Possible fry action tonight, would like help quickly

Hi,

I think my new white calico redtail platy might be getting ready to drop fry. She has a large gravid spot, and I can see what I believe are eyes inside the spot. I also noticed a white thing starting to come from under her tail, which from what I know might be the birthing tube. She is in a 10g quarantine tank with a female bumblebee platy and two nerite snails. I just got all four from my LFS yesterday. I would like to save all/most of the fry if possible, but my parents are not going to let me stay up all night however much I want to. I have a video of her uploading to my photos, and once it is done I will upload it to YouTube. It has a couple good shots of the gravid spot and what might be the birthing tube.
I have a breeder box, but I know that is not optimal for the mom because she might freak out and abort the babies/hurt herself. I have a 3.5g bucket with a lid-like cover that I could put her in, but I have nothing for the fry to hide in at that point. I have a mat with close together fake plants in the 10g that I got when I thought a different platy might be pregnant. There is a sponge cover over the filter tube.

Does anyone have suggestions that would help save most of the babies but at the same time not stress the mom out terribly without much human intervention?
(edited to remove spam link)

Have lots of plants in the tank and remove the males. Feed the adults well (3-5 times a day) and most of the babies should survive long enough so you can scoop them out and put them in a separate tank or breeding net.

Colin_T said:

Have lots of plants in the tank and remove the males. Feed the adults well (3-5 times a day) and most of the babies should survive long enough so you can scoop them out and put them in a separate tank or breeding net.

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I don't have any males or plants in the tank, and I don't have any plants that I could add except for duckweed which I don't think will help a whole lot.

foxgirl158 said:

I don't have any plants that I could add except for duckweed

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The duckweed might help a bit, they could hide under it for an hour or two until you can get to them.
Add fake plants, leaf litter, branches, even wool spawning mops - anything (safe) that can shelter them for a while.

UPDATE:
My intuition was correct!
I was able to find and collect in a small cup 8 live babies. Unfortunately, at least two of them died in the cup, and I found at least 5 carcasses while I was combing the gravel. The combination of the gravel and the two fake plants allowed the 8 to live as long as they did. I now have them all (including the two dead ones for now) in a breeder box in the tank. What now?

You can see the two dead in this picture.

I have a feeling the one in front won't last very long either, they don't have a sac for some reason and they keep spinning when they swim.

Will the heart keep beating even though the fry is dead? I can still see the heart beat inside one of the supposed dead fry, but they aren't moving or breathing as far as I can see.

They are premature and might be alive. The orange yolk sac should be gone when they are born. If the babies weren't injured, they can survive like that and keep developing. If they are alive they should start swimming in a week.

Colin_T said:

They are premature and might be alive. The orange yolk sac should be gone when they are born. If the babies weren't injured, they can survive like that and keep developing. If they are alive they should start swimming in a week.

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Really? The sac should be gone? All of them except one still have it, and the one that doesn’t is very tiny and keeps twirling which I read is a sign of brain damage. All of them can swim and move, a fact I know because I spent two hours combing the substrate and chasing them this morning.

The premature birth was likely caused by her being caught at the LFS. This is why it is not recommended to move a pregnant fish (like you said in post #1 about not using the breeder box for mum). Shame the LFS didn't take her off sale.

Naughts said:

The premature birth was likely caused by her being caught at the LFS. This is why it is not recommended to move a pregnant fish (like you said in post #1 about not using the breeder box for mum). Shame the LFS didn't take her off sale.

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What should I do? Is there any chance some might survive? I was so excited

Leave them in the breeding trap and see how they go. Offer small amounts of food and see if they eat anything.

foxgirl158 said:

What should I do? Is there any chance some might survive? I was so excited

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1 or 2 look ok. Like Colin said, give them time. Fingers crossed for them

Colin_T said:

Leave them in the breeding trap and see how they go. Offer small amounts of food and see if they eat anything.

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I gave them a little bit of crushed flake food, but I think it was too big. I can offer more later that’s smaller

Ok. My bumblebee platy might also be getting ready to drop. Can someone confirm this? I have a video uploading that I will post with better angles, but from what I can tell, her gravid spot is very dark, I see the white with the black ring near her anal fin, she's squared off and hiding/being still under my plant mat. I also had to remove my white calico because she kept darting and nipping at her, she is currently in a half gallon with her water and a heating pad wrapped around the tank to keep her warm. Is that a sign too? Could she have been trying to drive the bumblebee away because she knows babies are weaknesses? I have no clue. Please help. I don't want most of the babies to be eaten again. I also don't want to leave the calico in the half gal overnight or any longer than I have to because it's not heated and doesn't have a filter.
(edited to add the bit about my calico)

Here's the video