couple of quick fry questions...

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Red Tailed Wonder

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Feb 21, 2005
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Hello all,

After like 2 months ive finally found Platy Fry! Iv'e only managed to catch one though. so ive put him in a little tank with plants and an old snail shell, it's got a heater.
1.Will the fry get lonesome?
2. what can i do to increase the chances of my platys giving more fry?

thnx in advance.
Flag
 

TheZoo

Curiouser and curiouser!
Apr 12, 2006
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melting in Houston, TX
Answers
1) probably
2) keep a male and a female together

You really dont have to worry yourself about seperating and rearing the fry, esp if youre going to put them in a bowl....just let them be. Some may survive in your main tank, putting you with (probably) an overload of fish eventually and some will get eaten and be a good source of protein.
 
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Red Tailed Wonder

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Feb 21, 2005
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After a day now s/he seems to be doing fine, iv'e got him feeding on some powder food. He seems to like bobbing over the heater when it's turned on. What else can i feed him?
Also how often should i change the water?

tnx flag
 

coupedefleur

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Jul 25, 2006
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NW Ohio
For her size now, it's probably like having one adult platy in a 200 gallon tank, so you don't need to change the water too frequently.

For food, I'd probalby just use powdered food. If you were serious about raising platies, or just about any other fish, getting ahold of a starter culture of microworms would be a good idea, but it's a lot of work for one or two fry.

If you don't have plant cover in the main platy tank, make a spawning mop or two out of acrylic yarn. The baby bowl would probably benefit from some hiding places as well- I'm sure they feel more secure if they have someplace to hide.
 

Red Tailed Wonder

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Feb 21, 2005
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Would this work? If i put a net mesh in the baby tank halfway down and put the pregnant female in the top half, and when she drops the fry will swim down into the bottom half?
 

TheZoo

Curiouser and curiouser!
Apr 12, 2006
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melting in Houston, TX
Depends on how large the holes in the net are. But Id expect some to be eaten regardless... Why are you set on keeping the fry, if I may ask? If your main tank/bowl is planted in some way (anacharis is nice and bushy when "planted" in bunches), you could probably have a few fry survive. Having said that, I sporatically see platy fry in my tank, which is moderatly to heavily planted and then one day I dont see them anymore. They are eaten, I assume, which is fine by me as I already had to deal with a guppy explosion and now have 3 active tanks. No room for more just yet. Yes, fry are cute and teeny, but unless you already have the extra 20 gallon to put them in (seperated by gender), Id just as soon say que sera sera. Your gouramis undoubtedly love the little treats.

Your bowl water should be refreshed every week, even though the fry is tiny. They grow quickly, especially when there is no competition or danger.
 

TheZoo

Curiouser and curiouser!
Apr 12, 2006
635
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0
melting in Houston, TX
Flagfish said:
Im keeping the main tank as dark as possible will this help?
QUOTE]

Huh? No, it wont help the fish breed, if thats what you mean. Are these fry all going to live in that bowl? If so, good luck.
 

coupedefleur

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Jul 25, 2006
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NW Ohio
TheZoo said:
Why are you set on keeping the fry, if I may ask?
When you're starting out, it's a lot of fun to raise livebearer fry.

Right now, I've got about 700 platy fry, and about 500 swordtail fry, by my best guess, so I can also see why someone mignt NOT want to raise them!

Putting the net in the bowl, you are essentially creating a breeding trap. (You can do a search on that term.) That would work, but it's sometimes difficult to figure out exactly when a female platy is going to drop fry. Living in that bowl is not going to be good for the female.

Giving the fry a place to hide- either fine-leaved floating plants or spawning mops in your main tank, and netting out fry you see, will probably be the best plan for saving some babies to raise without risking the life of the mother or getting more tanks.
 
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