When can I put my platy fish mother back with her babies?

Question

the babies are 1 week and 3 days old

one of my baby fish stays at the bottom of the tank almost all day and i am not sure if its eating and its not near any other fish

what id wrong with it and will it die



when can i get an algae eater
beacuse they say that it will eat the baby fish

what are the smallest algae eaters called

Answer 1

When the fry are no longer small enough to fit in her mouth. Normally about 4 weeks. I have bred both mollies and platys and it was about 4 weeks for me before I would let them out. Sometimes mom might chase one but she turns away when she realizes they are too big to eat.

Answer 2

ok, from your previous questions i know that you have a 10 gallon tank

Also it sounds like you have the female separatet somewhere, i just hope not in a breeder.

Your best bet is getting live plants for your tank, then you can add the mom back into the tank

The one that is in the bottom is for sure eating as well, it might be to small to swim up yet

here are also 2 sites for you to read up on
http://fishlesscycling.com/articles/breeding_tropical_fish.html
http://fishlesscycling.com/articles/how_to_sex_your_fish.html

Also, your platy can have up to 6 batches of fry without a male around, since they can store the sperm for that long

The gestation period is 28 days

And the perfect temperature for your fish is somewhere between 76-82 degrees


Hope that helps
Good luck


EB


for any questions, feel free to email me

Answer 3

First put the platy fry in a breeders net and dont put the mother back in with them until they are half the size of her. And you cant have a alge eater until the fry are almost full grown.