platy fry staying on top of the tank

[Lizy33]

Hello everyone. I am new. Last week I bought some fish and Last night I discovered some platy fry hidding in the gravel of my 10 gallons aquarium. I got some of the same gravel and water from the aquarium into a smaller recipient and moved the fry there. Last night they were all swimming in the bottom and hiding in the gravel or staying near the gravel. This morning they are all swimming above and staying up the surface of the water. The water quality is the same as the aquarium i didn't add anything new, kept feeding the fry the same food i was feeding the tank where i found them. I don't know if they are swimming out of the gravel now and staying on top because they realize there are no other bigger fish around, or if something is wrong. I don't know if this is normal or not. I also have no idea how old are they because I just discovered them but they look so big to have just come out of the female platy's belly ! and what should I do with them? I'm moving my fish in about a month to a bigger tank, I'm thinking at least 50 gal tank so I don't mind keeping this fry i just dont want them to keep multiplying. Thanks for all your help.

 

[Byron]

The fry of livebearers tend to remain near the surface; it is good to have some floating plants. They feel secure there.

Once you have a female livebearer (platy here) that is impregnated, she will deliver a number of broods about a month apart, with no males present. If you have male and female, obviously this will continue until they die basically. You will need to have some plan for all the fry, and many will likely survive predation. This is why many only keep males of livebearers. If you do have male and female, a ratio of more females is advisable to help them rest from the male's attentions, which can literally kill some females.

Byron.

 

[Lizy33]

The fry of livebearers tend to remain near the surface; it is good to have some floating plants. They feel secure there.

Once you have a female livebearer (platy here) that is impregnated, she will deliver a number of broods about a month apart, with no males present. If you have male and female, obviously this will continue until they die basically. You will need to have some plan for all the fry, and many will likely survive predation. This is why many only keep males of livebearers. If you do have male and female, a ratio of more females is advisable to help them rest from the male's attentions, which can literally kill some females.

Byron.

Thank you