Breeding Questions

Cody

I am interested in Breeding fish. I want to start with something simple, like Guppies or Mollies. I have never bred fish before, but I want to try it. This is what I know so far.

-I need a Breeder Box/net.
-Guppies and Mollies can produce a lot of babies.

My LFS will buy/trade for the fry, just in case anyone is wondering.

In my tank right now, I have 2 Red Platys, 2 Zebra danios and 2 Neon Tetras. I only have a 5 Gallon, so I know I can't take a lot more. I will probably wait for some to pass away before I add any more fish.

I usually keep the temperature around 76-80.

What is the easiest to breed in a community tank; Platies, Mollies, or Guppies? What is the best gender ratio for each fish?

Oh, say I get 2 more platies sometime toadd with my 2 current platies that I think are both female. If I get one male and one female, will it help the breeding?

herefishy

Ratios of m/f is important. Usually a ratio of 1m/2-3f is best. I always tend to lean toward 1/3 or 4. By doing this you are protecting you females. Livebearers are a good way to start out. They are relatively easy. Breeder nets are not necessary if you use a lot of plants like elodea or anachris, floating plants. The fry can hide out in the plants and avoid predation. My breeder tanks are a minimum of 15g, depending upon the fish. I even have 100g breeder tanks. These are very hard to find and are only required for the largest of fish.

You must keep both males and females in prime shape. You do this be varying their diet by using a good flake food and supplementing it with live and processed foods such as bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, and tubifex worms. these should be fed 2-3 feedings per week. Good luck.

Cody

I do not have any live plants in my aquarium; all are fake unfortunatley.

I will be going to my LFS tommorow or the next day, and I will be getting either brine shrimp or bloodworms, as well as 1 male Platy and maybe 1 female Platy (I already have 2 females).

How many babies can platies have, and how long do they have them before they give birth?

Cody

I just went to my LFS today, and picked up another Red Platy. I think this is a guy, saying he is not as red (more orange) and he is not as big as my 2 other platies who I think are female. Here are some pics of him to help:

Indiv Pics:



Him w/ the other two:

He is the one closest to the bottom in this picture.


On the far right.

Can anyone tell me what they think the gender of my new Platy is?

Lindsey88

Why oh why do you have so many fish in a 5 gallon tank? Have you tested your water perameters at all? I can imagine that they are over the top. I wouldn't be suprised if all your fish start dying off soon.

Cody

I know it is overstocked. I plan to get rid of my Neons anyway. All of my fish do fine together, no arguments, fin-nipping, anything.

I need to know if anyone can tell the gender of the new Platy.

Lindsey88

It looks female but it's hard to tell since the fin is folded in. But seriously get rid of your fish. 5 gallon is not the right size to breed or for them to live in. The most you could put in a 5 gallon might be a betta. Fin nipping isn't the problem the problem is all the ammonia they are probably living in.

fish_4_all

All 3 of them look like females to me. Body size/style is not a good way to tell. The anal fin will be pointed on a male and fan like on a female.

As for the babies, make sure your LFS will take the babies at any size. My LFS will take them but only when they are large enough to sell. This would be at about .75-1 inches each. 30 babies at that size would need a big tank. Your LFS may take them as babies but will likely sell them as feeders taking them off your hands for free unless they are sellable size.

Oldman47

This is going to sound very harsh but it is a reality check. Before you think about breeding anything, you should get more tank space. Your present tank would be fully stocked if you only had the 3 platies in it. Once you have enough room for them, platies are easy to breed. Leave them alone with lots of plants and other hiding places for the babies and just take the babies out when you are ready to sell them. Not all will survive but you will need a huge aquarium to raise more than a few to a sellable size. The minimum for any small breeding would be at least 10 gallons. If you expect to keep more than 5 or 6 babies, I would go to at least a 20 gallon.

crazy4fish

sorry but im pretty sure you have 3 females.