suprise baby platies!

rocksout4cheese

so i was just going over to feed the platies in my 10 gal, and noticed some teeny little things swimming around. i'm not sure in all how many there were, i suspect the filter probably got any that i didn't scoop up and isolate. i put six or seven in a plastic "breeder trap", i don't plan on using it in the future, but i have nothing to protect them from the filter intake and do not have enough plants. and they're so teeny and cute i couldn't help but try to save some of them! any advice on how to best take care of these guys? and what i should be looking for next time one of my fish is going to be giving birth???

willow

aww congrats. :)
i would be inclined to check your filter,
as i have found platy and gupy fry in my canister filters
befor and they were perfectly happy swimming around,
you can keep them in the breeder net,untiil you feel
they are big enough to look after themselves in the main tank,
they will be ok,if there is plenty of plants to hide in.
you can feed them with liquid fry food,or crushed up flake.

southafrica1001

aww sweet good luck with them, ive also had to my fry in a breeding net as i only have a small tank and they wouldnt last long with the betta i had and have now.
willow i think my fry are old and big enough to be in the tank now but last time i tried it one of they fry had a chunk taken out of her/his fin, and my betta thought they were live food? im to worried to try again but i know its not good to keep them in the breeding trap for to long any tips?

willow

any chance of there own little tank ?
if not,then you will have to leave them in the net until they are considerably(sp) big enough to beable to hold their own,
how big is the tank they are in now ?

southafrica1001

well i am cycling a 29g now for my other fish so when thats done the fry will have the 8g to themselves

willow

well umm,try and hang out for the 8 to be ready.
the other possibility os to put a devider i the tank
so the Betta can't get to them perhaps. ?

southafrica1001

yea i was just going to wait for the 8 gallon to be empty, i cant find dividers in the petshop i go to, they had tto make the fish section smaller as they have had to move a few times so there isint alot of things but it is still the best quality. thanks willow for your help,
and good luck rocksout4cheese :D

willow

no problem,glad i could help. :)

Oldman47

Sounds to me like you already have a divider in the form of a breeder trap. The real question is which would be better off in it? Is it the betta or the fry. To me it would depend on how many fry and how big they are.

abbye

You can look after fry by doing regular water changes and by feeding little and often. If you want to look out for signs of pregnancy, look for a female gaining weight and gaining appetite! I have a pregnant platy who is simply ravenous at the moment! It is quite obvious when they're heavily pregnant because their bellies become big and darker when they are about to give birth (the gravid spot - the fries' eyes inside her). She will also hide a lot more when she is close to giving birth.