Platy gave birth.

[davewfilms]

one of my platy gave birth to babies today ive seen about 3 so far ive only been keeping fish for about 8 weeks so any advice what to do as i havent got a clue also the platy that i think gave birth her skin has white patches on it on top of the platys head is this normal

 

[suemack]

have you got any plants or ornaments where the babies can hide.....if not you may need to get a breeding net to float in the tank to put them in. You can crush up flake into a very very fine dust to feed them or buy special fry food at the lfs. Be very careful as the tank water gets fouled quickly with fry food.

How many fish, what size tank is it, what type of filtration and have you done any water tests for ammonia/nitrite? The white patches the mummy platy has developed.....not usual can you describe them and the tank conditions a bit further and we can see if we can give you some more ideas

good luck with the babies

sue

 

[davewfilms]

i have 15 uk gallon tank i have 2 plastic plants and large castle tested water yesterday evrey thing fine ammo=0 nitrites=0 nitrates=.25 and white patches are like skin discolouration just like skin colour faded no growths or anythinh like that she is acting fine swimming around normally and eating well had platys about 5 weeks man at lfs told me they were both female will parents eat fry?

 

[suemack]

yup - most of the livebearers will eat their fry......you can get breeding nets which go in the top of the tank and allow the water to flow freely through the mesh. You can catch the babies carefully and put them into that and then they would be ok

The pigment discolouration - could be due to a number of things but you have to be extrememely careful what, if any, medications you put into a tank where there are young fry. IMO do frequent small (10% daily) water changes with water of the same temperature and pH - keep a close eye on mum platy for any changes in her skin, eating, swimming etc.

and do enjoy the babies.............they are just so cute

sue

 

[Griffith420]

when my platy gave birth all the fry were still born.

 

[MartinB]

You still may have 2 females.
one could of been pregnant when you got them.

 

[davewfilms]

one was male returned to lfs yesterday hopefully no more babies brought breeding trap yesterday caught 3 of them so far still trying they very fast some more questions how long do they need to be in breeding trap , how old do they need to be before you can tell what sex they are, how old before they start breeding . many thanks

 

[davewfilms]

any anwsers pls

 

[suemack]

yup........they're very fast

haven't had a lot of experience with breeding traps ....but would keep the fry in there till they are too big to be eaten.......with little frequent feeds and little frequent w/changes with water of the same temp they do grow fairly quickly. My guppies only seem to eat the fry for the first few days (a week and they are ok).....not sure but assume platies would be similar but maybe leave them for a couple of weeks to be safe. Do you have any other fish in the tank that could be a threat to the fry?

When the fry are 6 - 8 wks old you will notice that they are developing differently ....the anal fin underneath their body starts to change shape (in the case of the males) - it thickens and grows a bit longer and tucks up closer to their body.....I always notice the difference in the behaviour of the males - even when they are very young they start to chase the females

good luck with them

sue