FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have a lovely sunset platy and four female guppies who are always pregnant. I was going to let them get eaten, well i let the first lot go too early and they all got eaten except one.

any how i have the survivors of about three batches all born over the last three weeks or so.

i have had a big swop round recently and ended up with a 20 gallon tank(i did really well since I swopped it for a fifteen and I still have a six gallon to sell, although now i have a laptop i have room for a new betta tank ho hum decisions decisions)

the 20 is for the fry, i have at least twenty and I know they won't all survive, but it is the best i can do andi have two homes plus the lfs to farm them out to if they get big enough etc.

I am going to get brine shrimp on friday and some daphnia(sp) for them. I am feeding them fry food twice a day. the tank is planted and has a sand substrate. it is cycled- i kept thetwo internal filters running from the fifteen in my 25 G and the tank has been running for a couple of week with three danios in it.

they look soooooo small, like little water fleas. i am really looking forward to watching them grow up.

any how i shall be showing off lots.

see you all later.

gfg

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

You can feed the fry more often if possible. In a 20 gallon they swim more and can get tired easier. If you are available to feed them more often, I would recommend 4-6 feedings a day.

Great Swop btw!

Congrats on the 20g and the fry

I agree with frequent feedings, my fry eat at least 3-4 times a day. More frequent water changes are a plus as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I'm so happy for you! We too have a nursery - 10 gal - and have spent much time watching growth, colorization and personalities evolve... Enjoying every minute! Except for 3 platy fry "rescued" from our 55 gal community tank, the rest of the nursery residents (about 40-50 platy fry) came from the same birth.... Their mother was a beautiful blue and white platy - and those colors are beginning to dominate the tank.... But we also see some orange "patches" on some of the fry and black spots - which isn't surprising, since our most "randy" male platy carries those colors and is spotted...
Our babies are about 5-6 weeks old now and though they vary in size, the average would be about 1/2"....
Only recently have we experienced the grim reaper - 5 baby platy have been victimized by getting trapped in one of the filters... I have noticed that these deaths have occurred at night - when the tank light was turned off... So I believe I will leave their light on at all times to see if this will prevent any more from dying.... Initially, we fed the fry "First Bites" - gradually adding crushed flakes and then baby brine shrimp - and at present, feed the fry a menu of all three types of food on a rotating basis - feeding them a minimum of 3 times a day. Except for the filter deaths, all are healthy, lively and thriving!
I hope you find as much pleasure in watching your babies develop as we have! Again, Congratulations!


To thine own self be true...

I hava a 10 gal for this also, talk away bahoobaaa

The Amazon Nut...

I have a 20 gal set up for this as well. Most of the fry are about 3 months old now and it has been fun watching them grow. They are all red wag platys... except one. "Peach" is a light peach colour with an orange tail and dorsal fin and a little black at the base of her tail. Her parents are both red wags and she came from the same drop as the others. She's a beauty. I also have a 2 gal set up for the new fry, 9 of which are about 5 weeks old, one 2 weeks old (born on my daughter's birthday and named "Mini-Meg" ) and 2 molly fry who are 5 days old.

dreamweaver8891 - I had one of my babies get caught in the filter too. Fortunately, with some TLC, my little guy survived. Jake suggested I place a piece of nylon stocking with a rubberband to hold it on top, around the filter intake. This will keep any more fish from being sucked up.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-07-15 00:52][/span]

Or you can stick a piece of filter sponge in the intake. I stopped using my small corner filter as not enough water movement did not do me any favors with my otos.

The Amazon Nut...

well my babies seem to be doing good so far. the filter needs cleaning but i am not too keen on disturbing things, i have done careful water changes and the water tests ok, but i need to do someting for the circulation.

the first lot are growing nicely but i keep adding new babies - all guppies.my platy fry didn't seem to survive as well, i only have two left! (my mum and dad platies are ill are the moment something bacterial - going skinny with white poop i am treating with myxazin twice a day)

it is odd, mostly the babies appear to be female and one colour is dominant even though i had four different parents, the blue females make up the majority of the fry.

has anyone else had this happen?

GFG
xx

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

i keep my 13 guppie fry 3 weeks old that are in a 5 gallon bucket, i have 7 fancy i think red or orange sword tail fry 2 weeks old in a 3 gallon bucket, and all the parents being treated for ick BUT the are all ging to live, they are eating and mateing just being live bearers and i have lots more guppies coming soon, got a heavely pregnant yellow female, i now only have 2 adults left, 1 male got eaten and an other just died for no reason, i got 4 plattys, still havent looked for genders but i got 3 sunset mickey mouses and a blue spot mickey, i had a pure sunset but he too died, then i have 4 green sword tails, and i guess thats all the live bearers

My fry tank is just starting to get where I want it..

Setup, 10 gal, stock canopy with one 11 watt compact floro, 6700K. (room for 1 more) Java Ferns, small pieces of many other plant bits, a shell from Africa, and flat rocks which resemble tiger eye. Penguin mini with bio wheel & heater.

I had alot of probs in this tank by doing the following.
1. relying on a small box corner filter. Not enough water movement.. Tons of fry died off.

2. I did not realize how sensitive fry are to nitrates.
Keep it below 15ppm. I have to keep it at 15 to sustain algae growth for the otos.

Four otos, 2 guppy fry, 1 or 2 platy fry... And many more on the way I hope !

I would switch to just breeding platies (for feeders for my oscar) but guppys win hands down for color. Mix of psycadelic and cobra guppy males with fancy female guppys chosen by tail/fin color and shape.


The Amazon Nut...