General advice for Platy Fry please? :)

[Dollzy]

Hi! I’m New to this forum & tbh I’m in heaven

Have kept fish since I was about 12. Now I’m 29. I have a 55l (not sure on Gallons as I’m in UK) with a single Crowntail betta who was a first pet for my daughter who is two and LOVES him. He’s with an adult and baby rabbit snails

Recently (accidentally) fed into my fish addiction - got a small 22l tank with a black cory - who sadly passed away as the substrate wasn’t suitable and got an infection. And Two male Platys, realised they were male after they came home so a month later got two females, they are all mixed types. One female died - the other was already pregnant.

As of now I separated the males into another same sized tank, the female dropped around 15 fry that I can count, I’ve moved her in with the males.

During this time I bought a 60l tank and silica sand with the intention of keeping a thin layer of substrate, java ferns and other live plants around the back and then just having all the Platys together once the fry are of decent size.

Of course I still need to set up and cycle the 60l - I want to know of any tips of keeping these fish all together in terms of interbreeding- How on earth do you keep track of who is mating with who?! I’ve been trying to figure it out in my head but I’m so confused.

Essentially I was going to sell a few of the babies just before adulthood, should I sell the males only? How do I keep my tank from becoming filled with fish after this?

I’m new to fry this is my first time with them so I’m super excited but also nervous! They are so stunning though only a couple with little black spots on as they are Salt&pepper Platy!

Also wanting to decorate the tank really simply but love live plants too haven’t had a lot of luck with them and am anxious about the depth of sand substrate and keeping corys - any knowledge on this?

Attached photo of Betta because he’s awesome! Introducing Graham



Any advice totally welcomed!

 

[Leeatl]

Congrats on the fry . The only way I have been able to control my platys is to separate the males and females once you can tell who is who . A pro breeder may be able to tell you how to keep up with which ones breed with which , I just haven't gotten into it that deep . I do know if they inbreed you will get some unwanted deformities . The main trouble is they always seem to be pregnant....lol

 

[Barliman]

Take it from someone who bought "just five" platies and now has two tanks full, if you give them good water and good food, they will reward you with fry. Lots and lots of fry...


One problem is that, even if you separate males and females, the females can still produce fry (for a while), because they can store the sperm from the males. So, you'd have to isolate the females for several weeks (8-12?) to make sure they're all done.


As for telling who's mated with whom, I assume you're interested in establishing a "pure strain?" (One color type or finnage type) My only suggestion would be to first isolate the females as described as above, then take one or two males whose characteristics, match them with two to three-times as many females equally carefully selected, and put them in a 10-20 gallon tank with plenty of plants for the fry to hide in. Establishing a stable line with characteristics you like can take several generations.


Have fun!

 

[Dollzy]

Hey! Thanks so much for getting back to me on this one! Apologies- it takes me a while to build up to writing back I’ve been recluses for a while haha!

Well I just wanted to avoid incestual breeding really - & Have decoded once the fry are big enough to add them in with the current adults.

Do you keep your fry separate & for how long? I have 18 fry 3 weeks old.

I bought some love grass to see if that will help any future fry drops to survive but my strategy may be to let them fend for themselves - In the hopes that method may save me from inundation!

Attached are my current 80l ( I think could be more!) currently cycling, some of the fry in their 20l - recent rescape & my nerite felt like saying hello!

 

[Dollzy]

Congrats on the fry . The only way I have been able to control my platys is to separate the males and females once you can tell who is who . A pro breeder may be able to tell you how to keep up with which ones breed with which , I just haven't gotten into it that deep . I do know if they inbreed you will get some unwanted deformities . The main trouble is they always seem to be pregnant....lol

I’ve noticed this! My female I assume will always be big and round and pregnant it seems and I’ve only had her for 6 weeks!

It was the deformities I was worrying about but I am planning to just let them kind of .... eat their babies?! I’m not sure! I will see how this goes!!

 

[Leeatl]

I just let them birth and leave the fry in the tank they are born in . I hope this keeps the survival rate low and the ones that do survive are the "Fittest" according to natural selection . Then I have stronger adults . No mater what you do you will reach a point of saturation when you will have to setup more tanks or get rid of some fish . Some pet stores will take them and may or may not give you something for them....lol I have planted tanks so I probably get more survivors than I would like .

 

[Dollzy]

Beautiful pair of tanks! Really good amount of plants as well. What sizes are they & which plants have you got? Have you found the urge to save them? Only asking as my female has today had another drop of fry and I’m having super guilt ! I had to read what you said again about natural selection because I’m so tempted to move them into the fry tank [emoji24][emoji28] Thank goodness for this app I would be inundated with guilt and fry [emoji23] Although I don’t have the same sympathy for snails as I bought an assassin today waiting to see it eat some pest snails [emoji222]

 

[Leeatl]

Beautiful pair of tanks! Really good amount of plants as well. What sizes are they & which plants have you got? Have you found the urge to save them? Only asking as my female has today had another drop of fry and I’m having super guilt ! I had to read what you said again about natural selection because I’m so tempted to move them into the fry tank [emoji24][emoji28] Thank goodness for this app I would be inundated with guilt and fry [emoji23] Although I don’t have the same sympathy for snails as I bought an assassin today waiting to see it eat some pest snails [emoji222]

Thanks , tanks are coming along . I have a lot of Crypts , which stay kinda low to the ground , a couple of different stem plants , that grow as tall as you want , some Java ferns and Anubias , which both grow slow . Sorry about the exact names , but I buy what I like and then the tags with the info get lost or they didn't come with any info . I don't care as long as I can get them to flourish....lol
As far as saving them....I am a big softy so if they get big enough to easily see and are going after food with the rest of the fish , then I will keep them , but like I said you will reach a point of saturation and will have to do something with them . I have a 75 gal tank in the basement I am thinking of setting back up , but I don't want it to be another Platy tank......lol If you have the tank room you can get some larger fish like skirt tetras that will eat more fry . I have an old assassin snail too and would like to have a couple more...lol
Look around on Facebook for aquarium groups in your area . Good resource to get rid of unwanted fish . Also if you are interested in a planted tank go and join https://www.plantedtank.net/index.php Best group of people on the net and so much knowledge . Sorry , but I don't know much about what you have in the UK....lol Hope any of my ramblings help....lol

 

[Autumnsky]

The amount of babies these fish have are overwhelming. They have lots so that in a natural environment, many are food for other creatures, and yet some still survive. But in the "safety net" of out care, hundreds can be saved and overwhelm the system causing problems with parameters.

Baby fish should be fed many times a day, just tiny amounts. Water should be changed frequently because of the babies needing good fresh water for optimal growth, and the extra feeding and pooing.

They can be a lot of work if cared for properly.

Do not let guilt over ride good sense in how many babies you can keep /take care of. They are precious but part of a food chain. You may try only keeping males, or M & F separately.