Platy fry...not growing

[Maxw47]

On my ten gallon, there is a little refugium on the back (only about a gallon). I keep about 20 at a time in there until they get big enough to sell, and the mom has the rest in the tank. At least, that was the original idea. They have just kind of stopped growing. And based off of pictures of other fry and their age, thay should be a lot bigger. I am kind of thinking that it is the small space, but I am not entirely sure, and if it is that, I am worried that they will get stunted...not what I want. I feed them crushed up flake food (omega one) and there is java moss in there as well (the really tiny ones supposedly eat the little micro-organisms). I feed about a half a pinch in the morning and a whole pinch in the evening, sorry that that is a little hard to picture. What could it be??? Thanks in advance.

 

[GodFan]

It is probably the tank size. Livebearer fry dont seem to grow in my 5 gallon but grow like crazy in my bros 20. Also water quality can make a difference.

 

[Maxw47]

Ya, I am starting to think that that is the problem. Do you think that a 5 gal. would be ok to put them in instead of the refugium. How many do you usually have in your 5 gal? I would probably only keep 20-30.

 

[butterfly_koi]

I've kept a large number of my guppy fry in my 10G nursery tank and they grow just fine. What temp do you keep your tank at?

 

[guppytank29]

also the water temp has alot to do with it whats the temp on your tank?

 

[Maxw47]

Butterfly_koi, I think you are a little confused (I probably could have been a little more clear). The fry are in a gallon refugium on the back of the ten gallon tank, not in the ten itself. The temp is kept at 80 degrees.

 

[GodFan]

I keep at most 5 in the 5 gallon.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Butterfly_koi, I think you are a little confused (I probably could have been a little more clear). The fry are in a gallon refugium on the back of the ten gallon tank, not in the ten itself. The temp is kept at 80 degrees.

Ooh haha lol sorry I misread your post! Well in that case the tank size idea could be right but it could also be that some of the fry are not receiving the nutrition that they need being that there are so many in the tank competing for food. The more room that they have to swim around in the stronger they become there for growing faster.

 

[guppytank29]

imo i think that they just need some more space and also, this is just what i have read, you should feed the fry anywhere from 3-8 times a day.

 

[Maxw47]

So, with all of that said, I think I will get a 5 gallon and put them in there. They should get more room, more food, and it is probably a whole lot better for them overall. The only problem, I would have to get my sponge filter cycled, which might take a while. Any ideas on how to work around that?

 

[guppytank29]

to get a little jump start on the cycle i would add some of the substrait from the 10 into your new 5 but other than that i'm not sure

 

[Maxw47]

I have come up with a few things that I could do to jump start the cycling process. First, I will buy the sponge filter and get it going in the ten so that it can get some bb before hand. I will also fill the 5 gallon with 2 gallons of water from water change water from the ten. Last, I can take a filter cartridge from the ten and let it float in the five. Sound good? Should I let it sit running for a week before I put the fry in to let it cycle more, or just put them in? Oh, I forgot to add, there will be live plants too. Anything I am missing?

 

[guppytank29]

if you let it go a week before you add the fry you might need to feed the bb

 

[aqua_chem]

When I was breeding platies, I noticed that diet made a HUG difference. Not just amount of food, but quality thereof. Live and frozen foods will make fry grow significantly faster than crushed flake. The few platy that evaded me usually grew faster eating the local fauna in my tank compared to the ones I had separated and were feeding fry starter.

 

[Maxw47]

When you say feed the bb, should a bit of fish food be enough? I am going to buy some frozen food too, for all of my fish. Even though I really like the quality of Omega one and Hikari, they need a bit more diversity. Just out of curiosity, what do you guys think a platy cross between a red wag and sunburst wag would look like. That is what all of these fry are. I am thinking something along the lines of a sunburst with more red, but do some coloration become dominant over others? Thanks!