Strange Mother And Fry Behavior

[tonyale]

my female just dropped fry i didnt have a breeders trap so i whent to get one to put fry in but when i came back from store the fry were following the mom and the mom was kinda protecting them from other platys what should i do

 

[FishBlast]

my female just dropped fry i didnt have a breeders trap so i whent to get one to put fry in but when i came back from store the fry were following the mom and the mom was kinda protecting them from other platys what should i do

Pretty rare livebearer behavior. Mine will eat tiny fry (even their own), but recently I have re-introduced one swordtail fry with its parents and they seem to have a social bond now. The mommy even encourages the fry to go for the food at the top and she will attack the other female if she nips the fry.

However, she would eagerly eat her other, smaller fry that are roaming the tank if it weren't for my hoplo guarding them.

(fry on the right, next to the bush).

 

[tonyale]

ya but if any fish go near the fry she nipps them and the fry stay under neth her at all times or hide in the tall grass like plant

 

[FishBlast]

ya but if any fish go near the fry she nipps them and the fry stay under neth her at all times or hide in the tall grass like plant

Mine (Bee) doesn't nip unless she sees Pinky (her daughter) getting nipped. They do sometimes get separated (when Pinky wants to eat off the fry cage's net and Bee's busy eating off the floor).
Sometimes I wonder if livebearers do have some maternal instinct (why do they go into bushes to give birth if it doesn't serve to save the fry? Bee always rests atop bushy plants when giving birth). And OldMan has a creamsicle lyretail molly female that stays with her fry without eating them. I guess they can be good parents, provided enough food and adequate space.

As for my hoplo, I think he's supposed to do that since they normally guard their eggs but not sure about fry or why he's adopting them and defending them so fiercely (today he headbutted my female lyretail swordie for eating a fry), I've had 2 other hoplos do the same with guppy and swordtail fry before.

 

[tonyale]

ya but if any fish go near the fry she nipps them and the fry stay under neth her at all times or hide in the tall grass like plant

Mine (Bee) doesn't nip unless she sees Pinky (her daughter) getting nipped. They do sometimes get separated (when Pinky wants to eat off the fry cage's net and Bee's busy eating off the floor).
Sometimes I wonder if livebearers do have some maternal instinct (why do they go into bushes to give birth if it doesn't serve to save the fry? Bee always rests atop bushy plants when giving birth). And OldMan has a creamsicle lyretail molly female that stays with her fry without eating them. I guess they can be good parents, provided enough food and adequate space.

As for my hoplo, I think he's supposed to do that since they normally guard their eggs but not sure about fry or why he's adopting them and defending them so fiercely (today he headbutted my female lyretail swordie for eating a fry), I've had 2 other hoplos do the same with guppy and swordtail fry before.

ya i have this grass like bush plant that there all hidig in now

 

[FishBlast]

ya i have this grass like bush plant that there all hidig in now

Java Moss?
I have Java Moss and Willow Moss, they seem to prefer the Java. But one fry sits atop the filter so the catfish occasionally checks it when other fish go near.

 

[FishLover4+1]

awwww i hope my platys act like that.

 

[FishBlast]

awwww i hope my platys act like that.

Keep them well fed and maybe they will avoid eating the fry.
Mine are fed until they look plump, so they rarely go for any fry now. And if they do, they get chased away.

 

[FishLover4+1]

awwww i hope my platys act like that.

Keep them well fed and maybe they will avoid eating the fry.
Mine are fed until they look plump, so they rarely go for any fry now. And if they do, they get chased away.

one of them is getting a bit plump anyway but theyre always eating algae. got a male recently so looking forward to fry

 

[FishBlast]

awwww i hope my platys act like that.

Keep them well fed and maybe they will avoid eating the fry.
Mine are fed until they look plump, so they rarely go for any fry now. And if they do, they get chased away.

one of them is getting a bit plump anyway but theyre always eating algae. got a male recently so looking forward to fry

My lyretail could drop next week. I hope some will be lyretails. Or at least hi-fins. I'll save 2 of them and rest I'll leave it to the hoplo to keep them safe.

 

[tonyale]

ya i have this grass like bush plant that there all hidig in now

Java Moss?
I have Java Moss and Willow Moss, they seem to prefer the Java. But one fry sits atop the filter so the catfish occasionally checks it when other fish go near.

i want java moss but my pet store dont sell it i think my plant is a micro sword i think

 

[FishBlast]

Ceratopteris and hornwort would work well too.

 

[OldMan47]

In general a common livebearer that is well fed will not cannibalize fry very much. That does make them ideal parents that protect those fry but at least they will not be the reason that fry are lost. If you have a tank full of fish about the size of the adult female, the fry may well swim more or less safely near their mother. Please do not interpret that as the female protecting her fry. What we see and interpret is not necessarily what the fish are doing. The female is swimming around and the fry are close to her. Other fish may interpret it as her protecting the fry but if they venture forth to eat a fry she will not likely interfere. The only protection that she really provides is that the cichlids that the other fish have experienced really do protect fry so they are guessing that she might do the same and are giving the fry a break. If they ever figure out that she doesn't care, all of your fry will be gone.

 

[FishBlast]

In general a common livebearer that is well fed will not cannibalize fry very much. That does make them ideal parents that protect those fry but at least they will not be the reason that fry are lost. If you have a tank full of fish about the size of the adult female, the fry may well swim more or less safely near their mother. Please do not interpret that as the female protecting her fry. What we see and interpret is not necessarily what the fish are doing. The female is swimming around and the fry are close to her. Other fish may interpret it as her protecting the fry but if they venture forth to eat a fry she will not likely interfere. The only protection that she really provides is that the cichlids that the other fish have experienced really do protect fry so they are guessing that she might do the same and are giving the fry a break. If they ever figure out that she doesn't care, all of your fry will be gone.

My swordies would gladly take a snack even if full, when they see the other fry, but sometimes they just seem to not see them when the catfish is in the way. (probably learned from seeing Eris getting headbutted several times by the kitty).

The mother does seem to protect this one big fry that hangs around her when Eris tried to pick on Pinky and then Bee just dashed at Eris and nipped her tail. I only see two reasons she would do that:
1) Probably doesn't like fish bullying smaller ones (but Bee herself eats smaller fry)
2) Bee thinks she's the only one who is allowed to snack on that big fry if she'd ever want to? LOL
But lately not even Eris nips Pinky anymore. They just treat her as another fish. But for some reason, at night, the parents and their daughter all sleep in one place while the lyretail female seems to isolate herself to the opposite end of the tank.
Before, they used to sleep like this:

 

[OldMan47]

All fish of a particular species always seem to sleep in one place Fishblast. I have no idea why but it shows up as a common behavior over and over. It must have something to do with the fish's natural sleeping area in a wild situation where all of the parameters come together to say "this is where you should sleep".