WOW my platy DID have babies!!!! - AND NOW AGAIN!

[Jaybird]

They should be alright in the same box, as long as the little one won't fit in the mouth of the bigger one.

I have had some mollies give birth in my tank, but I have only ever seen one fry. I thought he was big enough to be release into the tank.......oops....I was wrong. The big male came along and....gulp. Ah well. Maybe I will have more soon.

Good luck with them.

[hsherman1986]

yea, you should be fine to have the babies in there together. I have all different ages in mine, the molly fry got upgraded to the big tank (they are swimming freely in my 55g). My mickey mouse platies both had their babies a few days ago (40 total) and my dwarf platy had her babies last night (she had 16 survive). I really need to start calling around and finding new homes for these guys.

[aquanewbie72]

Well I've had a VERY bizarre turn of events. My newest fry is gone! Strange indeed. He was safely protected in the breeder box but now I've come home from work and I can't find him! My month-old is in there swimming around innocently but the other one is gone. I'm perplexed to say the least. I don't know if he somehow managed to escape the box and got sucked up in the filter or if the bigger fry picked him apart or what.
*SIGH* Guess I'll have to wait until the next batch and try again. The big lesson in breeding is - you win some, you lose some, right? LOL


EDIT: 11:30 PM

OMG!!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I decided to clean the platy tank and do a PWC and in the course of stirring up the gravel, I recovered 5 MORE BABIES!!!! 8O YAY!!!! :P

*doing a happy dance* 5 more fry! 5 more fry!

On a serious note though- I think my month-old fry was the cause of the demise for the one earlier today. As I started to put the other babies in the breeder box with him, he went after them like a shark. Not trying to eat them, but chasing them really aggressively. So I had to put the divider in there and separate them. GEEZ! He seems so agitated now divided off into that small section of what used to be "his tank" but I don't know what else to do. I would love to set the older fry free into the tank, but I really think he is just too small yet. Not to mention the tiny babies are so curious, they sometimes have managed to swim under the divider only to be chased back to the other side.

Well tomorrow is Saturday- maybe a trip to the LFS is in order. maybe the purchase of another breeder box.... ah I love to spoil my grandkids.

[hsherman1986]

yea, i have two nets and a box. They were over crowded in the box, so are now occupying both nets. My first molly fry is 1/4" long already/ They grow so fast *giggle*

that is weird that it happened that way though. I have three different drops of babies in one net, the shortest age difference two weeks, the longest is four, and the newest drop of babies in the second net.

[aquanewbie72]

Yes it is weird. My husband and I were speculating that perhaps since the older fry has been in "quarantine" his whole life so far, he didn't develop any- um- social skills?. So when he saw other fish, he just freaked out. Either from excitement or fear.

Not only am I my fishes maid, cook, and nurse- now I'm their psychiatrist too. LOL