My platy unexpectedly had babies. I don't intend on being a breeder so I'm posting i

[Noviceafter2yea]

I was busy taking pictures of one of my platys to post here and ask whether it looked pregnant. I couldn't see the dark spot that pregnant fish get, but my fish was looking swollen, but was not pineconing. I have 3 platys, all female, and have had them for since mid April. Clearly she was knocked up when I got her.

Anyway, I took about 100 pictures (fish are hard to photograph) and then I got nervous that she might be sick, so I transferred her to my quarantine tank which was housing one of the other platys that I separated because she was getting bullied.

I watched for a while to make sure she didn't get stressed and it looked like she was going to poop. Instead, she was releasing these small white bundles. I had to turn the aquarium light on and, she was giving birth. Suddenly there are these small sperm-looking things darting around.

I didn't know what to do, so I found a small plastic container that has a feeding lid and is made to hold a fish, I think (maybe a betta - if you were mean). I put some tank water into the container and went fry fishing. To get some of them, I had to scoop them with some gravel, so there is a little gravel in the container with them.

I crushed 1/4 of a,bottom feeder tablet and put half of that in, along with some fake grass. It's midnight here, so my options are limited. I don't have a filter or a heater for it. I wrapped the container in a pet pee pad, hoping to give extra warmth. (I have to use what I have). I left a quarter of the top uncovered to circulate air.

Is there anything else I can do until I can get to a pet store tomorrow after work?

Do you think a local fish store would want the babies? They are super cute, but I am at my max for fish, and I have a feeling there will be another batch (a little goes a long way).

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[NiaCas]

There's not much you can do if you're not expecting the babies. Some moss would be much better than fake grass if you have it and I've just used finely crushed flakes for fry. I also just use fry as food. I move females if they're getting bullied which happens sometimes before they drop fry, but if they're not then I just leave them in the tank and the fry disappear. If I do move them, then I usually put them back in the tank either right away or a few days if they got bit and I distribute the fry among other fish or axolotls. The ones I don't use as food, I keep so they can grow into food and make more food lol. A small tank with a small sponge filter, some moss and some crushed natural flakes keep them alive until they're big enough to be added to a feeder tank. Fry are only really hard to keep alive if you've got other fish around that find them tasty They should be fine until tomorrow, and if the lfs won't take them then you probably have fish that would enjoy the treat. Sorry, I know it might sound mean to someone who's not used to using fry as food, but they are a free and nutritious treat