Putting Weight On Platies?

[starrynightxxi]

I recently got a trio of platies and they seem a bit thin to me. They don't have concave bellies as though they've never eaten, but they aren't as plump as I expect one to be. No signs of illness other than being a bit thin so i think they just weren't getting enough at the shop. I'd like to fatten them up, but not sure what the best way to go about it is. any ideas?

 

[poopsydrew]

Platies like small frequent feedings. Vegetable matter is very important as with most livebearers. A high quality flake in part with some vegetable based flake and frozen foods should have them in good condition in no time. Just make sure the get lots of green (vegetable flake, peas, cucumber, etc) as this makes up a lot of their diet.
Good luck with your platies, they are still one of my favorite fish.

Drew

Edit-Oh just noticed you said trio, and just a tip if you didnt know but platies will thrive with the ratio of 1 male per 3 females if not more females. You would be amazed how well they do with many more females than males. Just a tip.

 

[theotheragentm]

Live foods are good for fattening up fish, but generally shouldn't be an everyday thing. Foods like baby brine shrimp are high in fat content. Live bloodworms would be a good treat too.

 

[starrynightxxi]

oh dear! I almost had no platies, the heater malfunctioned and their tank was 90F. fish soup


anyhow... is it 1:3? I thought it was 1:2. Well, I think I can do something about that. I'll have to run out and get them some good flake anyhow. Thanks guys

[edit] well, they'll just have to survive with bloodworms as part of their everyday diet because they live with my badis pair and they won't even look at flake -lol-

 

[poopsydrew]

Yup 1:3 or even more is best, the more females the better. Bloodworms will be ok just try and make sure to get the veggies to them

Drew

 

[starrynightxxi]

definately. on my way out to the store now

 

[theotheragentm]

90F isn't a great temperature to keep the fish at for prolonged periods, but they are fine at that temperature. 87F is where you want to see the temperature at when you have ich in the tank, so it's not too high.

 

[fry_lover]

90F isn't a great temperature to keep the fish at for prolonged periods, but they are fine at that temperature. 87F is where you want to see the temperature at when you have ich in the tank, so it's not too high.

LOL her heater malfunctioned, she aint keeping her fish at 90 on purpose

Platies like small frequent feedings. Vegetable matter is very important as with most livebearers. A high quality flake in part with some vegetable based flake and frozen foods should have them in good condition in no time. Just make sure the get lots of green (vegetable flake, peas, cucumber, etc) as this makes up a lot of their diet.Good luck with your platies, they are still one of my favorite fish.DrewEdit-Oh just noticed you said trio, and just a tip if you didnt know but platies will thrive with the ratio of 1 male per 3 females if not more females. You would be amazed how well they do with many more females than males. Just a tip.

this makes platies out to be a new species of Mbuna yes they can do with some veggie component, but dont go treating these guys like Herbivores..... brine shrimp, blood worm, white worm and daphnia (all frozen in my opinion) should all make up a good part of their diet along with a good quality flake. Platies dont go around grazing on veg in the wild (from what i been told, i normally get my platies from a dude who collects them in Mexico i think? I get either the wilds of F1s although i also topped up not long ago from LFS!!!!. Not knocking the advice around some veg component in their diet, but they dont "need" LOTS of greens.

 

[afishdude]

bloodworms should not be fed to livebarers more than twice per week, it will leed to bloating and stomach problems, as there stomachs cannot digest that much fat.

 

[fry_lover]

bloodworms should not be fed to livebarers more than twice per week, it will leed to bloating and stomach problems, as there stomachs cannot digest that much fat.

i wouldnt feed blood worm to any fish more than twice per week dude, thats not a BALANCED DIET in my opinion

good point though Dude, Blood Worm is generally an every 7-10 days thing for me, except Malawi (Mbuna)

 

[afishdude]

the only time it should be fed daily is durring conditioning for certen fish durring breeding. like bettas, you need to condition them on bloodworms and BBS for 2 weeks before breeding.

 

[starrynightxxi]

except for my gertrudes, who are omnivorous, every fish i own eats other fish and/or insects, so i don't actually see the issue with feeding bloodworm. Been feeding it for a year now and never seen any constipation, which it is often accused of causing. but each to his own, i suppose -shrugs-

 

[afishdude]

ok, well your slowly clogging up their digestion cycle and will leed to early deaths.. way to go.

thats like you eating 5 big macs each day for a year.
do you think that would shorten your lifespan?

 

[poopsydrew]

90F isn't a great temperature to keep the fish at for prolonged periods, but they are fine at that temperature. 87F is where you want to see the temperature at when you have ich in the tank, so it's not too high.

LOL her heater malfunctioned, she aint keeping her fish at 90 on purpose

Platies like small frequent feedings. Vegetable matter is very important as with most livebearers. A high quality flake in part with some vegetable based flake and frozen foods should have them in good condition in no time. Just make sure the get lots of green (vegetable flake, peas, cucumber, etc) as this makes up a lot of their diet.Good luck with your platies, they are still one of my favorite fish.DrewEdit-Oh just noticed you said trio, and just a tip if you didnt know but platies will thrive with the ratio of 1 male per 3 females if not more females. You would be amazed how well they do with many more females than males. Just a tip.

this makes platies out to be a new species of Mbuna yes they can do with some veggie component, but dont go treating these guys like Herbivores..... brine shrimp, blood worm, white worm and daphnia (all frozen in my opinion) should all make up a good part of their diet along with a good quality flake. Platies dont go around grazing on veg in the wild (from what i been told, i normally get my platies from a dude who collects them in Mexico i think? I get either the wilds of F1s although i also topped up not long ago from LFS!!!!. Not knocking the advice around some veg component in their diet, but they dont "need" LOTS of greens.

um yes vegetable matter makes up a large part of their diet in the wild (have you never seen a livebearer picking algae off a plant or the sides of the tank?) Mollies and platies etc...can be the best defense in algae. I agree with you a vary diet is important but I do breed them seriously, and I stand by my statement that most livebearers will be in the best health with lots of vegetable in their diet. Of course protein and other food is important. Why do you say only frozen? Live foods are just as good and safe (besides tubifex). Your correct they're not herbivores, they are omnivores so a balanced diet of food is best.

Heres some links that state they have a high herbivorous requirement since I can't convince you...
Link 1
^^Note: "Platy will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. But they have a very high herbivorous requirement, and their diet needs to include lots of algae and other vegetation. Feed brine shrimp (either live or frozen), tubifex, or blood worms as a treat. They will enjoy the proteins but they must also have a vegetation diet."

And another...
^^Note:Vegetable matter should be offered regularly. The growth of algae should be promoted as this is a favourite food."

One more...
^^Platies will eat algae off of tank walls so don't scrape it all off; they'll appreciate the snack. In keeping with their appetite for algae, Platies should be fed a vegetable-based diet. Spirulina wafers or pellets are best used as a staple diet and fresh veggies (chopped to proper size) should also be offered periodically to supplement the spirulina."

-Hopefully, now you can see that platies are obviously not a species of Mbuna, their dietary needs are very similar. They thrive on veggies, not just, as you put it, "they can do with some veggie component"

Drew

 

[afishdude]

^^^ very helpful ^^^