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Hurry help me my platty fry is only staying in the gravel it wont come out of it. Today i looked at my tank and i saw some baby fish in the gravel so when i moved the gravel the fish started to swim more in to the gravel. i found 3 like that i am worried that there is more and the wont find their way out of the gravel... what should i do? Should i take out all the gravel from the tank and leave it bare? what would happen if i do take the gravel out?Hurry help me plz:#(

You'll have to take the fry out before you can take the gravel out. Use a cup and scoop the fry out as gently as possible. If you have to take some gravel in the cup in order to get them out safely, do so. Then you can take out the gravel. Just a word of advice in the future, you should never have gravel in a tank when you have fry too. It prevents complications like the one you have now .

Then i should leave the tank bare? Or should i put something else to replace the gravel if so what should i put?

Are the babies actually stuck in the gravel, or are they just hiding in there? Can they still move around? I've always had fry that hid in my gravel, and it was fine. Maybe you could pick up some java moss, which is great protection for fry.

Please wait and make sure they're really stuck in the gravel before revoming them, because fry are very delicate and can be harmed in the process of removing them and the gravel, and some could still be in the gravel when you dispose of it.

How old are the babies? I've raised plenty of fry with gravel, and I really think they're just using it for protection, but then again I could be wrong.

Please let us know, and congrats on your new babies!

I am not sure if they are stuck or hiding should i leave them? they are pretty small they look a day old. and they are about 1 cm down in the gravel

I'm almost positive they're just hiding. It's a natural instinct they do so other fish won't eat them. As I said before, I raised plenty of fry that hid in the gravel that grew up normally and were fine.

Leave them in there, and leave the gravel in there also. Do you have any plants for them to hide in? If not, please get some for their protection, because once they get bigger they can't hide in the gravel as well. Java moss is a great live plant, but plastics work fine. Get some that are low to the ground and thick.

Good luck!

When I've had fry in the gravel, they usually are gone by the next day. I could never tell, though, if they moved to a different location or if they were sucked up by a catfish.
For the most part, I think that if the fry are able to wriggle into the gravel, they will likely be able to wriggle out.
When I've had this issue and wanted to keep the fry, I've always put the fry in a bare bottom tank. It makes them more active and more likely to find food during feeding time. Unfortunately, getting them out of the gravel required a LOT of time. In order to do things safely, I removed the gravel one by one.

kk thanks for the help what other plants other than java moss should i get?