Help! Fry Alert!

[Proud Pastry]

Hello! Okay, I need someone to tell me EVERYTHING about Platy fry and how to take care of them!!

Apparently one of my platies is pregnant, and the problem is, I have NO idea what one it is! I've seen pictures of pregnant platies, and none of my platies are that big! Also, the fry are orange, and my fattest platy is blue... are all fry orange? or can blue platies have orange fry?

The uber sucky thing is, I was given some bad advice from the woman at the pet store and my tank is not fully cycled, meaning I have a slight ammonia reading of 0.25 ppm. (After doing a ton of research I'm starting to know what I'm doing now haha)
My ammonia is going down thankfully, I'm doing 3 water changes a day and adding salt.
Will my water kill the babies?
The store is closed right now but I'll be buying a breeding box first thing tomorrow for the new babies to stay in. Right now they're in a small fish bowl. Will they be okay over night?

What do they eat?
How often should I feed them?
What do I do when they start to get older, since I do not have another tank?

I'd appreciate any help and advice anyone has to offer! D:
Thank you for reading!!

 

[slimeneo]

Why are you adding salt?

I doubt they can stay in the fish bowl unless it has a cycled filter.. And air pump, heater (if its cold). Make a simple breeder box temporarily, a plastic container or cup will work for now, get a needle and light a candle. Heat the needle over the flame and make really small holes all over the plastic container but they must be small enough so the fry don't escape, but enough of the holes to provide water circulation.

You can crush up the flakes you feed adults, into powder. There's baby food you can buy in your lfs: I use hikari first bites. Feed 3-6 times a day, VERY small amounts.

Your ammonia reading is not good, it can potentially kill the babies or shorten their lifespan (as it damages their gills, probably not great for growth either)

While you're at the lfs tomorrow, ask if you can have a small chunk of mature filter media from a display tank.

 

[Proud Pastry]

Why are you adding salt?

I doubt they can stay in the fish bowl unless it has a cycled filter.. And air pump, heater (if its cold). Make a simple breeder box temporarily, a plastic container or cup will work for now, get a needle and light a candle. Heat the needle over the flame and make really small holes all over the plastic container but they must be small enough so the fry don't escape, but enough of the holes to provide water circulation.

You can crush up the flakes you feed adults, into powder. There's baby food you can buy in your lfs: I use hikari first bites. Feed 3-6 times a day, VERY small amounts.

Your ammonia reading is not good, it can potentially kill the babies or shorten their lifespan (as it damages their gills, probably not great for growth either)

While you're at the lfs tomorrow, ask if you can have a small chunk of mature filter media from a display tank.

My fish were clamping their fins and rubbing into rocks, so I added in some salt to help because of the poor water. Since then they've been doing a lot better No more clamped fins

Alrighty I'll do that, thank you so much!!
I'll continue with the 3 water changes a day and hopefully that will help The ammonia has gone down though, so lets just hope it keeps going down!

 

[Proud Pastry]

Alrighty, I was able to find a plastic box and I used a pin to poke some holes in it. It's now floating in my tank with all the little babies
They should be a little better now since I just changed the water in the tank. I'll be sure to ask for some mature filter media when I go to the store

When should I start feeding them? Now? Later?

 

[Animal Lover 2000]

do they have a bubble thingy on there bellies
if yes its a yolk sac and will live of that till its gone then you should feed them
if no then there hungry
chow time

 

[Proud Pastry]

do they have a bubble thingy on there bellies
if yes its a yolk sac and will live of that till its gone then you should feed them
if no then there hungry
chow time

They look pretty skinny.. but they do have a little round ball where their stomach is, it's not protruding out though. I'll keep an eye on them Thanks for that info!

 

[slimeneo]

do they have a bubble thingy on there bellies
if yes its a yolk sac and will live of that till its gone then you should feed them
if no then there hungry
chow time

They look pretty skinny.. but they do have a little round ball where their stomach is, it's not protruding out though. I'll keep an eye on them Thanks for that info!

Yeah, you can feed them now

 

[Animal Lover 2000]

yep they be hungry

 

[Proud Pastry]

Hmm... They don't seem to be hungry
I turned the food into a very fine power, but they're not going for it.
Should I take the food out, or leave it in in case they do eat it?

 

[slimeneo]

Hmm... They don't seem to be hungry
I turned the food into a very fine power, but they're not going for it.
Should I take the food out, or leave it in in case they do eat it?

Are they not interested, or do they try to eat it and spit it back out again?
I'd say leave it for a few minutes, but if they really aren't touching it, take it out (I use a syringe, although be careful not to accidentally suck up the fry)

 

[Fish Lover Forever]

When the fry are at least 1.8cm ask your local fish shop if they will take them from you. Also ask them for some bags for the fish if you have not already got some. The babies will eat crushed flakes or you can buy some special baby food for them witch is sort of like liquid. Feed them 2 or 3 times a day like you would with your other fish.

 

[Proud Pastry]

The fish aren't interested D: I'll try to take out as much food as I can.

I went to a local fish store today and they said that they'd take them now, I also asked if they'd use them as food for the other fish (because I wouldn't want that!) and they said no, they'd put them in a tank and raise them, so yay!
I also applied there haha I'd just love to work at an aquatics store, plus as an added bonus I could watch over my babies!

 

[Animal Lover 2000]

cool hope you get the job
also feed them a teensy bit every hour and see if they want it

 

[Proud Pastry]

I just took them to the store :3 They were very nice. They said they'd take good care of them and said very confidently that they'd get big
Thank you all for your help! I didn't expect a store to take them so quickly, but I'm happy they did :3

 

[LucyB]

The fish aren't interested D: I'll try to take out as much food as I can.

I went to a local fish store today and they said that they'd take them now, I also asked if they'd use them as food for the other fish (because I wouldn't want that!) and they said no, they'd put them in a tank and raise them, so yay!
I also applied there haha I'd just love to work at an aquatics store, plus as an added bonus I could watch over my babies!

crazy fish lady

I can just imagine going in to buy some platies and you'd be there like "NOT MY BABIES, GET LOST"