Fry

[fishy_friend]

meet my high-fin orange platy, Tamsin. She is in a tank with angels, neons, gouramis, corydoras, clown loaches and other platies. I have been extremely unfortunate with fry, they all seem to get eaten. I have a breeder net and plastic breeder thing, but I didn't have her in there when she popped. I do want to keep as many fry as possible, I don't have a separate tank to put the female in. In all the pictures she looks a lot thinner than she actually is, I know about squaring off and all that, she isn't as round as she looks in the pictures. she does have some corners on her belly but I don't think she is squared off yet. Because of her colouring, when she goes up to the light I can see the eyes of the fry and have counted 15. last time she popped she was hanging out behind the plants, still at the top of the tank though.

 

[wildroseofky]

You can put more hiding places in your tank. That will help the fry survive better. You can get fake plants made just for fry cover or get a lot of moss and stick it behind the plants in the corners of the tank. If nothing else you can place some of those tiny clay pots you get in the gardening centers of most stores in the tank. Drill or break small holes in then and set them with the top down. The fry can hide there and the big fish cannot get to them. Or you can just take half eggshells and scatter them around. Break the egg shell in half, rinse in the sink, and put them with the broken side down. Make sure to break off an opening. Anything that the fry can get into but the big fish cannot will give the fry a chance.

If you want to use the breeder net, just wait until the fish get very square and put her in the net. You will have to keep a close watch on her though. If she gives birth and you leave her in the net she may eat the babies. Good luck with your fry.

 

[fishy_friend]

unfortunately, I came home today to find her floating upside down at the bottom of the tank, her fins, tail and eyes were eaten and some scales pulled out. I was shocked, that day my old, very loved, cat was put down already and then my fish died. I think she was already dead when she was nibbled at as none of my fish would have killed her. her tummy looked a bit smaller but it was hard to tell. is it possible she died during child birth. it completely shocked me and I have no idea how she died. we are getting another female so the numbers are even again. Also I go to my local fish store to have my water tested and they said it is pretty much perfect, I trust them as they really care about the fish and know their stuff. I clean my tank out 25% once a week and have done no major changes to it recently.

 

[wildroseofky]

It is very possible she died from pregnancy complications. I lost my first two mollies that way. However, you really need your own test kit. Water conditions can be bad for a long time and older fish just adapt. However, newly added fish die because they did not slowly acclimate. If your pet store uses strips to test the water, they are more than likely wrong. Those test strip kits are very inaccurate. You really need a liquid test kit. You can get an API liquid test kit for under $20 on Amazon. You can test over a hundred times at least with that kit. I started out with strips but kept loosing fish. I ordered the liquid test kit and checked. The ammonia strips were way off. That was why I was loosing fish. It is well worth the investment. Each time you add fish it throws off the water perimeters for a while until the beneficial bacteria catches up. Good luck with your new fish.

 

[fishy_friend]

hiya, I think she did die from that although her belly still looked full. At my local fish store they use a liquid test kit, not strips, but I'm buying a test kit anyway. I'm also planning to buy some more live plants when I get the female platy, I currently have 3 live plants but am slowly adding to them. Even though she was only a fish, I was sad to see her go. The male platy in the tank always followed her around (not in a chasing way, but in a companion way) the other female he always chased around madly. Hopefully the new lady platy will settle in nicely, thanks for your quick replies.