Livebearer Breeding Questions From A Experienced Fish Keeper :*

[BWBettas]

Ok, im looking to buy some platties to breed in my 10 gallon. Now how many would fit in there and how quickly will they breed?

 

[Annastasia]

I'd start with a trio. 2 females, 1 male. You'll soon have tons of fry, especially since it seems like you only want Platies, no other fish. Platies aren't huge fry eaters, but they will eat some. The females will have fry about once a month...and they can have up to 70 fry per batch...so you can figure out, that's a lot of fry. Do you have bigger tanks you could put them in? Do you have a way to get rid of them? Are you raising them all, or doing a survival of the fittest?

You really need to think through what you are going to do with all the fry before you start breeding. It's very fun to breed, and very rewarding, but you want your fish to have a good life too. So you need to plan ahead, then you should go ahead and breed.

 

[dwarfgourami]

How many will fit in a 10 gallon- is that the parents or parents+fry? Do you have a growing-out tank or will the fry be growing up in the same tank? Remember that you will not be able to sell the young platies until they can be sexed - and by this time they will have at least 2 lots of younger siblings.

A 10 gallon tank is about the right size for 5 adult platies. A female platy has a pregnancy of 4-6 weeks, will produce at least 20-40 fry, can give birth to at least 7 batches from one mating, and will often be pregnant from the shop. Once she has started she will have another batch of fry about once a month. Add those figures together and you will see that you can end up with an awful lot of fry. If kept with the parents in a 10 gallon tank, you can rely on a fair few being eaten though. If you intend to rescue all the fry and let them grow up in breeders nets you can expect to get an illuminating insight in the mathematical phenomenon known as exponential growth. Of fish AND new tanks (still hoping to persuade my family). But they are little cuties and it is great fun to watch them grow.

 

[BWBettas]

ill just do survival of the fittest plus not being mean but the runts act as food really and the adults will thrive plus my mate has like a 300gallon half empty tank nly couple fo fihs in it offload couple of em in there and he can sort it out

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

ill just do survival of the fittest plus not being mean but the runts act as food really and the adults will thrive plus my mate has like a 300gallon half empty tank nly couple fo fihs in it offload couple of em in there and he can sort it out

Thats certainly not a responsable way to breed fish, you should at least try to do a tiny bit of research yourself before posting these sorts of threads though. The adult fish do not always eat the fry and you shouldn't expect a friend to take off your fish when you do not know what he even currently has in his tank- you should read this topic;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=111111

And these pinned articles on keeping livebearers and basic breeding info;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=99216

As these threads have all the basic info you need to know.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

You should also bear in mind, chances are the females will already be pregnant when you get them. My first girl, who I still have and just produced fry, had some within 4 days of coming home to me.
If you actually want a few to survive then provide a few hiding spots. Like bushy live plants etc.
Be sure that you are getting what you ask for too. Some stores will fetch your fish without making sure they really are female or male. And watch for possible harrassment issues from the male. He had to seperated from my girls for a while being that he was causing stress with his constant harruanging. Now he has more girls to fly between and an enormous tank it makes things a whole lot easier on the girls.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Ddraig Goch]

If you ARE considering breeding Platys, then you should know that fry need VERY clean water, and frequent water changes. Also high protein foods are recommended for the parent fish after giving birth, and for the fry to grow well.

After reading your post 'Help Needed Schoolboy In Trouble Options', I'm not sure that breeding fish is a wise idea for you. Please consider the work involved BEFORE you start this project.

 

[BWBettas]

before everyone has a go at me i have seuccesfully bred swordtails ebfore to dulthoos and i meant in my first post that my friend is looking for more ish so he would "BUY" them off me and im looking for a python cleaner plus i hvae a otn of java moss in a goldfish bowl that im growing

 

[rachelbatchelor]

Hiya.

Ive just read through your other thread again http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=111088&st=0

Are you sure that you are ready to start breeding fish???

 

[Lynden]

Breeding platys is very easy, a complete idiot can buy a pregnant female and watch her plop out babies. Also, they can tolerate the exact same water types as the parents can, maybe even worse. I always used to breed platys, its more successful with more males than females, and to conceal them, just add a few bushy plants. And, although i love them, platys are not the sharpest chainsaws in the toolshed, and sometimes mistake individuals of a different colour for a different species.


Just my personal expirience.

-lynden


P.S., Xiphophorus variatus is easier to breed than X. maculata. Whoopah!

 

[Ddraig Goch]

Breeding platys is very easy, a complete idiot can buy a pregnant female and watch her plop out babies. Also, they can tolerate the exact same water types as the parents can, maybe even worse. I always used to breed platys, its more successful with more males than females, and to conceal them, just add a few bushy plants. And, although i love them, platys are not the sharpest chainsaws in the toolshed, and sometimes mistake individuals of a different colour for a different species.


Just my personal expirience.

-lynden


P.S., Xiphophorus variatus is easier to breed than X. maculata. Whoopah!

Platy fry may be able to tolerate 'worse' water types than their parents but many of them will die. As for having more males than females, this will stress out the females and they will not live as long as they should, also the males will fight to gain a pecking order, and some will become weak and be more prone to disease.
Although breeding Platys this way can work, it isn't the best way to go about it.

 

[Annastasia]

I totally agree with Ddraig Goch. Just because you can keep them that way, doesn't mean you should.

Now, I'm not attacking you Chestnut, and that wasn't aimed at you. Platies are pretty easy to breed, and they are pretty darn hardy as fish fry go, I agree. The one thing I don't agree with, is the more males then females. As Draig mentioned, it does put more stress on the females in long run, which will lead to shorter lifespans.

Glad to hear you had good luck breeding Platies though.