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i have this platy that has been pregnant for to long.i do water changes and have put her in her own bowl and breeding trap and she just does nothing. i dont know if the male was sterille but im going to get a male to put with her. maybe she will do something.got any suggestions.

she will probably drop them when she is ready, moving her from the tank into a bowl/trap on her own would have stessed her, this will cause her to hold on the the fry for longer, just leave her alone and wait.

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

I agree keep moving her around will stress the fish.

thanks well shes in a breeders trap know ... put her in yesterday... and im leaving her

mine would never drop in a breeder... so I put her back in the tank, did a 20% water change, and threw in some hornwort... next morning I had fry.... just a suggestion.

-Beth

Same thing happened here - platy pregnant forever. Several of my platy fry have survived though, with no special attention or breeding trap.

well, I have a MM Platy that is in a breeder right now and she's dropping them right and left...UGH, she's going to the local 5th grade science room soon (well, when she's done having babies) so hopefully she won't drop too many. I've already gotta buy a new tank for a nursery.

I've never had to do this... but I have heard that increasing the water temp a bit might help the pregnant fish give birth.... As far as the breeding net goes - I'd discard it! As has already been said, the stress is just too much! I originally bought 2 and soon realized it was simply a waste of money! Her own bowl? Well, that would depend on the size of the bowl, if it has adequate filtration, heat, and circulation....
Frankly, I'd try leaving her in the setting to which she is accustomed - providing breeding grass and/or plants... We have a large community tank of cories, otos, bettas, platys, and even an angel ---- and believe it or not, we've had fry survive to adulthood! The fry seem to instinctively realize the danger and dig themselves deep into the gravel until they reach the "non-edible" size.....
Hope all works out for you!

To thine own self be true...

Good tips, for community tank livebearer breeding..

Guppys - put in breeder tank a few days before drop time.. They say breeding traps are stressors but for guppys, but the males will stop harrasing her, after a day she'll be able to relax.. Keep mom in breeder for 2 days after drop time to recuperate, then place her back in the tank.. Day 4 or 5 after fry are born, they can be moved to fry tank. Make sure tank temps are equal.. And nitrates are very low as fry are sensitive to it. My fry tank currently has 7 nitrates and I'll let it go no higher than 15, I like 15 to support algae and plant growth as I add no ferts or co2 in there, it's all natural and the Otos need algae. There's an excess of algae growth right now but the fry will also nibble that between feedings.

Platys - are born smarter, sturdier, faster, and more able to hide than guppys. They blend into the gravel, and love to hide in plants.. I have a row of H Polysperma along the back wall of the tank.. The fry hide there. No breeding trap required. Then to try and not lose any, soon as I see them I catch them and place in the fry tank.
I would not net guppy fry on day one as they're too weak then.
Platys grow 4 times faster then guppys..
I keep the tanks at 78, if a guppy won't drop, I wait it out, but you could do a partial water change and slowly bring the tank to 80.
Hope this helps !

The Amazon Nut...

you find your platys grow 4 times faster than guppies? wow. I find the other way around. My platys stay tiny for ever, long long after the guppies have rejoined their parents in the big tank.


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I think breeders are a personal choice. I've always used them and never had any trouble w/my fry or my mommas. I lose all the fry when I leave them in my big tank. I am getting a 29 and 10gal tank later today when my hubby gets home so I'm excited! The fry will be going into the 10gal once it's up and running and the 29 gal is still a toss up. I'm thinking about putting 1 set of my tetras in it and a few other fish as well as a snail....NO more placos for me b/c they grow way too fast and big for what I have right now. Well, talk to ya'll later!
Robin

Won't take you long to fill that 10 gal with fish, I recommend saving the larger tank for later because if you're not sick of guppies by then, you'll prob want to do a nice planted tank with gups galore..

And yes, I also researched guppy and platy breeding alot before and it's common for platys to grow THREE times as fast as guppys.. Saying 4 I maybe exagerated. If you have the opposite this is not the norm. But that's cool that yours are doing so well

The Amazon Nut...