SURPRISE! A pleasant one...

[aprlshwrs]

Lol...so, today I went to feed my 3 platy. Imagine my surprise when I looked in the tank and saw 3 fry. Here is why I'm surprised...

I have one sunburst platy that looked VERY pregnant. So, I put her in a breeding net because the male platy just wouldn't leave her alone. Then, I have another red wag female platy that he doesn't bother...I don't know why. Anyway, she hung out in the tank and pretty much stayed to herself. I've had her since June. I got the male platy(sunburst) last month (October 17th).

So, I was very surprised to see fry in the tank when I had the one--I thought--was pregnant in the breeding net. (The other one didn't even look pregnant!) I took the fry out of the tank and placed them in a cup with water from the tank. After I made sure I had them all out (there were 6), I removed the other female from the breeding net and put the fry in the net.

I'm still convinced the female I originally had in the net is pregnant. I suppose I will do the same that I did with the other fry and just move them to the breeding net...if the male ever leaves her alone enough for her to have babies. I may have to move him for a bit. However, now that the other female is no longer in the net I can just move them directly to the net.

This was a pleasant surprise but it's going to force me to up my preparedness. That 29g has to be set up in the next week.

If anyone has any advice, please pass it my way. I'm always up for more advice.

Also, I'm planning on setting up a 55g tank after the new year. I was thinking of making that a goldfish tank but I'm still on the fence about that. Any suggestions would be fantastic! I'm also thinking that I want this tank to be a planted tank...as well as my 29g.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i vote cichlids for the 55! hehe.
the babies will do well with crushed flakes or a baby powder, but some people (including me) mash egg yolk and feed tiny amounts of that. i found the batch of guppies i fed this to grew better than the other batch i didnt.

how long had the other female been in that net? she may just have a HUUUGE load and is dreading the birth lol.

 

[CatmanDru]

If anyone has any advice, please pass it my way. I'm always up for more advice.

Maybe get another breeder net -- or two?

It looks like like you might be busy.

And congratulations!

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i have 5 breeder nets. sometimes i have all on the go, one is near permanent for grounding

 

[aprlshwrs]

I have fry food for the newborn platy. It's the First Bites by Hikari. I'm glad that I just happened to have a packet of it. It will do for now.

As for the guppy fry, I have done the egg yolk thing with them...they LOVE it. Of course, every time I walk up to the tank...they're excited about food...lol.

The other female has been in the breeding net for about 5 days. I was convinced she was dropping soon...she's huge. Maybe she is dreading it. I think I'll definitely need to do something about the male though. He's chasing her around the tank again and she can't get a moment to herself.

I was looking at Cichilds for the 55g but I'm not a huge fan of them. I don't know why but they kind of creep me out. I'll have to think about why that is...

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

np, each to their own. fancy goldfish are beautiful and could do well in there, i saw one recently with a 'saddle' and black on the tips of its fins and tail. and black moors!! awesome as babies.

 

[aprlshwrs]

I don't have room for more nets...yet. Hopefully, I can get my 29g up and running soon. I don't want a full blown breeder program but I don't want to get rid of these fry quite yet either. When my stock starts to get a bit more full, I may slow down and just let nature take its course.