My Small Beginner Tanks - Showcase and Advice?

[SansyFrance]

Hello All ,
I am new to the hobbyist fish world, but I am already loving it and ready to learn so much and expand. Like alot of people I've met, my fish love began about 6 months ago with a small fair fish. I was so excited to get this fish and immediately took to the internet. The information I got was wrong, I ended up putting the poor thing in a one gallon bowl with too much decor. Needless to say, that little guy didn't make it very long
After that I decided that I wanted to take fish more seriously, and began researching. I am currently a student, meaning I don't exactly have the funds to expand my fish and aquarium collection as much as I'd like to, but this is at least a start.
My first tanks is my main, community tank

This tank is a 10 gallon tank housing one male Platy, one male juvenile Betta, one black mystery snail, and one Albino Cory Cat.
Its decor includes four real plants, along with several of the softer artificial plants. It also has a heater and a filter. The substrate used is some compatible with plants that I bought at my local pet store.

My second tank is a housing tank for my two pregnant female Platies

This tank is a smaller 5 gallon tank with a filter that is not on (as I don't know when the two females will have their babies and I don't want the fry to get sucked into the filter) and a heater. The substrate is 80% regular rocks mixed with 20% of the above mentioned plant-safe substrate.It includes one artificial plant mat (for when the babies are born for immediate protection until they can be moved to their tanks), one hide, and one artificial plant.
It currently only houses two female Platies until they have their babies.

My third tank is set up to be special for my fry that come from my above mentioned Platy mamas.

Currently, there is nothing in this tank. It is a basic 5 gallon tank with overhead lighting. The floor of the tank is heavily planted with two artificial plant mats for safety, two artificial plants for additional coverage, and one hide. It has a heater and no filter, as I've heard filters are dangerous for little fry, so they won't have one until they are older. I realize the tank is small for the amount of fry I could potentially have, but I already have several people ready to adopt some of the fry once they are big enough, and I'm also not sure how many fry will survive.

Advice, tips, knowledge, and basically anything is greatly appreciated and needed! I'm taking this all very seriously and hope to make this a lasting lifestyle and hobby for myself.

 

[Autumnsky]

You can solve the problem of a filter sucking up your fry by adding a prefilter sponge to the filter intake.

like this

http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-Fluval-...sr=1-4&keywords=fluval+edge+pre-filter+sponge

or something like this. not a specific recomendation for the sellers of these just pics so you know what to look for.

Bio Sponge Filter Breeding Fry Betta Shrimp Nano Fish Tank Aquarium Up to 20 Gal | eBay

It is frequently easier to remove the mom after birth than the fry as one is usually easier to capture than a zillion babies.

I will feed tiny amounts to the mom if she eats it, tiny amount, like a bite or two at a time, so she can be strong during birth. Maybe every hour. If she isn't interested then try a couple hours later. Somethimes they are hungry and sometimes not.

It will also help not make the babies look as delicious. I also will use Hikari First bites fry food. Use the tip of a toothpick, to get a small amount into the tank!!! No kidding, the stuff is really tiny and goes a long way.

 

[SansyFrance]

You can solve the problem of a filter sucking up your fry by adding a prefilter sponge to the filter intake.

like this

http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-Fluval-...sr=1-4&keywords=fluval+edge+pre-filter+sponge

or something like this. not a specific recomendation for the sellers of these just pics so you know what to look for.

Bio Sponge Filter Breeding Fry Betta Shrimp Nano Fish Tank Aquarium Up to 20 Gal | eBay

It is frequently easier to remove the mom after birth than the fry as one is usually easier to capture than a zillion babies.

I will feed tiny amounts to the mom if she eats it, tiny amount, like a bite or two at a time, so she can be strong during birth. Maybe every hour. If she isn't interested then try a couple hours later. Somethimes they are hungry and sometimes not.

It will also help not make the babies look as delicious. I also will use Hikari First bites fry food. Use the tip of a toothpick, to get a small amount into the tank!!! No kidding, the stuff is really tiny and goes a long way.

Oh thank you so much for all the advice! This is my first "serious" tank af absolutely my first fish pregnancy so I'll take any and all advice I can get. I took your advice and moved the mamas into the tank with the heavily covered floor.
By any chance, do you have any clue or know any indications to look for as to when the fish will give birth? I'm stumped and I'd like to try and be prepared, and you seem really knowledgable.



Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Autumnsky]

The momma will look squared - the main part of the body to the lower area where the babies are born will seem square. After you see it you will think...ah yes square~.