Baby Platys

[WayBel2004]

While vacuuming today I spotted some baby platys or what I assume are platy's because they're orange like my platy's. They're about the size of the tip of a match and now seem to be hiding under some plants and rocks in the corner of the tank. I don't have another tank set up for them and would like to know what to do to care for them:

How fast do they grow? Special foods? Do I need to feed more often?

 

[neilanh]

I'm a fan of Hikari First Bites food for baby fish.

 

[WayBel2004]

Should I throw the baby fish food in when I feed the others in the morning? Or should I wait until lights out because they're hiding?

 

[neilanh]

I feed everything at the same time in my tanks.

 

[WayBel2004]

OK. Thank you. Do you know how fast they grow? I'm wondering how long before they can stop hiding and come out in the open?

Sorry so many questions but I'm new to fish and very new to baby fish.

 

[Vircomore]

When I had a batch of baby Mollies (similar fish) it took about 3-4 weeks for them to grow to about the length of a staple - and that's when they'd start coming out to play.

They may come out soon or later, depending on what else you have in the tank (they're more likely to hide from other fish, but will come out and play with the adult Platys)

 

[BigJim]

I use finely ground flakes for my fry. Just be sure to feed them daily and they'll be fine.

 

[WayBel2004]

Thanks a bunch. I didn't get the baby flakes yet so I crushed up some of my regular flake and put that in this morning. They are still hiding but I saw 3 of them quickly this morning.

I thought the adult platy's would try and eat them? I just assumed that's why they were in hiding.

 

[Vircomore]

Cannibalism like that is more likely if the adults aren't being fed that much, but you'll find that if you keep feeding them normally (and adults tend to enjoy snacking on some of the babys' food) - they shouldn't bother actively hunting down the babies.

Once they're the size of a regular paper staple, they're usually either too fat or too fast for the parents to even bother.

 

[Vircomore]

One thing I can also recommend from having raised a batch of 16-20 mollies - is if you have some extra space near your awuarium and you have an air pump that you can T-valve or add a hose to --

Hatching Brine Shrimp Nauplii (babies) from store-bought eggs and then feeding those to the tank has been a lot of fun and fun to watch because both the babies and the adults will chase the microscopic shrimps around and gobble them up like PAC-MEN.

Just Google or YouTube "Brine Shrimp Hatchery" and enjoy. ;p I've found that the homemade "2 one-liter bottle" hatchery style works the best.

 

[WayBel2004]

Thanks. I hope to see them soon.

 

[Little Stinkpots]

i feed the fry 2-3 times a day i have found that helps them grow and is recommended from my research

 

[Shetland James]

I used to feed mine four times a day as they empty their bellies every 20 minutes.

But once you get a feeding routine, you'll start to get things like algae and food left on the bottom, and I started feeding them twice. Males finally showing colours (had them around mid-end November) and they're looking great.

 

[WayBel2004]

Did my weekly water change yesterday and saw 2 of the baby's. One is significantly bigger than the other and I thought maybe they were from 2 different litters. From what I can tell they are both to big to fit in any of the other fishes mouths and it would probably be safe for them to come out of hiding.

I've been grinding up flake and dropping it over the area in the tank that they are hiding 3 times a day. I vacuumed yesterday and there was hardly anything left on the bottom so I assume if they are not eating it my other fish are taking care of it. I haven't seen them yet today but I'm sure the water change scared them and maybe they're just hiding better. Thanks for all the responses.