[Fuzz]

New here but with some questions.

. I have 1 sunburst platie
. I have 2 Plecos
. I have 4 guppies one female
. 5 neon tetras
. and some babies that I have no clue who they belong to!

Sorry I dont have any pictures to show you.

Okay, to get right to the point. I believe my sunburst is a female and I bought her prego. Also is she a livebearer? I think she is because I see what I believe to be babies inside of her. There is three right now that I know of light orange tiny babies in my 10g tank. (I know a lot of fish) But I dont know if its the sunbursts or my female guppies. I cant tell because they are so small and orange. I have a male Bright orange guppie which could be the father. But then again I see babies or fry if thats what you call them. in the "female" sunburst platie. I need some real help even if its just tips. Thank you!

Megan....

 

[girlofgod]

Hi Megan! welcome to the forum.

you are right in guessing that the sunburst platys are livebearers. and it is indeed acceptable to assume that she was preggers when you bought her. most female livebearers can have fry every 28 days, and some can have several btches of fry with ONE single pairing with a male!

it is also likely that they could be guppy fry as well, if you have both male and female guppies in your tank. unfortunately, with them being so small, it will be hard to tell which type of fish they are until they are larger.

both guppies and platies are livebearers, and are very prolific. so the chances that you will be able to raise babies are very high if you have both male/female livebearers. some recommend that you provide extra cover for the babies...i.e.fry grass, plants, etc. there is also special food you can buy for fry, but not having had any fry myself, i'm not sure if it's really worth the trouble. you could probably just use a turkey baster to squirt some flakes down to where the fry are.

my brother has a sunburst platy that he can "see" the babies inside of when she swims under the light.

good luck! and let us know if you have anymore questions!

Bri

 

[Fuzz]

Thank you so much for your help! With what you said my guess is going to the sunburst. I'll be glad of anymore help!

 

[fish_4_all]

One thing to consider also is that guppies and mollies will interbreed. I guess it isn't a big deal but for the trade, don't sell the fish if there is ever a question on interbreeding.

It is common to have thyem be prego when you get them. I try not to get prego swords and platties because they never seem to live for me past the first spawn for some reason. The babies are safer in with guppies and mollies because they aren't as bad at eating their fry as swords and platties. Some plants could help but with a 10 gallon I don't know if you want that many to survive anyway. Good luck with them and if you do interbreed, you can get some nice colors and variations but again, please don't sell them back to the LFS.

 

[Fuzz]

hmmm, are you saying that the male guppies could be the sire?

I also dont know what to do with the babies. I have to get rid of some fish. I have too many. Anything extra I should do?

 

[Lupin]

hmmm, are you saying that the male guppies could be the sire?

Not necessarily. Either the mollies or guppies will do.

I also dont know what to do with the babies. I have to get rid of some fish. I have too many. Anything extra I should do?

Either you give them away to your friends or feed them to the other fish. If I were near you, I could ask some and feed them to my angelfish.:mrgreen:
There's no need to separate the fry from the main tank. Let nature take its course and you'll be left with the strongest fry. Weaker ones along with deformed ones will be culled via predation.

 

[bettababy]

I didn't see mentioned anywhere, but I'm concerned for that one female guppy. The males are known to chase the females until they exhaust them to death, so are advised 2 females for each male. You have 3 males and 1 female, which means she's going to have no peace. I would suggest getting rid of her, since the tank is over populated to begin with, she'd be a logical choice to rehome. I can't suggest adding enough females to ratio 3 males, because you already have hit your fish limit in that size of a tank.

 

[Fuzz]

hmmm, as I did notice they were always around her. I never thought of that! I am definately going to rehome them or well you know. :lol:

As for the other babies in side of the femal sun, its been a week seince the other ones were born. How long for the others?

Thanks for your help again!

Megan.... :wink:

 

[Lupin]

As for the other babies in side of the femal sun, its been a week seince the other ones were born. How long for the others?

I'd say your female may have got gravid again.:wink2: So expect a new batch in about 3 weeks.:mrgreen:

 

[bettababy]

Average gestation period is 3 - 4 wks.

 

[Fuzz]

The reason I asked was because I see babies inside her the same size of the born ones.


When can I clean my fish tank out?

 

[fish_4_all]

Clean it out, not sure what to say. If you mean clean out the babies, do it now if you want. If you mean gravel vacs then the female being prego doesn't mean you can't clean the tank and do a water change.

 

[Fuzz]

I mean like taking the fish out and changing the tiny rocks to pebbles. I want to do that and rinse the filter.

