What do you do

[mandi]

It all started a few months back with a pair of red wag platys ... they had their first batch of 11 fry on Aug. 22nd. Almost exactly a month later, there was about a dozen more. Last week, there were about 30 more.

I don't know what to do with them all! The first two groups I put in a separate tank because I was excited to have all the babies. The LFS won't take them till they're 1-1.5" and you can tell the males & females apart. Even my oldest ones aren't to that point yet.

The last BIG batch of fry, I just left in the tank (20 gal. long) with the parents, hoping that nature would take over and reduce how many babies I had. Neither of the parents have eaten any though, and the babies swim right out in the open water, not even hiding. So I have a 20 gallon tank with 3 otos, 3 corys, 2 adult platys and a huge "cloud" of fry swimming around.

What would you do?

I'd like to keep the original mom and dad together in the aquarium, because they are really attached to eachother, but at the same time, I don't have the room to keep many more babies. Should I get another type of community fish to help "thin out" the fry population in the future (& move the babies to another tank for now)?? Once the babies are old enough, I'm definately only keeping 2 or 3 females in addition to the parents (maybe I should take the father to the LFS with the babies and ONLY keep females??)

Any advice?

 

[clover]

have u tryed to just give them away to people?
i dont wanna say this but if you really cant keep them and no one wants them then it might b gd idea to send them to the big bowl in da sky lol

 

[yhbae]

I have tonnes of fry produced in my15g tank and I am having a hard time getting rid of them as well. Initially, LFS bought them from me, but I am producing them at a rate much faster than they can handle. Plus, the money they are willing to give me is very little. If my main goal is to make money, this isn't the best species to go with...

These days, I give them away whenever I get an opportunity to do so...

 

[snowrat2004]

i had the same problem, but with guppies and mollies. I eventually got some danios to take care of the problem. but beware, they will eat ALL of them, so if you want to raise some of the babies, maybe you could go with something else.

 

[willywonka099]

Danios are a great idea for natural abolishment ......... I have read plattys are alot less canabalistic anyway

 

[mandi]

I wish I knew people locally that are into aquarium-keeping. I keep trying to talk all my friends into starting tanks and taking them off my hands, but its not working. (It reminds me of the time my boyfriend bought 2 dwarf hamsters that the salesman *assured* him were two females... heh.)

Danios huh? I wondered if they might do the trick. How many? (Once I get my problem sorted out, I think I'm going to keep 4 female platys in the tank along with the 3 otos and 3 corys). Do you think giant danios or zebras or what?

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[willywonka099]

Long finned zebras or lepords will be your best bet ... small slinder but are shoaling so groups of six is a good plan of action...... Why can't you leave the babies in there and let them grow ??? you're not overstocked at all and if you want asome other color or something take some females too the LFS or something like that ....... I know it sounds kinda bad but you can keep them and use them too cycle tanks ....Color variations .... ect. ect. Actually a GREAT idea would be too go too lowes and get a 50 gallon pond for around $100 and throw them suckers in there ...You can just net them every once in a while and take them too the lfs although you are in PA and I'm in Tennesse and if it's startoing too get chilly down here I can't imagine them living out doors at this time of the year

 

[SnowyzMom]

Natural population control in my guppy tank is 8 glowlight tetras, 5 neons and 4 blacklight tetras...they'll ambush any fry not fast enuf or smart enuf to stay under cover. If I want to keep some I scoop them into a fry tank. Those two of yours sure have the hots for each other. Danios will certainly clear your tank for you and they're decent looking fish too. Good luck. Let us know what happens eh?

 

[jkun17]

Interesting...

I recently bought a trio of guppies and am hoping that they start screwin' real soon

I never thought of how quickly the little buggers would reporduce -- but the Danio idea does sound pretty interesting... should I put them in the same tank as the Guppies or should I just move the fry into a Danio tank when they are born?

Also, would my betta's eat the fry?

 

[ferrikins]

Interesting...

I recently bought a trio of guppies and am hoping that they start screwin' real soon

I never thought of how quickly the little buggers would reporduce -- but the Danio idea does sound pretty interesting... should I put them in the same tank as the Guppies or should I just move the fry into a Danio tank when they are born?

Also, would my betta's eat the fry?

If you just balt a trio, and waiting for them to breed, then why do you want to kill the fry or have I got that wong.



On what I do with my fry, well livebearers don't seem to breed in this house, but any I do have go to my LFS.

 

[mandi]

On what I do with my fry, well livebearers don't seem to breed in this house, but any I do have go to my LFS.

Lucky LOL!!

I made the mistake of not realizing how fast they'd reproduce! Darn little things.

I got some Danio's yesterday ... so far no luck.

 

[jkun17]

Interesting...

I recently bought a trio of guppies and am hoping that they start screwin' real soon

I never thought of how quickly the little buggers would reporduce -- but the Danio idea does sound pretty interesting... should I put them in the same tank as the Guppies or should I just move the fry into a Danio tank when they are born?

Also, would my betta's eat the fry?

If you just balt a trio, and waiting for them to breed, then why do you want to kill the fry or have I got that wong.



On what I do with my fry, well livebearers don't seem to breed in this house, but any I do have go to my LFS.

It's not that I want all the fry to be eaten, it's just that I know I won't be able to raise 10-13 new fry every month. I'm planning on saving just 2 or 3 from each litter and letting the rest fall where they may.

 

[GuppyDude]

its called the feeder guppy tank at the lfs, they take em