Help, Feeding platy fry while away for 10 days

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


toxicbiscuitj28
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:29 pm

Help, Feeding platy fry while away for 10 days

by toxicbiscuitj28

Okay, serious question this time... I bought a female platy that was pregnant 2 days ago, And it looks like any day she is about to burst. I am going away for 10 days and there will be a person to feed the fish everyday ( Shes completely unexperienced ) and i will have 10 egg cups full of feed so she do's not over/under feed them. What if the platy has fry while i'm away? I will get brine shrimp or something like that from the LFS but i want to know how much to feed the fry? how often? or will they just feed off the plants. This will be the first time raising fry and i probably won't even be there. P.S. The pregnant platy is in a fry container. Please help.


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

toxic, most likely the female mother will feed on most of the fry anyway (very few or any fry will survive - believe me, I know for a fact for I started out with 6 red platies and wound up with over 30 in less than 3 months - I would have had over 100 but the adult fish ate the fry; and in order to keep the population down to zero, I purchased 4 african dwarf frogs, and the population rate remained at zero - only way I was able to rid the tank in the last 3 years or so was through the aging process, I have very few platies left now (and all were born in the tank)

so a meal - don't fret it, she will feed off the fry...and believe it or not, a fish can go without being fed for 7 days for it lives off of microorganisms in the tank


toxicbiscuitj28
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:29 pm

by toxicbiscuitj28

Well, i actually want the fry to survive, I will have her check everytime shes feeding the fish and if she sees a few fry, to take the mother out. Yes, i know this is alot to ask to a person who has 0% experience with fish but i have no other way... You say fish can live on 'Microorganisms'? Well, they don't feed the goldfish at the pond in my school so i guess your right, but then, whats the reason that people sell 'AlgaeWaffers'? Please give me all advice. I don't have a clue what to do...
Thanks for your reply, haven't seen any activity on this site for a least a week.


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

unless you watch her very closely as to remove her at the exact moment she gives birth - which will not happen, for from my experience with platies, they give birth when the lights are out or at night - try catching her in the tank at this time you will probably "fall" into the tank

the other way is to purchase a breeder's plastic tank, what happens is, the fry fall through tiny holes to the bottom where the mother can't get to them - problem with this, the fry can also go straight up back through the holes and be eaten

other way is to have many platies, more females than males, like a one male to 4 or 5 female ratio, that way, there will be plenty fry and the odds of them all dying is less likely

only other way is to breed her in a 2 and a half gallon tank (Petsmart sells this type of small tank), and this way you can observe her more closely - extremely small black dots will appear on her underbelly, usually is a sign that she will give birth very soon - I will give you an interesting tip with livebearers especially platies: a female can hold babies for several weeks sometimes a couple of months before giving birth and also mate with more than just one male (that is, be fertilized by a few males over a period of time) - so the point here is, timing is everything and this time around, timing is not in the human's favor for the platy can give birth at any time

the best way to have fry survive is, to have plenty low plants or bushy plants/grass with extremely small caves or ledges that only a fry or a few fry can get themselves into without the larger fish getting to them - if you set up your tank so the fry can seek refuge without being eaten, your odds of success rise much higher - best type of food to give fry is Baby Brine Shrimp (comes in a jar for $9.99 at dr fosters and smith (online) (I used to give the fry this food)

hope this info helps - any questions please do not hesitate to ask


toxicbiscuitj28
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:29 pm

by toxicbiscuitj28

Well thanks for your great reply and good news! The platy had birth. I awoke this morning to find near 20 fry all swimming around. I took the mother out as soon as possible. I crunched up a bit of flake food to the point where it was powder but only a few ate it. Tomorrow i will get the Brine shrimp eggs/Baby brine shrimp. Any advice on the fry? How long till there big enough to swim outside the breeder box and not get eaten? Should i remove the 1 dead fry? Should i add gravel in the breeder box? Thanks


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

yes, always remove any dead fish for it will cause bacteria or disease

good to hear you got the mother out in time

Congratulations!

I always left the mother(s) in the main tank and the fry, which survived for the long haul, found hiding places in the low lying plants. But in your case, it is a bit different, probably much easier, for you can see the fry grow.

I assume the rest of the fish in your main tank are community fish. An Endler's Livebearer which is very similar to a platy in nature for an Endler never grows larger than 1 inch long which are basically the size of a platy juvenile which at this point can manage on its own in a tank.

The key to fry and other main tank fish is how big are the other non-fry fish's mouths for if a fish can fit a smaller fish in its mouth it will regardless if it is newborn or adult (unless you have semi-aggressive or aggressive fish that will drive the one inch fish til it literally, somehow, manages to jump out of the tank or work itself into a frenzy that the immune system breaks down and it dies of stress - but this is probably here nor there in your case, so..................)

Wait until the fry are at least one inch long.

First, how large is your breeder box?

