Hi, I had noticed my platy Nemo was looking pregnant, so I put her in the breeder and she started giving birth soon after.. I'm worried that placing her in the breeder caused her to have them too soon...? Can that happen..? Any advice to try and save the babies if possible, and if need be is very greatly appreciated, thank you!!
platy breeding question.. 911
- Thread starter KymbecasH
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Smcoyle87
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I mean i guess certain factors could cause a "sped up birth" bit i wouldn't really worry about it. She was probably just ready. So good timing!
Fry need cover (places to hide) or you can actually syphon them out pretty easily and put them in there own little tank to raise them. Mom and Dad don't care about rasing them and will eat them, most likely along with whatever else you have in the tank too.
Sounds grim i know! But if your conditions are good, don't worry you will have more opportunities to raise fry!
Good luck and post any other questions
Fry need cover (places to hide) or you can actually syphon them out pretty easily and put them in there own little tank to raise them. Mom and Dad don't care about rasing them and will eat them, most likely along with whatever else you have in the tank too.
Sounds grim i know! But if your conditions are good, don't worry you will have more opportunities to raise fry!
Good luck and post any other questions
Thank you! So far so good.. But I have a breeder.. But I haven't taken the mom out yet because a) I'm not sure if she's finished and b) not sure how to get her out without disturbing and getting any fry.. Any advice?
KymbecasH said:
Some plastic breeders have chambers that separate the mom and the fry- i assume yours is just a box or net?
If mom looks skinnier, and it's been a few hours, I think it's ok to move her out. She'll be ready again in a few weeks, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to catch fry
mine finish birthing within a couple hours, usually in half an hour. But mine are older. If it's their first drop they may spread it out over a longer period of time.Fry are pretty tough I think, so netting the mom out of the breeder shouldnt harm them. If you catch a few just put them back. The mom could thrash, so use two nets or a clear plastic cup- just herd her into the cup. My fish freak out less that way.
KymbecasH said:
Mmm that's a little difficult to answer. It's expected to lose some, not all fry are born strong and perfect. Some have abnormalities and are weak, and they will get outcompeted for food or their siblings can even bully them. Give fry space and hiding places and the success is higher. If water parameters are bad then don't expect babies to do well!
clean clean stable water is the most important in my opinion. And good food right off the bat really helps them grow. But water changes should not be skipped! Small and several each week. I change a bit every day.But really, platties are so easy to raise. I leave mine alone now and they raise themselves haha! Tough as nails.
KymbecasH said:
Youre welcome! I'm 5 months into raising platy fry that I'm really happy with- I've raised the usual pet store strains on and off for a few years. Let me know if you have other questions! Oh and in case you didn't know, platy fry will grow faster if you feed them small amounts several times a day for the first few weeks. Just like human babies, feed often!
When they are big enough to not get eaten, or strong enough to swim away from your fish and escaping to heavy cover.
Your fry are only about... 2.5 weeks old? That's still really small. Unless you have heavy protection in your tank, like heavy plant cover, lots of moss, etc, I would not put them in yet. If you do have that cover, they will probably be fine.
You can try releasing a few into the tank to see what happens. If they survive well and the fish ignore them, then you can decide what to do next. I bet you're working hard on getting the fry growing, so it would be a waste to have them eaten!
Keep in mind fry will grow bigger if they are given more space and food more often.
CMN
Aquarium Advice Activist
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I didn't let my baby mollies out until they were month old so 4 to 6 weeks. You probably want to invest in another baby breeder. How many was the first batch?
CMN
Aquarium Advice Activist
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KymbecasH said:
My Molly had 42 babies 1 was a still birth. I still have 41 still to this day.
Yea I have two breeder boxes and have a separator in one. The first batch of babies my platy had was Dec 9th & I still have the last one in a box because I thought they were big enough to not get eaten- wrong. The other fish picked on them then ate them! my second batch were somehow finding their way out of the breeder into the main tank! So I had to put some gravel in the bottom to keep them from getting out and eaten!
Congrats!
my second batch were somehow finding their way out of the breeder into the main tank! So I had to put some gravel in the bottom to keep them from getting out and eaten!Congrats!
Livebrearercocoa14
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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- Jan 29, 2012
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KymbecasH said:
No you should wait 1-3 more months, maybe longer. I have 30 fry and they are at the most 1 and 1/2 months. They look a little bigger than the one you've shown... They still have some growing to do.
My platy had her first two batches EXACTLY 4weeks apart! So this 3rd batch I figured should be any day now. Yesterday being 4weeks again. Still nothing. I feel bad because I had moved her because she seemed really square and I can see the baby's eyes in her belly right above her anal fin! Trying to figure out now if I should move her back into the main tank for a while since nothing is happening!
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