In need of some advice. (Platys)

[KFav93]

Well I have been breeding platys, and I plan on breeding them until both of my 20 gallons tanks are stocked. Well the plan is, when I get enough platy fry, I plan on putting my male platys in my second tank to separate them. I heard female platys can still have babies even after the males are taken out. Is this true? When should I separate them? I want to make both tanks stocked with platys, but I'm not trying to overstock. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated!

Here's my setup

Tank #1
4 female platys
2 male platys
5 platy fry (isolation tank)
1 cory catfish
2 zebra snails

Tank #2
2 zebra danios (I know they need more)
2 zebra snails


Also, I have a platy fry that is almost 5 weeks old and 1/2 an inch, is she okay to release into the main tank?

 

[coralbandit]

It is known that swordtails hold sperm for up to 8 sets of fry or 2 years in some cases.
Platies and swords are hybrid together so odds are it is the same for platy.
I got 1 pair of platy in December and now have 40+ many close to if not over 1 inch in same tank [20g]. I don't separate any fry ever with them.
You should be able to release all fry by 2 weeks old or so IMO..
Keep the others in tank well fed and you should be fine..

 

[KFav93]

It is known that swordtails hold sperm for up to 8 sets of fry or 2 years in some cases.
Platies and swords are hybrid together so odds are it is the same for platy.
I got 1 pair of platy in December and now have 40+ many close to if not over 1 inch in same tank [20g]. I don't separate any fry ever with them.
You should be able to release all fry by 2 weeks old or so IMO..
Keep the others in tank well fed and you should be fine..

So do you think I should separate the males now? I think I'm going to do that Monday. I actually found another fry so now I have 6 total. The goal is to have 13 fish in each tank. I'm pretty sure 2 of my platys are pregnant still. I'm just scared it'll get overstocked.

 

[Toad]

If you take the males out right this second you'll still probably end up over stocked, livebearers have bigger batches of fry the older they get. You'll need to separate the fry too, so the older males don't get the young females pregnant too

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[KFav93]

If you take the males out right this second you'll still probably end up over stocked, livebearers have bigger batches of fry the older they get. You'll need to separate the fry too, so the older males don't get the young females pregnant too

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Really? 100% sure on this? I was going to hold off until monday

 

[Toad]

You have four adult females that are almost guaranteed to be pregnant. Even small batches will have around 5-10 fry. So even with the low end of 5 each (20), times that by at least 3 batches (going by 1 month per batch, assuming they'd only store sperm for 3 months max) per fish until sperm store runs out (60) and add in any fry in the isolation tank that get knocked up in that time.... yeah.

People underestimate livebearers ability to breed.

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[Barliman]

I heard female platys can still have babies even after the males are taken out. Is this true?

Yes. I'm not sure of the details, but a female can have several broods after being impregnated by a male.

 

[daileene]

You have four adult females that are almost guaranteed to be pregnant. Even small batches will have around 5-10 fry. So even with the low end of 5 each (20), times that by at least 3 batches (going by 1 month per batch, assuming they'd only store sperm for 3 months max) per fish until sperm store runs out (60) and add in any fry in the isolation tank that get knocked up in that time.... yeah.

People underestimate livebearers ability to breed.

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Agreed 100%. I have a swordtail/platy combo in a 20G tank and they are multiplying like crazy.....if you don't want more than 13 fish in the tank, you are better off taking the males out now. The sooner the better.