Best way to maximize platy fries survival rate

yhbae

yhbae

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I've been looking through the web for this, and ended up with various suggestions:

1. Use the breeder net with hiding places within it.

2. Just move the female to the breeder tank (10g?) when you feel the female is about to give birth (square look from the rear-end). Apparently this is ok since females generate hormones which will kill their urge to eat their own fries. Just make sure that you actually remove the female within 12 hours.

3. Put lots of plants and let the nature determine which ones will live.

Problems with each approach:

1. Breeder net in general appears to be a no-no. Females get nervous, often aborts pregnancy in such a small container. Fries also panic within the net due to the "lion" that happens to be sharing the same "cage".

2. Moving female to another tank also often stresses the female just before giving birth. Just to make the situation worse, I have a 33g growth tank (with no fish yet), but I am still looking for a used 10g tank.. I guess 33g with Aqua Clear 300 pumping water out would be too much force of nature for the little fries? :D

3. I doubt I have enough plants to make a difference. I do have java moss, but not enough to cover the bottom - may be 1/3 at the most. Besides from what I hear, you need plats that floats to give better results.

Any ideas?

I feel the best way to go is to buy 10g with sponge filters, add some java moss, then move the female soon. Move her back when she is done breeding.
 
you can get some fake plants in mats big enough to cover the bottom of the tank that would be cover for the babies add some bunch type fake plants some fixed to the bottom some just floating in the tank and you have a good baby hiding tank... if you want as many as possible to survive

java moss is good for that but fake is easyer esp if you just want the babies and are not concerned with how that particular tank looks
 
Well, what I did was move the platy to a 10 gallon tank. I bought some fake lilly-like plants that attached with suction cups to the top of the tank, and used an aquaclear 150 filter, but it was too much. The fry were getting sucked into the filter, so I bought an aquaclear mini, and wrapped an old fishnet net around the intake to stop them from getting sucked in.
 
Originally posted by yhbae
Any ideas?

I feel the best way to go is to buy 10g with sponge filters, add some java moss, then move the female soon. Move her back when she is done breeding.
Click to expand...

This is probably the best one. I do breed livebearers but I do the heavy plant tank method. It works well for me but moving her to another tank with a sponge filter works fantastic if you can do it. :)


jim
 
Wow, I just saw a platy baby! Little orange one (with huge eyes) just went into the moss. I can't see any babies so I have no clue if any others have survived.

I'm looking at the two females, and one doesn't appear all that much thinner than the other one - I can't even tell which one gave birth to these fries... How long does it take for a female to deliver all fries?

This happened before I had a chance to setup a 10g so they are in the community tank...

It was cute when I had a chance to glance at it... :D
 
I have the opposite problem. I have two females in a heavily planted tank, and they're filling it up. The loaches probably get a few, but I have put about 25 into a 10 gallon with a sponge filter for growout and there's probably another 12 or so that keep geting bigger in the main tank. Now that one of the babies is a mature male, it will only get worse.
 
We really have a opposite problem, don't we?

I have a 33g empty, waiting for fries to grow, and so far, I saw only one... :D Perhaps since this is her first giving birth, they will be more successful at giving larger number of fries a month from now... Lets see if I have a better luck with the other female - should be any day now...

(I saw the fry again, and it sure looks alot bigger than I originally though. I sware it's about 1cm... How big are just-born fries supposed to be?)
 
I've never measured, but they look about 5 mm when they're new. According to a cursory search I just did, it depends on the size of the mother. 1 cm sounds big, though. Escaper from previous brood?
I bet you'll be getting more survivors all the time. Even in a less heavily planted tank, some will probably find hiding places. My females seem to put out about 20-40 per brood at this point. Some are getting eaten, but there's plenty left.
 
I believe I am seeing only one fry so far... We will find out soon enough. How long does it take before the fries feel comfortable enough to get out of that java moss?

After comparing the two females, I do have to admit one of them is slightly more aerodynamic - so I assume she is the one who gave birth. I am slightly surprized though how little difference there is between the one who is pregnant and the other one who just gave birth...
 
I am going to set up a 20 gallon in the near future with platys. They are called sunset platys around here and are very nice looking.

If I plant the tank densely will the fries be able to live when they are born or will they be easily eaten? How difficult are platys to breed?
 
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