why arent they having babies?!

[prettyvacant]

in my 29 gal i have 9 platies.... 3 of them are male and 6 are female. i also have 4 mollies. 2 male, 2 female.

i always see people on here talking about how their livebearers are constantly breeding and they dont even have to do anything special to encourage their breeding.

this is so unfair lol i love platies! theyre my favourite...so i obviously want baby platies right? i have no idea why my platies ( and mollies!) arent breeding!! i mean, i have 6 female platies vs. 3 male!! lol you'd think they always be breeding!

i have read on some sites about little things you can do to encourage their breeding...like raising the temperature, keeping the tank very clean, providing many plants/hiding places!!

but still, no luck lol what could be wrong???

thanx

 

[BASSNMAN]

My live bearers don't seem to have any pattern to their birthing. I go for months with no action, then they have them right and left. It seems that big weather changes trigger them.

 

[Dragonchild85]

How long have you had these guys? They may not be mature yet.

 

[Menagerie]

It's always the ones who want fry that don't get them

 

[Umberle]

My pair never had fry either....what's the temperature in your tank, btw. If it's too cool they may not have fry.

 

[Toirtis]

They may not be mature...if your water parameters are not good, they may not breed...perhaps they are spawning, and the fry are being eaten before you see them.

 

[Psyhampster]

If they were spawning, you'd probably see a noticeable size change in the females, as well as a gavid spot.

 

[aquazen]

I don't put too much stock on the "g" spot. One of my female guppies has this HUGE brown area where the "g" spot should be. It's been there for as along as I can remember, even when she isn't pregnant. IMO, the best way to check will be the fat bellies.

Not sure how mating goes for platies and mollys, but you may wanna try putting on some Barry White.

 

[prettyvacant]

Not sure how mating goes for platies and mollys, but you may wanna try putting on some Barry White.

lol thats great
i totally agree with you Menagerie, it is always the ones who want fry that dont get any lol aww

How long have you had these guys? They may not be mature yet

well some of them ive had for months, and my newest, the 6 neon orange ive had for a month now.
my temperature is usually 80 but like i said, i put it up to 82 to encourage breeding... my parameters are good! 0 ammonia, 0 nitrIte, like 10- 20 (hard to tell:|) nitrAte ph 7.4 but still, no babies i always keep an eye on the females to see if theyre getting fat!! i know if they have had babies already i would eventually see atleast one, because i have a lot of plants = hiding places. so this isnt cool i really want baby platies!! lol so should i buy even more females?? lol
thanx for the help so far!

 

[Umberle]

this is going to sound odd, but try bringing your temp down to 78. If they don't breed then move it back up to 80. The shift in temp can induce it but I think 82 might be a little high.

You should also try varying their diet with both fresh veggies and frozen foods (like brine shrimp.)

All this I learned when I was trying to figure out why mine weren't spawning.

 

[FawnN]

Are you sure that they aren't preggo, you are missing them drop and they are getting eaten? Sometimes they may not get huge and still drop fry. And are you sure about the sex on all your platies?

I have a tank full of livebearers and I can honestly say that all my female guppies, platy, and swordtails are all preggo. Livebearers are sexually mature at 3-4 months.

I would suggest that you feed them a good variety of foods (blood worms, brine shrimp, spirulina flakes and tropical flakes. Other then that, I don't do anything special and I can't stop them from breeding.

I would personally keep your temp at 78 and keep up with your water changes.

One thing on the gravid spot. All females will have it and it isn't until they are preggo will you see it get bigger. I have had some guppies get huge, have a very light tan gravid spot and have had healthy fry.

Can we see pics of these platies??

 

[BrianNY]

Try adding another male platy. If the ones you currently have are from successive generations of brother/sister mix, it's possible that the males are infertile. Just a thought.

 

[prettyvacant]

You should also try varying their diet with both fresh veggies

what kind of veggies would they like?

fawn yes i am sure they arent pregnant. i feed them tropical fish flakes every day and those blood worms too. yes i am sure on the sex of my platies, this is why i told you how many females and males i have....... like i say, i clean the tank every week so yeah i do keep up on my water changes.

 

[prettyvacant]

pic

 

[FawnN]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like the one on the far right, looks pretty round and plump.

 

[prettyvacant]

yep but i dont see a gravid spot

 

[FawnN]

I have had many livebearers, especially guppies get very big and not have that dark gravid spot.

Just keep an eye on that one and if she continues to get even bigger and she starts to hide in the plants or on top, just hoovering, then that is a good indication that she is close to dropping her fry.

Mine will usually go to the top in one of the corners of the tank or hide inbetween the plants right before she drops her batch.

 

[prettyvacant]

thanks very much, FawnN, i have noticed one of my females going up in the corner near the heater, or hiding behind one of my plastic plants! so should i get out the floating breeder trap thingy? should i put her in now?

hehe i hope this means babies!

 

[FawnN]

If she is truly pregnant and you obviously want to save some fry, I would put her in when you see her trying to find a place to hide.

Putting her in too soon or putting her in when she's very close to dropping her fry could stress her out and put her into early delivery, which could result in dead fry.

It's hard to say for certain when that will happen. All fish are different, and I'm only sharing what I have experienced.