Tips for keeping platy fry numbers down?

[missmonday]

I have 2 adult platys, one male and one female (originally I thought I had purchased 3 females, one died but unrelated) they appear to be very healthy and such in my 29 gallon planted tank.

It seems to be fairly spread out (is that normal for platy births? ) I originally noticed 5 fry on Oct. 21st but now notice I have 8 or so fry and some seem smaller than the others. Interestingly enough the mama looks as pregnant as ever!

I might keep one or two when they grow out a little, but so far I'm just letting things happen naturally. I don't specifically feed the fry, they're left in the 29 with their parents and neither the parents nor my minnows have eaten any that I can tell.

I'm well aware that platys and other livebearers have lots of fry, but tips to keep their numbers down? Once they're bigger and easier to net out, I'll give the fry away to my lfs or whatnot.

I also plan on adding 2 honey gourami eventually, would they eat the fry possibly?

Because my tank is pretty planted and I have moss and floating plants, there are lots of hiding places.

 

[SpaceFish42]

I think if you took away a few of the hiding places, the other fish would be more likely to eat them. (I feel so cruel saying that...) Another option would be to find people who you could give them away to.

 

[missmonday]

Yeah, I would do that, but the hiding places are for my 10 amano shrimp they love crawling through the pvc pipes, the fry kind of hust hang out in the moss I tied on top of the tubes.

I'll probably just try to give them to an lfs when they're bigger. Do some stores give credit for donations? Haha

 

[ManedWolf]

The gourami might cut the numbers down some, but with enough hiding places, some fry will still survive. Power of sheer numbers and all that haha.

Some stores will give credit for fish donations, but with how common platy fry are you aren't looking at much (if anything). Probably a couple cents each.

 

[aseradyn]

I had the same problem with my swordtails - they were breeding out of control.

I found it was easier in the long run to give away all the males than to keep catching generation after generation of fry.

 

[sinibotia]

I have an angelfish and a lot of bottom dwellers. Between the two of them they control our platy fry incredibly well- our loaches seem to find fry no matter where they hide.

 

[ScotJudd]

I think if you took away a few of the hiding places, the other fish would be more likely to eat them. (I feel so cruel saying that...) Another option would be to find people who you could give them away to.

In a well established and balanced tank many of the fry are eaten. This is a great disease free source of live food. My RCS shrimp are controlled by the fish, thank heavens, and I keep another colony in my QT to condition the fish. It's just natures way but visible in your home which makes some people feel uncomfortable.


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