Baby platys!

[domsmom]

So I was pretty sure our one of my Mickey mouse platys was pregnant. Call it a motherly instinct, but I just had a feeling. Pretty new to having fish, so I googled signs and symptoms. This morning I noticed everybody in the tank was acting a lil goofy. Closely watched her, and out started coming babies! Ran out and bought a nursery, now there's 4 fry so far. (kind of hoping for more) I'm just worried that mommy has been stressed from all the moving. I'm also not sure how to tell if the new ones are doing ok?! One is swimming around and the others are just kinda of hanging out there. Also, is daddy fish ok? He seems sad hiding in a corner by himself now any one with some helpful hints or suggestions? I could def use a hand! Thanks!

 

[domsmom]

Also, someone told me to put a little amount of gravel in the bottom of the breeder because their fry escaped into the main tank, does anyone know if this is ok??

 

[gabysapha]

Hi. I breed platties, so maybe my experience can help. There is a ton of info all over the web about platties too, since they are so easy to breed.

A platy is pregnant if it's a girl, it's with a male, and it is fat. So, most platties come to your home pregnant for the store or become pregnant if there's a male around. Your female will probably chug out fry for a long time!

Yes platties can definitely get stressed from moving. Is she in the nursery right now? I do not put my platties in nurseries because that seems to make them hurt themselves. If the mom has already dropped fry, I wouldn't put her in the box. Mine drop once every 3-4 weeks.

She probably had more than 4 fry. And the reason the dad may be acting calmly is because he's digesting! Platties and other fish love to eat fry. If you don't have a lot of hiding places for the fry, or a fry-only tank, move the fry to a breeder box or net for a while until they get a little bigger and have more strength to escape hungry mouths.

Platties have no parental instinct, so I don't think the male is sad because of the fry. Just check your water and make sure it's really nice and clean. Watch him to make sure he isn't sick or if other fish are not bullying him.

If your water levels are as pristine as you can get it, the fry will be fine. They are best left alone with frequent feedings and clean water, I think. They are very hardy. I don't really take care of mine anymore They give birth in a tank full of moss, I remove the mom, and put the fry in a fry tank. I feed them and clean up but leave them alone otherwise.

You can except to lose a few fry during the first few weeks by natural culling of the ones that are sick or deformed or too slow to not be eaten.

So besides feeding and cleaning, and finding a place to keep the fry safe, raising fry is very simple!

Do you have something to feed them? Their yolk sac with be absorbed soon and then they will start looking around for food. Finely crushed flake food is fine, but there are better foods out there. I would feed 4 times a day if they are in a breeder box, and clean up when they are done eating. Putting some moss or another plant in the breeder box can give the fry some shade and give them stuff to nibble on inbetween meals.

 

[gabysapha]

What kind of breeder box do you have? I think I have a penn-plax multiway breeder. There are slits on the bottom of the box but I've never had fry fall out through them. Gravel is fine though, or a plant or anything you want. KEeping water flowing through the box is a good idea. You can put a sponge filter in (my penn-plax box comes with a compartment for a sponge filter), or I put my boxes close to the outflow of the filter so that water circulates a little better.

 

[domsmom]

Thanks so much for the ideas and help! I have the mother in the box already. The guy who owns an aquarium store near us said to keep her in there for a cpl days then let her go in the tank and keep the fry in the box until bigger. Her bottom side keeps looking like it might have another baby ready to come out, but they were coming out pretty close together there got a while this afternoon! I just hope I don't lose all of the fry! That will be sad! You say yours drop ever 3-4 weeks? Do you mean more babies?!?!

 

[gabysapha]

I think she will look a little red and swollen for a little while. That's how I tell if my females dropped.

Yes as long as you have a male there with her, or if even if you don't keep a male with her as she can store sperm for a while, she will continue to drop batches.
So even you lose fry, you'll have plenty of chances to try again. If you do plan to raise them MAKE SURE you have a place to put them once they get bigger. It will take them a few months to show what sex they are, but they show color much sooner than that which is nice.
Platties are so prolific that I don't go through the trouble of using a breeder box anymore. If they eat fry it's ok with me. You can't raise all the fry, there will just be too many.

Make sure you have stuff to feed your fry, as the things you feed them while they are very young make a big difference on their growth and health. Mine grow very fast for the 2 months and then they kind of peeter off and grow slower after that.

 

[domsmom]

Wow that's good to know! Thanks! I bought some food for the fry, "first bites" I believe it's called! if you don't keep the fish when they ate bigger, what do people DO with them? Just wondering... I know you can only have so many fish in a tank..guess I'll cross that road when I get there.
I feel kind of bad keeping the mommy fish in the breeder at this point cause she looks like she's done and ready to swim!
(example of why I need advice from the forum!) lol

 

[gabysapha]

Some local fish stores can take the fish at 1" for store credit or cash. Give them away (on this forum or locally). Craigslist. Sell online, but platties are so cheap it's often not really feasible to sell online. I have used some of mine as feeders for a friend's predatory fish

If you think she's done then just let her go. She'll be ready again in a few weeks so there's not much point in keeping her in a box and restricting her movements. Best to keep her comfortable, especially after the seemed stress of birth.

 

[domsmom]

Our Nursery

 

[gabysapha]

Our Nursery

That amount of gravel is a lot. It will make it harder to clean the nursery. I would remove all of it and just leave a little bit along the bottom to cover the holes if you're afraid the fry will fall through. Bare bottom is a lot easier for keeping clean because you can see waste much better. I would put live or plastic plants in, if you have any. Fry should have access to shade if they want it.

 

[domsmom]

Thanks! Will try that!