New Platies: Got Questions

[theotheragentm]

I have Platies, and one of them was pregnant. It gave birth, and I have the babies in the same water, but separated by a net incubator. I have also been noticing strange behaviour, and I was hoping someone could shed some light on these fish for me. I'm looking for good resources I can read on my own if you have them.

1. I have two yellow, two orange, and two black Platies. They hang out with their own color only almost all the time. Is this normal?

2. The black Platies are the largest, but one is definitely larger than the other. They both appear to be female. The smaller one seems to chase the big one. It'll dart at the big one with its mouth open. The big one has no problems getting away, but this will stop and go. It seems to have no end, but the big one will also swim by the little one later as if it's not bothered, so I don't know what to make of this.

3. What do I feed the babies? I've crushed the normal fish flakes up really tiny, and they seem to eat them, but I don't know if there is something better.

4. The adult fish seem to want to eat non stop. Is this normal or am I not feeding them enough? I'm reading that you should only feed what your fish can eat in 1-3 minutes, but that seems like a lot, since they eat voraciously and non stop.

5. I've read different temperature ranges to keep these fish at, and I'm a bit confused. My water is about 76 degrees, and this seems to be fine. Is that right?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[dwarfgourami]

1. I have two yellow, two orange, and two black Platies. They hang out with their own color only almost all the time. Is this normal?

Yes, I've had similar experiences.


2. The black Platies are the largest, but one is definitely larger than the other. They both appear to be female. The smaller one seems to chase the big one. It'll dart at the big one with its mouth open. The big one has no problems getting away, but this will stop and go. It seems to have no end, but the big one will also swim by the little one later as if it's not bothered, so I don't know what to make of this.

Keep an eye on the one that is chased, if it seems to start hiding, sit still in the same place all the time or not want to eat, you may need to separate them, otherwise they're probably ok

3. What do I feed the babies? I've crushed the normal fish flakes up really tiny, and they seem to eat them, but I don't know if there is something better.

That's fine, just make sure you feed them frequently (4 times a day or so) and clean out uneaten food

4. The adult fish seem to want to eat non stop. Is this normal or am I not feeding them enough? I'm reading that you should only feed what your fish can eat in 1-3 minutes, but that seems like a lot, since they eat voraciously and non stop.

That's platies for you! In the wild they are grazers, so they would typically eat the odd insect or crustacean here and there, but spend most of the day grazig on algae. In capitivity, 2-3 flakes a day is probably all they need, but if you want to give them a bit of interest, feed them a piece of boiled pea or a spinach leaf two or three times a week- also helps to keep them regular; the occasional treat of frozen bloodworm also goes down well

5. I've read different temperature ranges to keep these fish at, and I'm a bit confused. My water is about 76 degrees, and this seems to be fine. Is that right?

Sounds fine.

 

[theotheragentm]

Thanks so much for your answers. I just thought of one. more. At what point is it necessary to remove the fry from the net incubator? They are so small it seems.

 

[mesapod]

well how many fry do you have anyways?
If you onlt have like 3 or 4 ide say keep them in there for about a month if you have more i dont knoow because if you keep them in there too long it will stunt their growth

 

[theotheragentm]

I have six. They're definitely not fighting for space. I guess I'll see how quickly they grow.

well how many fry do you have anyways?
If you onlt have like 3 or 4 ide say keep them in there for about a month if you have more i dont knoow because if you keep them in there too long it will stunt their growth

 

[mesapod]

Ok well i hope everything works out for you
Good Luck
Kevin