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I was graced with not one, but two pregnant platys. A mickey and a green lantern. My mickey just gave birth and I can only assume my green lantern isn't far behind. I have never had fry. I have a breeder tank set up for them. It's a 10 gal with a filter, but I need a new heater which I will have tomorrow. I was caught off guard with my mickey. She birthed roughly 20 babies. What are the do's and dont's of rearing platy fry? How long do they take to grow? I know not to put them in my community tank until they are large enough to not be eaten. Any and all advice is welcomed. I'm excited! I feel like a proud grandmother!

I think you're on the right track so far. I don't know about platy fry but guppies take about a month or so before they're too big to be eaten by the other guppy-sized fish. Give the fry some places to hide, but otherwise I think you've got it just about right

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My frys are doing well so far. I still have 5 in my breeder tank and 5 in my community tank. My mickey birthed hers in the community tank sadly. I know it\'s tricky moving them, but they have handled it well. However the mom died this afternoon I\'m assuming it was birth or stress related (I didn\'t move her). Once I got the other tank set up I was able to move mommy #2 over to it. It\'s got two caves and some tall plants. Mommy #2 is in the tank with fry from the first group, but she\'s spending all of her time hiding in the plants and hasn\'t messed with them. Once she has hers I\'ll leave her in the tank for a few days so she won\'t stress as much. I know I run the risk of her eating them, but she has always been docile and hasn\'t bothered the other fry. I love the babies, but I don\'t want to loose her in the process like I did my mickey.

Hi Mortica,
Congratulations on the fry. At first they will hang relatively stationary at the surface and along the corners of the tank. Once they get their "sea legs" underneath them (get over the birthing process) they will become aware of the other fish in the tank, and try to evade them and at the same time try to find food.

The fry will do best in a well planted tank, especially one that has floating plants so that they can hide among the leaves and roots that hang down into the tank. Later, they will start to inhabit the lower reaches of the tank and stay among the plants. If all you have in the tank is other platies then it won't take but a couple of weeks and you will find that they are braver and swimming out in the open areas of the tank as they loose the fear of being food and instead, tankmates.

Now that you have been through these two batches, you should be better equipped for the next. Have the birth tank set up with plenty of plants, use a sponge filter powered by an air pump. Don't use a filter that draws the water through slotted plastic intakes. The babies can get caught in the slats, sliced up by the plastic as the current pulls them through the slats, and the impeller inside the filter will cut them up into chum.
Move the mother into the tank when she starts getting rounded. Once she is done, it would be best to let her rest before you put her back in the main tank. Be sure there are plenty of plants to keep her from eating them, and after a week or so, you can put her back in the main tank. If you put her back in the main tank too soon she will be assaulted by every male in the tank. Let her regain her strength and some fullness before you put her back in with the wolves.

Hope this helps...
Frank


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My fry are getting big

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My Fry are getting big