What's the point of those net breeders?

[aquarius]

my platy gave birth last night in the breeder net and by the time she was finished, she ate most of the babies! i thought those things would protect the fry but they only protect them from the other fish in the tank, not the mother. does this happen to anyone else?

 

[guppymonkey]

As you found out breeder nets can only separate the fry and even then they don't really work all that great. If the other fish in the tank are large (like angelfish) sometimes they can suck the fry right through the net! To prevent the mother from eating her offspring you could get a breeder net that has a barred lower section for the fry to fall through so that the mother can not get them. Or even better, you could use a separate breeding tank. I find that my females give birth to twice as many fry in a larger space and the fry grow faster also.

 

[aquarius]

it's impossible for the fry to get sucked out since it's not really a net, but a plastic box. and what's more, there is a place for the fry to fall! so theoretically they should be safe from the mother. but the stupid fry didn't want to stay at the bottom and kept swimming upwads where the mother was and then they were gone maybe it's just the fry i got that weren't too smart

 

[lizzy]

I think that its best to have a
seperate tank, well planted up. Last week I
found a baby tetra swimming around with
my three mollies, ( dont know how it got in
there) but i think if the fry are healthy
some will survive , probably more. in a
tank.