Spammin' The Livebearer Board

[K.J.]

Just curious, will a 2gallon accommodate both 3 platy fry and a ghost shrimp until the platies are old enough to be introduced? Or maybe until they're 1 1/2 months old so I can get my tank finished cycling, or will I need to upgrade? Alsom do they need a bubbler and how old will they be when the need a filter, if they do need one?

 

[fishkers]

that tank should be okay for your fry and ghost shrimp. I dont' begin filtration with platy fry until they are about 2 weeks old, and then i make sure something is covering the intake until they learn to stay away. I would recommend a bubbler; just a small one to give some air. I hope everything works out!

 

[K.J.]

There was a bubbler that came with the tank, but I mostly worry about the current being too strong? What filter do you recommend? Is a bubbler necessary, for their health? I'm trying to conserve plugins, so if it isn't needed, I'm not allowed to add it. Though my mom was so concerned with it I think she might let it slip, but I sort of think the filter would be more important than the bubbler.

Would this be good, for up to 5 gallons?

Also, a little question on genetics. So if you have, lets say, a tuxedo and an orange MM, and they spawn. Is there any chance of them or the next generation producing any other color than tuxedo and orange MM, like sunburst or (as a stretch) blue coral, or wag?

 

[fishkers]

Well first off, i would say for now i would do a very small bubbler like a little airstone instead of a filter. The filter you showed is okay; i would not prefer it because it is quite big and i've heard they aren't effective. Personally I use a Nano Filter by Red Sea / Aquaclear. I use one for my fry and it is very convenient and has a current control so you can adjust how much water flow there is. Petco also has those filter systems.

As for the genetics question i'm not sure how old you are so I don't wanna say anything that you don't understand but Platys in the wild are naturally a blue/gray color so that is always a possibility when you have fry. Micky Mouse is something that shows up a lot so that is more common or as they would say dominant. As for a change in color that is not as likely but can happen. Genetics is very in depth and most of the time with fish you just take a chance. You will have to see what happens when they mature and if your first batch you get all certain type than most likely thats all you will get.

So as for now I would just add a little air bubbler just to help them out and then when you add a filter you can stop the air bubbler if you want.