ok so now i know the sex of my platies and i knw tht the one is defo preggers, now i need to knw wen i shud place the pregnant female in2 a hatcher? also is it fairly easy to look after the fry as im no expert, as ive only bin doing this for 4weeks lol how long do i keep the fry in the hatcher and do i need to remove the mother after she as given birth? any guildence would be gr8. thank you
2007-03-15 06:45:16 · 8 answers · asked by *mommy to 3 boys* 4 in Pets ➔ Fish
personally i wouldn't put the mother in a breeding net, it's stressful for her and may cause problems in the birthing. if you want your babies to survive provide hiding places in the tank such as bunches of java fern or java moss, too dense for an adult to get into, or have a seperate breeding tank for the babies, be aware you can get overrun quite easily! the parents may well snack on stray fry.
for the sex look at the anal fin, the tiny fin underneath the fish just behind the pectoral (swimming) fins and behind the head. on a female it should be regular and rounded, on a male it will be held closer to the body and be narrow and pointed.
a pregnant female will show a prominant belly and a dark spot towards the anal fin.
you can buy special fry food for babies, tiny granuales, this is where a seperate breeding tank would be preferable, to stop greedy parents nibbling the food instead! they will also appreciate live food as well. baby brine shrimp etc.
2007-03-15 06:52:24 · answer #1 · answered by catx 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Platys like to give birth hiding under plants or in small caves. Putting a pregnant platy in a "hatcher" will cause undue stress and may cause a miscarriage in which you will lose both mom and babies.
It is better to keep mom in the main tank and let her give birth there and either let the fry stay as well (fine if you have lots of hiding places some will survive) or scoop the fry out and put them in a hatcher. Also if the female gives birth in the hatcher and you are not around to remove her, she will eat all the babies as they will have no place to hide
You can tell your female will be giving birth soon when she starts to look kind of square.
Your fry will eat algae off plants and very very finely crushed flake food. Feed twice a day.
If you put the fry in a hatcher, leave them there for about 4 weeks or until they look to big to eat.
2007-03-15 06:54:06 · answer #2 · answered by allyalexmch 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my old tank a few years ago, I didnt know that Mollies and Platys were livebearers. At the time I had marbles in the bottom of my tank. When I went to clean the tank to move houses, I found about 30-40 baby platys and mollies swimmin around underneath the marbles.. If it were me, I agree with not putting them in a hatcher.. I would make a corner of my tank with just marbles.. there is plenty of room between the marbles for them to live and grow, AND the older fish cant reach them under the marbles.... Those babies were thriving under the marbles.... Just an idea if you want to try it.. Although, I dont believe you will be able to see anything, as far as the adult fish actually spitting the babies out, as I had no clue about them til i emptied the tank....Since then, I have had no luck with hatcheries..
2007-03-15 06:59:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's probably best to just leave things be. Usually the parents will not eat the babies, and if they eat some of them it's usually a good thing as you will find out when you suddenly have 50 fish in your tank and they are running out of room! Also fish can be hard to find homes for and if you keep all the babies they will be overcrowded, stressed, and may die or be stunted. I've had a few livebearers give birth and I just let things be, and it seemed like all of the babies survived, even though I had other fish in the tank. If you have a lot of places for them to hide they will know how to escape and hide from predators, it's the strongest instinct a baby fish has. Well good luck!
2007-03-15 07:10:48 · answer #4 · answered by Robin 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best answer would be to throw in a bunch of inexpensive floating plants(like Water sprite,or Anacharis) and throw away the hatchery trap. Livebearers should not be netted or harassed any other way for two weeks prior to delivery. You may lose a few fry this way,but it's better for all the fish and the parent fish will survive. Keep your water clean with weekly 25% water changes and let the fry hide in the plants.
2007-03-15 06:58:58 · answer #5 · answered by PeeTee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They stay preg about 3 to 5 weeks and yes u should take her out afterwards. They can be put back when they are about as big as the mom. I noticed when I had fish that when the black spot at the back of her underbelly got really black it's time to take them out. But to be safe put her in there till she gives birth. I did till I got it figured out lol. Hope this helps.
2007-03-15 06:59:44 · answer #6 · answered by mermaids_n_moons 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-11-25 21:58:34 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
put her in there asap when she gives birth seperate her from the babies feed them flake food that you have crumbled into really small pieces. dont let them out until they are the just abit smaller then a neon as they will be eaten even by there parents
2007-03-15 08:50:41 · answer #8 · answered by NICOLA G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