 

[bettababy]

There is no reason to remove a fish from a tank during cleaning. All that does is cause further stress to the animal, weaken it's immune system, and can be deadly. No change in any established aquarium should be so drastic that it shocks the fish. Water changes should be done at least weekly, 20 - 25%, and gravel vacs once/month. When doing gravel vacs, do NOT clean filter media at the same time. Wait at least a few days after the gravel vac. You don't want to deplete your bacteria culture too much, and especially in a tank with fry, you don't want water quality or temp to jump drastically. Small but frequent changes is always the safest way to clean any tank. When cleaning filter media, do NOT rinse it under the tap. Any amount of chlorine coming from the tap water will kill the bacteria culture. Always use a bit of dirty tank water taken right from the tank to clean the media. You can do this and call it a small water change which is healthy. If you tank isn't overcrowded and/or overfed, there should be no need to do more than basic maintenance as I just desribed.

If intending to move the fish to a different tank, then we're talking a whole different story in setting up the new tank and getting it ready for them. If you need that kind of help, just ask, I can walk you through that, too.
Is there a reason for wanting to change the gravel at the bottom? If not, then I'd say don't do it. At least, not now. With fry in the tank, this isn't the time to be upsetting the biological cycle. In replacing the gravel at the bottom you will greatly hurt your bacteria culture, which can cause a tank to go through something called a "mini cycle". Waste levels will spike for a little while because there suddenly isn't enough bacteria to keep up with it, and as the culture seeds from filter media and decorations, plants, etc., the waste will go through the same breakdown process as when the tank was brand new and first cycled. The term "mini" come from the idea that there is SOME culture left in your system, so it doesn't usually take as long to replenish itself as when starting brand new. Even these "mini cycles" are highly toxic to all of the fish, but especially the fry.
Does this help?

 

[fish_4_all]

The way most change a substrate assuming it is not a completely different one is to remove about 30% each time until it is all changed over. Each change is done with your weekly water change. I have even seen some that will set up the gravel in a bucket with an airstone with some of the old gravel so that the bacteria can colonize on the new gravel so there is less chance of a mini cycle. Treat the new gravel the same as you would a new tank cycle by adding fish food, a small piece of prawn or ammonia in small amounts to keep the bacteria fed. Still only want to change out a max of 50% each time but this is safer than removing the established gravel and putting in uncolonized gravel.

If you want to, simply add some of the smaller gravel if this is an issue of worrying about the fry getting into the large gravel and not getting out. I have never had an issue except with cory fry and then I kept them in a breeder net long enough for them to be free swimming.

 

[Fuzz]

Hmmm, It kinda helps except I dont really want to clean out the tank just change the rocks because of issues I have with them. So bascially all I got from that was that I just shouldnt clean the tank or it will kill all my fish.

 

[fish_4_all]

Ok, this will get varied replies from others and I have enver done it but I will let you know anyway.

I know others that have changed their substrate completely from gravel to sand, Profile and even eco complete. They did all at one time and did not have any problems. The theory behind it is that as long as you don't have an undergravel filter the amount of beneficial bacteria is minimul and will not cause a mini cycle. As for the babies in the substrate, they will either run away or you can catch them and put them back by taking the old grvel and slowly adding it to a bucket of tank water to see if any are in there.

You can change it all at once and you may not have any problems. You may get a mini cycle but water changes will help with any mini cycle and it wold only last a week at most.

I hope that helps a little more.

 

[Fuzz]

okay, so bascilly I should just not change the rocks for a while? I'm confused.

 

[fish_4_all]

If you want to, you can change the gravel now. You just need to be ready to change some water on a daily basis for up to a week if you start seeing traces of ammonia or nitrites. As long as you have a test kit, you can change it and just test the tank the day after to make sure you don't have any ammonia and continue to test for about a week to make sure you don't get a mini cycle.

It is highly unlikely you will kill any of the fry in the tank by changing the gravel. An ammonia spike is more likely to do it but again, if you watch the ammonia and test it shouldn't be a problem.

I know it can be confusing but we will get you through it and keep your tank and fish happy and healthy.

 

[bettababy]

If you decide to change the gravel, I agree, it should be done all at once. What you don't want to do is change the gravel at the same time you're changing filter media. I would suggest a 5 - 10% water change each day for a week after doing it, simply taking water from the top, leaving the gravel alone. The water changes will help to keep you safe from any mini cycle that is likely to happen, and that will ensure your fry pull through. The trick is to not change too much at once, so keep it small and simple, and go easy on the feedings. I would slow feeding down to every other day, and give them about 1/2 of what you normally do, for 1 - 2 wks. This will minimize the waste, and keepammonia and nitrite spikes lower during a mini cycle.