Dora

I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 sunburst platies (one male one female) a red betta, and a cory cat. The tank has been fully cycled for months now.. I do a 50% water change about every other week and my water parameters are good. No ammonia, no nitrites. Their water temp is between 78 and 82.

I think she was pregnant once before but the only reason I know that is because I saw a baby during one of the water changes. I think he was eaten shortly after that. This time around I would like to actually see if I can keep some of the babies. She's is very fat, has been trying to hide a lot and was hanging around the bottom a lot as well. The male was chasing her a lot so I decided to put her in a breeder. She has a black spot which I assume is her gravid spot from what I've read.. she's been in the breeder for 2 days now and no babies. How long can I leave her in there? Is she getting stressed by being in there, would she be better off in the tank? And if I put her back how will I know when she's ready to have the fry?

TFA101

I personally never enjoyed the idea of putting the female in the breeder box, as you have to time her birth perfectly. If you put her in too early, you could stress her out and she could abort the underdeveloped fry. If you put her in too late, the young fish will most likely be eaten since they were probably birthed in the main tank.

If you plant the tank densely, you can let the mother birth at her own pace, and the fry will have a better chance of survival. However, your betta seems to be the biggest threat. Being pure carnivores, they may see your baby platies as more moreso than the parents of the fry might. It's in your betta's nature. You can temporarily remove the betta, and your fry will have an even better chance of survival.

Keep in mind that platies give birth to anywhere between 2-20 fry at a time, so if your fry do survive and grow up to adulthood, have some homes picked out for them so to not overpopulate your tank. 10 gallons can only hold so many fish.


Good luck

kimb

The male platy that is following your female is simply waiting for a snack! You can take her out of the breeder box and watch her carefully. If she starts swimming up and down the tank (top to bottom) rapidly, I find that is a good sign she is ready. My platy is pregnant for the third time since I have had her (since end Feb). First time, breeder box once she started giving birth, saved 3 fry, second time I let her be in the tank, all but one eaten and that was a fluke. A filter on my other tank broke on a Sunday, since have a spare in my community, I moved it over. The platy had given birth on Friday (fat when I went to work, thin when I returned). On Monday morning, while observing my puffer (where I had put the broken filter) low and behold, a platy fry. It must have been sucked into the filter, then released when I turned it off and moved it. "Lucky" is alive and well in a breeder box, back in the community tank! Agree with above, you will probably need a bigger tank if you plan to keep the fry. Good luck!

Nick Goody

The Male is chasing her because he wants to mate with her again. The fact that she is already pregnant will be of complete indifference to him. It's best to keep Livebearers at a Ratio of one Male to 3 or more Females as this will break up the Males attention and stop the females being harassed too much.

kimb

Agree with the ratios, however my male seems to be selective. He only ever chases and gets the one. As she drops the fry, he (and the mom) eat them just as quick. My female can get them before they even hit the bottom of the breeder tank!

TFA101

If your tank is heavily planted, your fry will be able to seek cover from the parents and other tank mates. I've had every litter survive without the aid of a breeder box and simply just a heavily planted tank. My platies give birth to about 10-15 young every litter and so far, I have seen every fish she has mothered since i first got her around 3 months back.