Breeder Net Experiences- Good Or Bad?

This is in reference to platies, as I plan on getting 10 this week, doing a 2-3 week QT with antiparasitic meds. I plan on getting 2 males and 8 females. I do want to raise the young, as they're going in my 60 gallon, so I'll have room for more, but at $4 a pop, I'd rather raise some.
Here's the problem: they're going in my 60 gallon. Goldfish tank.
So, there's about a 0% chance that my common goldfish won't eat the babies.
I have 2 breeder nets already, but they're only 8×4×6", and I'm afraid that would stress a platy too badly. Does anyone have successful stories of platies and small breeder nets?
Second option would be to turn my 10 gallon into a breeder box. I could divide it with the needle point plastic mesh horizontally, and maybe widen some of the holes. The tank has some fenbendazole in it and my last surviving male blue dream shrimp. Tons of java moss and subwassertang, so I could move some of that above to stress her less.
I feel a breeder net would be easier, and I'm afraid a move to a different tank would stress a platy too much. I don't know much about livebearers, other than reading a lot of things about them getting stressed and aborting the fry

 

I think breeder nets are great for the fry, but not enough to get them sized large enough to keep a goldfish from eating them. For your plan, I see a lot of potential with the 10 gallon for growing out your first few batches. A 10 wouldnt be so small to stress the female platy into aborting.

 

I float 5 gallon paint strainers with female livebearers in them to birth.
Some of my swords and the picta are funny about dropping.
I have kept full grown female swords in one for over a month.
These have bigger holes in the screen then the Sherwin Williams .


I make them float by wrapping backer rod [foam rope] around it once and using a twist tie to hold it in place.

 

I think breeder nets are great for the fry, but not enough to get them sized large enough to keep a goldfish from eating them. For your plan, I see a lot of potential with the 10 gallon for growing out your first few batches. A 10 wouldnt be so small to stress the female platy into aborting.

I mainly meant to use the breeder net just to collect them before moving them to the 10... You don't think the move will stress her too much?

I float 5 gallon paint strainers with female livebearers in them to birth.
Some of my swords and the picta are funny about dropping.
I have kept full grown female swords in one for over a month.
These have bigger holes in the screen then the Sherwin Williams .
View attachment 498296
I make them float by wrapping backer rod [foam rope] around it once and using a twist tie to hold it in place.

Oh, that's a good idea! I have some 6qt sterilite containers I drilled while back while I was housing baby mystery snails in that tank. Would that work or would it be too small? Or would moving her to the ten be better?

 

I feel so DIY ghetto with some of my tricks I can't use regular containers.
The paint strainer flows water well and is cheap [$5]..
The size is important since you hope for the fish to grow,the water flow is necessary any way you look at it.
These are the most space I can come up with for fry or livebearers.
I have raised 3 sets of fry[4-600 in total easy] in 3 strainers floating in a 40b with 2 AC 50s on it .
I even through plants in with the fish or fry .

 

I feel so DIY ghetto with some of my tricks I can't use regular containers.
The paint strainer flows water well and is cheap [$5]..
The size is important since you hope for the fish to grow,the water flow is necessary any way you look at it.
These are the most space I can come up with for fry or livebearers.
I have raised 3 sets of fry[4-600 in total easy] in 3 strainers floating in a 40b with 2 AC 50s on it .
I even through plants in with the fish or fry .

600??!
Jk, I assume it's a typo.
I do like that idea, I may go with that

 

No 600 fry in 3 paint strainers till they were 2 months old ..
No problem at all. 40 gallon water easy water changes with no fry in the water column..

 

No 600 fry in 3 paint strainers till they were 2 months old ..
No problem at all. 40 gallon water easy water changes with no fry in the water column..

With mention of water changes, you're really making think it's a bopping idea!

 

I really got my 2 @60 and 80g to hold 6-8 paint strainers each .They are 4x2 so would fit the strainers nicely and have plenty of water volume.
Only problem is I keep filling them with rams and acara that 6+ months old ! Not really complaining as I am not that deep into fry yet this season..[still have 8 @2.5g ready and waiting !]
IMO EBA and GBR do great in these for 2 months easy.They still need first week or 2 in D&P to get big enough to not get out screen.For fry I use the Sherwin Williams as that screen is 600 micron..The one in pic is like real screening[probably like 2000 micron?]