If it is large, like about half a gallon, you should provide the box with a very small filter, heater and a hiding place like you can buy a very small clay flower pot, carefully break it into two and use one half as a hiding place, understand?

It will take about 3 months before the fry are about one inch long. Baby brine shrimp will speed up their growth rate, excellent source of vitamins and minerals. But only give a pinpoint amount (which is equivalent to about 100 eggs, believe it or not). If you overfeed you will cause ammonia to rise - I know they are small but so is an non-cycled many fry breeder box will only make matters worse).

Fish places do sell very small heaters and filters (no need to worry about lighting or a top unless you have a cat around or just place the tank/box on a high shelf), depending on the size of the breeder box.

NOTE: as for the filter, make sure it is specifically for fry only or else the fry will be sucked right up the intake tube.

A heater and filter which is equivalent to a nano tank shouldn't cost much.

After the fry are one inch or cannot fit into ANY main tank fish's mouth, then you let those babies go - BUT make sure you assimilate the fry or juveniles - place the breeder box somehow into the main tank water, let the temperature slowly equalize itself between the main tank and breeder box - usually takes about one hour - then you can slowly tilt the breeder box to the side and the juveniles are on their own (be sure the main tank always has hiding places - even the adult fish need hiding places)

I know it's a bit much - main reason I always just let the fry be born into the main tank and let the odds be what they were - counting on their ingenuity and the hiding places I provided - but the info above should help you raise those fry to juveniles

if you have any questions or comment I am here for you as well as anyone else


toxicbiscuitj28
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:29 pm

by toxicbiscuitj28

Wow! Thank you so much for that reply. Where to start...
The breeder box: It's dimensions are only 6-7 inches long, 3 inches wide and 3 inches tall. This worry's me because I don't know what to do. Should i buy a second-hand nano tank? Just so you know, the box is in the Aquarium, I used it from the PH/AMMONIA/NITRITE/NITRATE testing kit and is clipped on to the side of the tank using pegs. There is 1 4'' long gourami but he is amazingly shy and gets scared off by neons. I would not let them be realised into the tank because the person who will be coming in will not know how to get the brine shrimp eggs to them and i would like most to survive. How much would i pick up a second-hand nano tank for? And lastly, by the time they are 1'' would the tank not bio overload? i have 19 inches of fish in my 20g tank and could i give some to a friend or two will a few weeks old or would they die from stress? thanks, i will upload a video tonight


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

for now, the breeder box appears okay

continue to feed the baby brine shrimp

the box is too small for a filter and heater - but beings the box is in the main tank it will maintain a constant temperature from the temperature which is maintained in the tank

as for the bio-load...when the fry reach about half inch, then you can place the fry into a nano tank with a small filter and use some of the gravel from the main tank to help jumpstart the cycle or to keep the bio-load low - but I must tell you something, even with 20 small half inch fry, the bio-load won't be too much as long as you feed the fry an extremely small amount of baby brine shrimp...like I said above, a pinpoint or a pinhead of baby brine shrimp is about 100 eggs which is plenty for the fry, with such an amount, you can even feed every other day

once the fry are one inch, if you like, you can give the juveniles away to a friend as long as the friend does not have fish that have mouths large enough to swallow the juveniles - at one inch, the juveniles can defend themselves in most any condition

don't be alarmed if you lose a quarter of the fry - for only the strong will survive, but 5 out of 20 is not bad odds

if you do get a nano tank make sure you get a proper size filter that will not uptake the fry/juveniles into the filter...and beings the nano tank will not be in the main tank, you'll need a very small heater (whatever wattage that is appropriate for whatever size nano tank you get)

let us know how it goes...I look forward to hear about this situation over the next 3 months, be interesting to see the updates on the growth of the fry

never hesitate to ask or comment on this post, always like to help out those who have a need to know


toxicbiscuitj28
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:29 pm

by toxicbiscuitj28

Just so you know, I am not feeding them 'Baby brine shrimp'. I am feeding them the only thing the LFS had. Its a powder food but i do not know how much to feed 15 fry, Could you show a picture of the amount of powder i should feed them if possible? I also got a great new breeder box ( 50 euro, expensive ) and transferred them into it. Its much better than the previous home-made one. I will be saving up for a nano-tank and will get it pretty soon. I already have 30 euro, So how much for a good cheap nano? 60?

I still Forgot to upload a video of them i will try when i get time.

Thanks!


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

Here's a link for a bottle of baby brine shrimp at $7.99 which will last over a year for fry and will last a good six months for adult fish:

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... atid=16873

I have no idea how a euro converts to U.S. dollar....but here is a link as well for a cheap nano tank:
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... 2119&r=487

the five gallon for $50.00 would be perfect to serve this fry brood plus any future fry that are born

as for the powder diet - though I believe the baby brine shrimp is truly the way to go - with the powder, just a very small sprinkle between your fingertips should do the trick...feed every other day

let me know your thoughts...hope the above helps

Help, Feeding platy fry while away for 10 days

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