Chrisson

My friend's platy just had babies and aren't prepared for it, he was on vacation and we weren't sure if the platy was actually pregnant because we couldn't see much signs and the fry was born when he was away. He said there are a few that he saw but are mostly hiding. I was wondering will a plastic bottle cut 3/4 and use the 1/4 of the bottom of the plastic with small holes as a fry net? It would be clipped on the side of the aquarium.

JRob

It could work temporarily. It would keep the fry safe, but you would have to frequently change the water in the bottle and find a way to get rid of uneaten food.

agabr123

agreed with JRob, just make sure there are plenty of tiny holes and change the water a couple times a day at least.

angelac

Cordi

you're better off just leaving the fry in the tank with the rest (survival of the fittest, as nature intended), as platy's will give birth every month anyway.

One problem beginners have with their tanks is letting the fry survive by seperating them, which ends up in the tank being over stocked and the filter can't handle the ammount of waste they're producing which - resulting in huge ammonia, nitrite and nitrate spikes, as well as other infections and illnesses

Chrisson

Well we caught most of them. They are really tiny then I suspected. Some of them are probably left and when the platy grows it will be given to bunch of people we know that owns aquariums.

Autumn8504

I actually used a large clear plastic cup when we unexpectedly found a baby platy with two females that I purchased (I only had females at the time). I poked holes in the cup with a pin/small nail (making sure the holes were as big as possible without letting the fry get stuck/slip through) and used an office clip to hang it in the tank (without letting the metal part get wet/rust). I felt the need to monitor the temperature in her enclosure because the light was close to it and I didn't want her to cook She was fine though. It worked out well until I set up a new tank to put her in. At first she wasn't used to the flow that the filter created in the new tank (I circulated the water in the cup manually and changed part of it regularly) but she eventually got used to it. She is perfectly happy and healthy in her new set up...and I'm happy for her! I hope this helps!

Chrisson

Yeah my friend did the same only with a half cut plastic bottle. He said most of them are swimming now.

ABCDemily

Whenever Platy's give birth in my tank, they get sucked through into my heater compartment at the back of the tank when they are tiny enough to fit through the holes. The live in there until they're large enough to not be eaten.
I think if you thoroughly washed some tights or stockings and placed them over the top of the bottle it'd also allow a little more water in

Chrisson

thanks for the suggestion but he bought a breeder box and the fry escaped. We are thinking that it may actually be Zebra Danio fry because when I first saw it, it barely looks like a livebearer one and I checked for photos of Zebra Danio fry and it looked exactly the same.