Breeding platties or guppies in my community tank....
 

I'm seriously looking into breeding platties or guppies. I currently have a 20 gallon community with 3 male red wag platties, 5 zebra danios, 2 mystery snails, and a flame gourami. I have one corner of the tank heavily planted for Py the Gourami.

I have a 1 gallon betta tank for use as a hospital tank.

Could I breed platties or guppies in my community tank and save a few to raise in my 1 gallon? Would the other fish be able to eat enough of the fry to keep from over populating?

(Seeing as how I've already got 3 male platties, I'm thinking that I'll have to go to guppies to breed so I don't have to get 6 or so females.)

you should be good to start off with but keep in mind when you get your fish the ratio recomended is 1 male to three females i personally breed both and keep a usual 1 male to 5 females to help keep every one calm and relaxed plus the reduced attention from the male keeps the fry healthier....

But won't all your females foal, wait foal isn't the right word... you know what I mean, at the same time? What do you do with all the fry?

no they don't often you get them fromthe LFS already pregnant and if the male does not get to them right after they drop they may have a few more drops from the previous donor. even if not often they have a way of spacing it out ... i get about one drop every week to two weeks.. as i just got started its been good had somesmall issues and lost one batch of fry do to an unfortunate heater accident but it was my own fault. :(...... things are getting better now.. i have 10 fry and three mama's ready to drop in the next 48 hours.... i hope :)

so do you pick say 10 out of a batch to keep?

no ten was all i found last time around i think some were eaten..... i have one droping now and i an getting the fry as they are born.. i dont like putting the mama's in those birth corrals it stresses them far to much so i just net them and take them to the baby tank... as they age i may keep the really nice looking ones and sell the rest or trade with people for gear :)...

Would a 5 gallon be a good fry raising tank? My i gallon betta tank will be way too smal methinks.

I found a petstore that will take fry! (Though they have to be of sellable size.) At what age are they sexually mature?

i use them both.. i start them off in a 1 or 2 gal and after they are a little bigger say 2-3 weeks i move them tothe five and then use a 10 if needed ... very happy that you r LFS will buy them :) ! usually thy will take them at 3/4 inch or so. as for sexual maturity usually 1 inch. however you can tell male from female after three weeks (some say one but the bits and pieces are a bit small for my eyes LOL....

Lol! I think I'm going to play Darwin and have them birth in the main tank, pick some good looking ones to save, and then I'll definately seperate the genders once I can tell.

Hmm... I could use the fiver for the females I don't want bred... *evil laugh*

I see 1 problem....all the fish you have in your tank right now will almost instantly eat the fry, especially if you only have 2-3 female guppies. this is a problem when we try to play Darwin you will find if you go all natural (no fry net or breeding cartriage) that you will have 1 or 2 fry that may or may not be good looking.

I did a similar setup a few years ago. I put the gourami in a different tank and put in a bunch of plants for the fry. I also had a fry cartriage where i could keep the fry until a heathy age where they were big enough 2-3 weeks later.

good luck and post some pics when you get the new guppies : )