stress them out. Instead I watched for signs that birth was imminent (female gets irritable, sinks to the bottom). Once the fry were born I caught them and put them in a breeder net. Kept them in it for a couple of weeks until they were fast enough to escape the attention of the adults. For subsequent batches I have just planted the tank heavily and let them take their chance- you can only rear so many fry anyway.

 

[donna123]

hi,
its so fustrating waiting for fry to see them eaten, ive not used a breeding station, only a net, which i got for under a £5, from pets at home. is there any other fish in with the platy and swordys? i dont use a net now just lots of plants and places for fry to hide, i get a few survive, have you room for more females?
when i used my net i did not put a female in, i had it ready put some floating plants in net and main tank,let the female give birth in main tank, and i found lots of fry would be in the plants at the top of the tank, then i used a clean plastic cup to scoop them in to the net. good luck with the next batch. all the best donna

 

[magafish18]

good luck on the next batch oh use a breeder box its a lot easier.

 

[foxxybrownn]

good luck on the next batch oh use a breeder box its a lot easier.

Finally someone replied...like i stated I have just bought a breeder box, is it safe to use and when do i put the two preganat females in the breeder maternity/nursery chamber??? I really appreciate your input Thnx

 

[foxxybrownn]

hi,
its so fustrating waiting for fry to see them eaten, ive not used a breeding station, only a net, which i got for under a £5, from pets at home. is there any other fish in with the platy and swordys? i dont use a net now just lots of plants and places for fry to hide, i get a few survive, have you room for more females?
when i used my net i did not put a female in, i had it ready put some floating plants in net and main tank,let the female give birth in main tank, and i found lots of fry would be in the plants at the top of the tank, then i used a clean plastic cup to scoop them in to the net. good luck with the next batch. all the best donna

Thanks for your input. In my tank which is a 80 gal, I have 5 swordtails, 9 platy's...7 females and 2 males, and 5 black/striped tetras. I have plenty of plants on the bottom, but no floating plants. Almost the entire bottom of the tank has plants, and I also have a square plant in the middle of the tank on the botoom that the pet store said is breeder grass. It is plastic, and measures about 1 foot by 1 foot. My one concern is that my algae eater likes to hides under it and I wasn't sure if maybe he ate them. Should I just let nature take it's course and hope for the best?? I really appreciate all of your suggestions and input.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Two suggestions: floating plants might help as many livebearer fry tend to congregate up top. And watching for signs of imminent birth - see my previous post- and then scooping fry into breeder trap/net.

 

[magafish18]

well my swordtail was put into a 2 gallon tank to gine birth but i drilled holes throgh a cup so the fry whould go throgh and mom styed out.