I have seen Platy fish eat their own babies. This made me realize that Platy fish, although peaceful, are notorious parents. So, to take care of platy fry, I researched and found some useful tips. I’d like to share the tips with you.
First, isolate your platy fry from the community or breeding tank into a separate fry tank. The fry tank water should be balanced and change 25% of the water every 2 weeks. In addition, you should provide a good diet for the fry’s growth.
I benefitted from the tips and my fry happily swam in the tank. My platy fry grew into strong adults. I’d like your platy fry to also lead a happy life. So, let’s get started.
How Many Fry Can A Platy fish Have?
There is no fixed number of fry that your Platy can deliver.
Approximately, Platy fish can bear as much as 8-20 fry. Sometimes, even 40 or more. As I said earlier, the number is not fixed. Platies are livebearers so they give birth to fry directly.
I’ve heard that Platies will bear more fry when she is brought up in a good aquarium ecosystem. And that, she will bear fewer babies or even delay pregnancy if the tank condition is bad.
Here’s How To Care For Platy Fry
Now that you know the number of fry you need to take care of, let’s understand how you can give your Platy fry a good life.
Lookout For Pregnant Platy Fish
If you find out that your Platy fish is pregnant, make preparations immediately.
By knowing the timing of pregnancy, you can prepare a separate tank. Moreover, you can feed the mother well so that her fry is healthy as well.
Separate The Baby Platy Fry
Let me tell you one thing you need to print in your brain: Platies are easy cannibals.
Platies have no parental instinct towards their fry, you see. Thus, you MUST isolate the baby platies from the mother platy or adult platies as soon as you can. Otherwise, your fry will be food soon.
There are three ways you can isolate your platy fry.
In A Fry Tank
Now, this is a hassle as you have to get two new tanks; one for breeding and one for the fry.
But, your fry will have ample space to themselves. Moreover, the fry is not threatened by predators.
First, shift your pregnant Platy fish into a separate tank. Once she gives birth, pick up the fry and drop them in your fry tank.
Breeding Box
Most of the fish keepers use a breeding box and get only one new tank.
A breeding box is a box that has small holes. In this way, the small fry can easily escape while the large mother Platy remains inside the box.
However, too much time inside the congested breeding box may stress out your pregnant fish. So, she might end up delivering dead fry.
The breeding box is a fry saver but for the mother, it is a huge hassle.
Tank Divider
Another way you can separate your pregnant platy and her fry is by using a tank divider.
You can use a transparent glass tank divider. Then, keep pregnant platy on one side. Once she starts popping out her fry, you can keep the fry on another side.
Once you platy has delivered all her fry, you can shift her to your community tank.
Care To Give Platy Fry Good Food
Platy fry is tiny. Hence, platy fry has a tiny mouth too. They can only eat what can fit in their mouth.
Moreover, juvenile fry needs food for their growth. Without a good diet, your fry cannot reach its full health potential. So, feed your fry well, will you?
Baby fry can be easily overfed due to your love. Thus, feed your fry only what they can eat in under 3 minutes. If any food remains at the end of 3 minutes, scoop it out with a net.
You can feed your fry 2-3 times a day.
Apart from finely crushed flakes, you can feed your fry a variety of dishes like:
- Brine shrimps
- Micro worms
- Daphnia
- Egg yolk paste
Care For Platy Fry By Keeping Plants
Are you not keen on investing in a fry tank? If not, here’s a way you can save your fry.
If you keep plants in your aquarium, may it be artificial or natural, your fry will feel safe. In the wild, fry hides from the predators behind dense plants.
Baby fry tends to swim up after birth as they’re just learning how to swim. So, you can keep some floating plants at the top e.g. hornworts. I also recommend Plants like Anacharis and Cabomba.
Moreover, some fry tends to eat plants for nutrients. So, if you add an artificial plant, the fry can’t eat it. However, artificial plants are brilliant for long-term use.
Here are some aquarium plants you can keep in your tank: 9 Best Low Light Aquarium Plants | Benefits of Aquarium Plants
Maintain The Water Balance Of Your Fry Tank
This is for those who have invested in a fry tank.
Platy fry develops well in good water parameters as follows:
- 72-80 Fahrenheit temperature is ideal for juvenile fry.
- Water change of 25% every 2 weeks.
- a pH of 7.0 – 8.4.
The Filter System
It is seen that fry gets stuck in the filter and dies. This incident is common than you think.
Thus, you must get a comfortable filter and keep a sponge on it.
To know more about filter system, you can read this:
Lighting
Natural sunlight is healthy for your juvenile Platies. 12-16 hours of sunlight is enough for the platy fry. However, nighttime is also equally important.
Nighttime is beneficial because the sleeping pattern is maintained. Thus, your platy fry will develop well!
Deciding Whether You Want The Baby Platy Fish Or Not?
There will come a day when you will be fed up with the number of platy fry in your tank. If you buy 2 platyfish to mate, you’ll end up with hundreds of them in a few months. Thus, you must consider the population control of your fish.
I won’t tell you to keep your fry in the community tank only to be eaten up by their parents. No, that’d be pretty cruel.
But, I’ll recommend you to sell your platyfish to other people. Maybe ring up your relative who used to goggle at your aquarium for hours on end? Or maybe contact some aquarium shop nearby who would want some cute fry?
You must also control the population by separating the males from the females. That’s why, earlier, I recommended you get a separate breeding tank.
Introducing Your Platy Fry Into Community Tank
Time is a funny thing. And, fry isn’t always fry. They grow into an adult too.
So, you have to introduce your grown-up teenagers into your community tank. Your platyfish is well into adulthood when they are 4 months old.
But, if you want to calculate, here is a rule of thumb. If the grown-up fry can still fit the adult platyfish mouth, then it’s too early for the introduction.
But, if the fry grows up to be larger than an adult platy fish’s mouth, it’s time for the fry to go back to their home sweet home.
FAQ
How Big Is A Platy Fry After Birth?
Platy fish birth almost 40 fry in one pregnancy. But, their belly isn’t large enough to fit big fry. So, there are small-sized fries but in huge numbers.
Platy fry is 7-8 mm in length, even smaller than that sometimes.
How Long Does It Take For Platy Fry To Get Their Colors?
Generally, platy fry looks white and pale and easily camouflage in the aquarium.
After a month, the fry starts to show some color on their body. 2 months later, the color becomes more apparent. After 4 months, your fry should have a vibrant color.
Conclusion
Childhood is a vulnerable period in your fry’s life. If you take care of your fry well, only then they can grow well into their adulthood.
Knowing that you are an empathetic person, your fry will be ready for your community tank in no time.