how long to keep prego platy in breeder net?

[Ilovemyfishies]

when I came home tonight, my pregnant platy was hiding under the breeding grass. She is huge and looks like she is going to pop. You can see a bunch of baby fry eyes and she looks reddish right at the end of her stomach. Her stomach is also flat. I had put her in the breeder at 6:45 pm and it's now 9:32 pm and the only thing she's making is a pile of poop. I don't want to move her out and then back again. How long can I keep her in there?

 

[Dylan5359]

I suggest moving her to a breeder TRAP. Breeder nets are usually just for fry after they are born. You could keep them in there for a good day or two, maybe longer.

-Dylan

 

[mfdrookie516]

IME breeder traps and nets just cause unnecessary stress to the fish. I killed a couple platys before I figured it out. Realistically, unless you have a separate tank for the fry, the breeder net does nothing for you

 

[Dylan5359]

Yeah. He's right. Just setup a small breeding tank for the pregnant platy. Filled with either a spawn mop and lots and lots of java moss. They'll be a better survival rate from if you let her give birth in the main tank and there won't be any stress on the fish if you used a trap or net I used to have a small five gall. for this when I was into swords. It ended up working better in the end.

-Dylan

 

[Ilovemyfishies]

Thanks for your responses. I did put her in my 5 gallon tank on Saturday and she became very depressed and wouldn't move away from the corner for a few hours, so I put her back in the tank with the general population. I put my only fry from the first litter in the 5 gallon. I'm sorry, I didn't mean a breeder net, its that plastic breeder thing with the slats. yes, I'm a virgin platy grandma to be. I didn't realize she was pregnant the first time and when I cleaned the tank I found my fry. To me so far the only thing it looks like she's giving birth to is a bunch of poop. I swear she should have been a goldfish.

 

[Dylan5359]

Yeah the plastic thing is a breeder trap. Wait a little longer. Put her in the main tank.when she looks very swollen like about to burst then put her in the breeder trap.

-Dylan

 

[Ilovemyfishies]

I was watching her all night long, and gave up and went to bed at 1:30. When I woke up, I was like a little kid on Christmas running out to see if she had any fry. she had 18. One decided he was going to back out of the trap, got stuck and his lower half was eaten. 1 causality isn't bad. Right now I have them all in my 5 gallon with their big sister, who is only 2 weeks old. OMG, they're so cute!

 

[Dylan5359]

Aw. I love live bearer fry. There adorable. It's the eyes man. Congrats!

-Dylan