Fry eating fish (can't keep the babies)

guri

I bought 3 females platies at the beginning of last summer...I thought that by getting no males I wouldn't have undesired babies in my aquarium...what a mistake : I now have 2 dozens of platys swimming around in my well planted 55 Gallon, along with a school of Harlequin Rasboras and a school of Neon Tetra... some of these "babies" now even seems close to reproduce with their siblings and others have even spawned a week ago...I'm gonna try to catch some this weekend and bring them to the local fish store but I fear the birth cycle is going to be endless unless I get rid of all the males and/or females...which bring my question :
Is there a fish that will be better than the platies themself, Neon Tetra or Rasbora at chasing around and eating the babies as soon as they are born? I was thinking of buying a couple of centerpiece fish, maybe Angels, Discus or Gouramis...will that be good for the "job"?

iamntbatman

Well, I can certainly think of a bunch of fish, but what, exactly, are you trying to accomplish? Do you just want a fish that will control the fry population, or do you want something that will eat the excess adult fish as well? Anything big enough to eat the adults will eat all of them and your tetras and rasboras as well, so you'd need to have it in a separate tank. Something like a Jack Dempsey or Green Terror in a 55g tank would be able to handle all of the extra adult-sized fish.

If you're just looking to give away some of the adults and get a fish that you can keep in your community to control the fry, a dwarf cichlid would do a great job. A ram or Kribensis would eagerly eat any fry they came across. A betta might also work well.

guri

No I don't want something that will eat the adult! I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough but english is not my first language...I wan't some fish that will chase and eat the babies when they are small, quick and hiding (less than 2 week old)...somehow my neon and rasboras seems to be clueless at doing that, giving the number of grown up platies I have after just 3 months...
But thanks a lot for your answer...
Do you think a betta will be quick enough to chase and catch the fry? If so I have 1 in my other aquarium, a 7 Gallon...I'm not sure if he'd do fine at the temperature I keep my main tank (25 celcius)

iamntbatman

What temperature do you keep the betta at now? Bettas are tropical fish, so 25-28C should be just fine for them. The fry are probably faster than the betta, but he will get the jump on them from time to time. A female betta or plakat betta might be a good bit faster.

Edit: you could also scoop the young fry out and place them directly in your betta's tank.

guri

Thanks again...I keep his little tank at 28 celcius and he's in very good shape :8

kamazza

I agree with the rams or Kribensis...very pretty dwarf cichlids that will readily eat any live fish small enough to fit in their mouth. I often treat mine to baby mollies and guppies. The adults will be fine with them, especially since the tank is good sized.

tophat665

The oft overlooked Flag acara (Laetacara curviceps) is another good choice for a fry eating dwarf cichlid . Just got a pair myself.

guri

update : I have bought 4 juvenile german blue rams last weekend. They are about the same size as my adult harlequin rasboras but with a much larger mouth. They seems to be adapting very well to my tank. Very cool fish! Now I wonder why I have always overlook that species untill now. I haven't seen them make a run for any fry so far, but none are less than 4 weeks.
Oh and I've also managed to pick up (only) 4 4-month old baby platies in about 30 minutes, without destroying my tank decoration...I brought them to the local Fish store and they said they would sell them. My platies have gotten nervous since I've done that thought...I hope the rams do a better job at controlling their population.

GuppyColorMaker

That's a beautiful fish species. -stares- I might, accually, get a clownfish or 2 and put them in a 10 gallon. (crosses fingers) Christmas!! Clownfishes are awesome.

tophat665

No no no no no... Please no. First, that's saltwater. Different forum. Second, about the smallest you want for a single clownfish is a 20. Third, unless you luck out and get a mated pair, clownfish are territorial and will beat the snot out of each other if you put two in a small tank.

Clownfish are awesome, it is true, but what that has to do with Platy fry is beyond me.