 

We tried a breeder net once, but the adult fish managed to suck out the day old fry through the mesh somehow

 

I really got my 2 @60 and 80g to hold 6-8 paint strainers each .They are 4x2 so would fit the strainers nicely and have plenty of water volume.
Only problem is I keep filling them with rams and acara that 6+ months old ! Not really complaining as I am not that deep into fry yet this season..[still have 8 @2.5g ready and waiting !]
IMO EBA and GBR do great in these for 2 months easy.They still need first week or 2 in D&P to get big enough to not get out screen.For fry I use the Sherwin Williams as that screen is 600 micron..The one in pic is like real screening[probably like 2000 micron?]

Awesome, good to know, thank you!

We tried a breeder net once, but the adult fish managed to suck out the day old fry through the mesh somehow

I, I don't even know what to say, other than:

 

Awesome, good to know, thank you!


I, I don't even know what to say, other than:

It was quite a horrifying experience. Happened so quick and right in front of us.

 

Quick question- how do you prevent the mom from eating the fry? I was watching some videos and the moms were just going after the fry as soon as they were born!

 

Lots of plants and floating plants like water lettuce,frogbit.
I even use broken pot pieces as only the smallest can fit under them.

 

Lots of plants and floating plants like water lettuce,frogbit.
I even use broken pot pieces as only the smallest can fit under them.

Oh I thought they just fell, lol, I didn't know they could swim. Well that works, I have a frik ton of red root floaters, those long roots should work

 

Many livebearers fry will go to surface for food and attraction to the light .
So plants will help them hide so you can find them.They swim right away.

 

Bam, got some platies, is this the box shape I'm looking for? I don't have the paint strainer things yet, but I have a 6qt sterilite container I can use in the meantime and fill with red root floaters.

 

Okay well she dropped at least 4 fry, 2 are hardly moving and 2 are eggs. They're both in empty soda bottles floating in the tank, cuz that's what I had. The two eggs are in Methylene blue and a bubbler, the other two are just in another bottle. The female is floating in the main tank in a 6qt tub with some plants and such.

 

Hope it's still okay to comment on this...

I used a breeder net briefly with goldfish fry while I was working in their grow out tank. I wished I hadn't. I thought I was careful when I eventually moved the babies (at that time two months old) into the bigger grow out tank. Not careful enough. When I lifted the basket from the big tank, a few we're squished between the net and the blue plastic frame. It was gruesome. Those are the only fry I've ever lost, aside from one that slipped across an overflow from a different style breeder box. I'm sure the basket can be used successfully, and that I made mistakes in my method of removing the box. Still...I wouldn't use it for fry again.

I did stick a feisty Ryukin in the net-box overnight once because he was harassing a friend. In the middle of the night, I found the net twisted, him out and two friends stuck in the net. The Ryukin was kind of a jerk as an adolescent fish.

Anyway, now I stick to the clear plastic Marina boxes that hang outside the rI'm of the tank. They hook up to an airpump which drips tank water through the box.

Mind is the overflow, though. I knocked a doomed baby over the edge when I was working in the box and not paying attention to to the amount of water I displaced. Mom and Dad ate him. Now they stare at the overflow and beg when I clean. The plastic is a little brittle too, so avoid any downward pressure on the box.

Hope this helps, maybe not useful info for OP anymore (sorry). Putting it out there for people reading the thread in the future.

 

Hope it's still okay to comment on this...

I used a breeder net briefly with goldfish fry while I was working in their grow out tank. I wished I hadn't. I thought I was careful when I eventually moved the babies (at that time two months old) into the bigger grow out tank. Not careful enough. When I lifted the basket from the big tank, a few we're squished between the net and the blue plastic frame. It was gruesome. Those are the only fry I've ever lost, aside from one that slipped across an overflow from a different style breeder box. I'm sure the basket can be used successfully, and that I made mistakes in my method of removing the box. Still...I wouldn't use it for fry again.

I did stick a feisty Ryukin in the net-box overnight once because he was harassing a friend. In the middle of the night, I found the net twisted, him out and two friends stuck in the net. The Ryukin was kind of a jerk as an adolescent fish.

Anyway, now I stick to the clear plastic Marina boxes that hang outside the rI'm of the tank. They hook up to an airpump which drips tank water through the box.

Mind is the overflow, though. I knocked a doomed baby over the edge when I was working in the box and not paying attention to to the amount of water I displaced. Mom and Dad ate him. Now they stare at the overflow and beg when I clean. The plastic is a little brittle too, so avoid any downward pressure on the box.

Hope this helps, maybe not useful info for OP anymore (sorry). Putting it out there for people reading the thread in the future.

