Too Many Platies - What To Do?

[LesleyB]

Hi

I have a number of platies between two tanks. Some are in a 60L Juwel and the rest in a 120L Juwel.

In the 120L I have 11 - 3 males and 8 females and a really significant plethora of fry.
In the 60L I have a number of juvenile and fry as well as at least three males and six females of a decent size.

I've got to the point where I simply can't cope with the number of fish that are being produced. More tanks and/or a fish house are not an option.

I have been able to give some away to the LFS over time.
One will accept them - depending on whose running the shop - but they have to be large enough not to clog up their filtering system.
The next nearest LFS will take them when they are ready to sell on.

Both mean I have to raise the fry to size and I fear significant overpopulation problems.
It looks like I may have to start culling to preserve the existing tank inhabitants. Can anyone suggest other alternatives?

Regards

Lesley

 

[kizno1]

you could meybe try and get a bigger fish that will eat some of the fry like a dwarf cichlid

 

[Curiosity101]

Or sell alot of the breeding adults. Keep perhaps 1 male 2/3 females in the 120 and sell all other fry and adults. Also, buying a fish which will eat surplus fry in future is a good idea.

 

[OldMan47]

I have a tendency to sell all but a single pair of my adults once in a while. In some kinds, I sell all of the adults and choose my breeders from the fry. That way I am constantly refreshing my breeding stock and the tanks don't get too over populated. There will be a short pause in production if all the adults are sold off and you get to choose which of the fry you think are worth keeping as breeding stock and which are just going to join the other adults that you have already sold.
There is often a ready market for good quality healthy adults or larger juveniles at club auctions if you join your local fish club. That way you have some assurance that the fish are going to people who know how to care for them.

 

[Panamera]

give them to your LFS. i did that with my guppies. even guppies that are very very very common, i always got some store credit or discounts on other things i purchased =).

dont give all tho, keep some of the fry for yourself. you dont want to do what i did.

gave all my guppy juvi's and fry away, my adults died. i had no guppies left. =(