Imagine your parent eating you or your sibling. Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. But, parents eating their babies is common in nature, although rare in human beings. And although peaceful, your Platy fish floats in the same boat of filial cannibalism.
Although Platy fish are peaceful, they do eat their babies. Platy fish are voracious feeders who eat anything that fits in their mouths. Platy babies are small and easily fit in Platy fish’s mouth. Thus, even if the fry is their own baby, the Platy fry will start nipping at the fry after birth.
I understand that this piece of information sounds really depressing. But, Platy fish don’t gobble down their entire batch of fry. Still, eating one’s own baby is weird. Platy fish gives off a serial killer vibe but the reality is more complex than this.
To find out more about why Platy fish eat their babies and more interesting facts, do read the article below.
Brief Details About Platy Fish And Their Fry Babies
Platy fish are livebearer fish. This means that Platy fish give birth to fry directly. And no, Platy fish don’t lay eggs.
Platy fish grow up to 2-3 inches in length.
Whereas, Platy fry are the babies of Platy fish who are very tiny. The Platy fry measure barely 0.25 inches. Since the fry is transparent and small, they’re not quite visible. Moreover, they look like tadpoles of a frog.
A Platy fish remains pregnant for an average of 28 days. After the fry inside the eggs has matured, the Pregnant Platy fish undergoes labor. Then, fry emerges out from the body of Platy fish. The fry is free-swimming and active.
Platy fish give birth to around 40-60 fry in a single pregnancy.
So, Do Platy Fish Eat Their Babies?
I expect a sharp-fanged or sharp-clawed creature to eat its baby. Or that’s what National Geographic shows on TV. But, I don’t expect a poker-faced tiny fish with a peaceful temperament to gobble up its babies.
But, the reality is stranger than fiction. Yes, Platy fish eat their babies. And, this weird behavior is termed filial cannibalism which is common in the animal kingdom. You should thank god for filial cannibalism isn’t common among human beings!
Platy fish are good pets, yes. But good parents? I doubt it.
I’ve seen some aggressive Platy fish nip the fins of Angelfish and other long-finned fish. And keeping the Platy fish with such small tiny Platy babies will only be your mistake. The Platies will nip, tear, and gobble up the tiny babies in one go.
Why Do Platy Fish Eat Their Babies?
Any sane person would like to know why a Platy fish eats its baby. But, let me tell you mixed news.
Marine scientists are reasoning why Platy fish eat their own babies. The bad news is they’ve still not found out the exact reason. It’s most probably a glitch in nature!
But, the good news is, people have created likely reasons as to why this poker-faced fish gruesomely kills its own baby.
Similar To Fish Food
These fish eat any food that you give them. Platy fish eat pellets as well as live food. In the wild, Platy fish eat invertebrates, and mosquitoes, and live food.
Platy fish has no sense of what is food and what is not. Moreover, Platy fish grow up to 2-3 inches long. And since Platy fry is small and looks like live food, the Platy fish may gobble up their own babies. It’s free food, after all!
To Weed Out Weaker Babies
Platy fish lay many babies every month. And among these babies, a few FRY may come out to have weak genes. These fry are weak, can’t defend themselves, and can’t survive on their own.
This sounds really bittersweet, doesn’t it? About how a parent Platy eats up its weak baby to relieve its pain!
Source OF Fat And Protein
A pregnant Platy fish is weak and it needs food to remain strong. For this reason, the Platy fish eats its babies to seek a source of protein and fat. And, the fry is surely a good source of protein and fat.
Stress
Platy fish hold their babies for 1 long month. Holding the babies in their belly for such a long time can give them postpartum depression. I mean, I know about humans get this condition. But I believe the same stress grips a pregnant Platy fish.
In this stressful condition, the Platy fish may eat their babies.
How Will You Prevent Platy Fish From Eating Their Babies?
I think you got a little emotional about Platy fish eating their babies. Thankfully, you can save the Platy fry from the vicious grip of their parents. Here’s how:
Separate The Fry Babies
Taking care of Platy fry is the most important thing if you want them to survive. Sooner or later, the Platy fish will eat up the fry. So, the first thing you need to do is simple: Separate the fry. There are 3 ways of separating the fry from its mother.
Breeding Box
A breeding box is a transparent box with many tiny holes from which the fry can escape. The pregnant Platy will be inside the box. And after she gives birth to fry, the free-swimming fry can escape from the holes.
The downside of using a breeding box is how congested the pregnant Platy will feel. A long time in the breeding box can stress and impair a pregnant Platy fish’s health severely. You should take care of a pregnant Platy fish too, you know?
The breeding box is however brilliant to be used for a short time, let’s say, near labor.
After birthing her babies, you should return the mother Platy into the main tank immediately. The fry will remain in the breeding box and will grow there. However, as I mentioned earlier, overcrowding is never a good idea.
Separate Tank
This is the best method I’ve listed here. Once the female Platy is near labor, you can shift the Platy into a separate tank. After she has given birth, you can shift the mother Platy into the main tank. Then use this separate tank as a Platy fry tank.
Setting up a fry tank is quite simple. You have to buy another filter, heater, proper equipment, and maintain water parameters similar to the main tank.
Tank Divider
Using a transparent glass tank divider is best if you don’t have time to get another breeding tank. So, you use this tank divider and keep the fry in one tank and mother Platy in another tank.
The disadvantage of using a tank divider is if your tank is small, using a tank divider only congests the tank. Moreover, you need to maintain water parameters on both sides of the divider. This is a tough job. So, getting another breeding tank is ideal.
Provide Hiding Spots
So, you decide not to buy a separate tank. How will you save the fry then? It’s simple. Provide lots of plants for the fry to hide in. Dense and heavy plants are a good choice.
You should keep Plants like Hornworts, guppy grass, java moss, Java Fern, and the water lettuce roots. Hiding spots aren’t just plants. Decorations can take place of plants too. Driftwood, coconut cave, ceramic cave, make good hiding spots for fry.
But, I recommend keeping live plants because they help to balance nitrogen levels in the tank. Some Platy fry loves to munch and get nutrition from the live plants too.
Wait Until The Fry Babies Are Big Enough
This is perhaps the most sought out question regarding the Platy fry and it’s really simple to answer.
Platy fry grows big in 4-6 weeks after birth. You should note that the Platy fry should be big enough to evade a Platy fish’s mouth. If the Platy fry is still small enough to fit in Platy’s mouth, don’t keep them in the main tank just yet.
It’s even better to wait for 3-4 months until the fry reaches adulthood and their full size. Then, you can easily shift the overgrown adult Platy fry in the main tank.
FAQ
Do All Platy Fish Eat Their Babies?
When you keep Platy fish with their fry, the Platy fish will surely eat the fry thinking of it as food. So, yes, all Platy fish eat their babies.
However, it is said that since the female has hormones releasing during labor, she may resist eating her fry for a few hours.
Do Platy Fry Eat Other Fry?
No, Platy fry doesn’t eat another fry who are the same size as them. Platy fry follows the food chain of nature. So, Platy fry eats brine shrimps, daphnia, micro worms, etc.
Conclusion
I understand this article has been a rollercoaster to you. But, the good news is you can protect the fry from their psychopath parents. Many people believe that they can keep the fry safely in the presence of the parent Platy fish. I bet you’re not one of those people now. Happy fishkeeping.