Also, I think being in the net-box freaked the fry out a bit. The parents kept nudging at the net like hungry sharks. The normally active babies were very, very still in that net.

 

Hope it's still okay to comment on this...

I used a breeder net briefly with goldfish fry while I was working in their grow out tank. I wished I hadn't. I thought I was careful when I eventually moved the babies (at that time two months old) into the bigger grow out tank. Not careful enough. When I lifted the basket from the big tank, a few we're squished between the net and the blue plastic frame. It was gruesome. Those are the only fry I've ever lost, aside from one that slipped across an overflow from a different style breeder box. I'm sure the basket can be used successfully, and that I made mistakes in my method of removing the box. Still...I wouldn't use it for fry again.

I did stick a feisty Ryukin in the net-box overnight once because he was harassing a friend. In the middle of the night, I found the net twisted, him out and two friends stuck in the net. The Ryukin was kind of a jerk as an adolescent fish.

Anyway, now I stick to the clear plastic Marina boxes that hang outside the rI'm of the tank. They hook up to an airpump which drips tank water through the box.

Mind is the overflow, though. I knocked a doomed baby over the edge when I was working in the box and not paying attention to to the amount of water I displaced. Mom and Dad ate him. Now they stare at the overflow and beg when I clean. The plastic is a little brittle too, so avoid any downward pressure on the box.

Hope this helps, maybe not useful info for OP anymore (sorry). Putting it out there for people reading the thread in the future.

Thanks for the response, and I'm so sorry for your losses. Good to know in reference to goldfish fry, as I now have six in one tank, and I think I sexed two wrong, oops.
The Platies ended up not working out, they all had TB, columnaris, AND anchor worms, so all the adults have passed. I do have some random babies that made it, but I don't know how long they'll live.
Any tips for goldfish fry though

 

Thanks for the response, and I'm so sorry for your losses. Good to know in reference to goldfish fry, as I now have six in one tank, and I think I sexed two wrong, oops.
The Platies ended up not working out, they all had TB, columnaris, AND anchor worms, so all the adults have passed. I do have some random babies that made it, but I don't know how long they'll live.
Any tips for goldfish fry though

I'm sorry to hear about your losses. It's hard to lose fish.

You have random goldfish babies? They're the most fun. I love watching them bloom into beautiful fish. What do the parents look like?

I wish I could give tips on fry. I don't know anything special - I was just really lucky. I was about to write this last week, but before I finished typing my post, I lost two litters of fry and giant half-year-old fish to prazi-resistant skin flukes. Actually, I think the big one succombed to the flukes, and the fry to my mistake in adding the wrong medicine to their tanks. So yeah...luck. At least until I learn enough not to make quite so many mistakes.

If you have cute babies showing up in your tank, I'd say that's pretty good luck. You must have happy big fish too, since they're spawning. That's not luck, it's your care.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your losses. It's hard to lose fish.

You have random goldfish babies? They're the most fun. I love watching them bloom into beautiful fish. What do the parents look like?

I wish I could give tips on fry. I don't know anything special - I was just really lucky. I was about to write this last week, but before I finished typing my post, I lost two litters of fry and giant half-year-old fish to prazi-resistant skin flukes. Actually, I think the big one succombed to the flukes, and the fry to my mistake in adding the wrong medicine to their tanks. So yeah...luck. At least until I learn enough not to make quite so many mistakes.

If you have cute babies showing up in your tank, I'd say that's pretty good luck. You must have happy big fish too, since they're spawning. That's not luck, it's your care.

Thanks, and I'm sorry for the loss of your fish! That sucks! Any chance it was costia? Maybe anchor worms?
I don't have the little babies yet, but I can hope, lol! Except, I think all six of my goldfish may be female, lol. Ah well, their tank isn't heated and we had a bit of a cold snap, so I guess if I do have a male, I'll find out once it warms back up.
And they're just a random mix of six different types, one common, fantail, Yuan Bao Oranda, lionhead, Ranchu, and normal oranda.

 

Thanks, and I'm sorry for the loss of your fish! That sucks! Any chance it was costia? Maybe anchor worms?
I don't have the little babies yet, but I can hope, lol! Except, I think all six of my goldfish may be female, lol. Ah well, their tank isn't heated and we had a bit of a cold snap, so I guess if I do have a male, I'll find out once it warms back up.
And they're just a random mix of six different types, one common, fantail, Yuan Bao Oranda, lionhead, Ranchu, and normal oranda.

Under the microscope I found found an abundance of vicious, overactive skin flukes - the live-bearers of the pest world. That's not to rule out other plagues like costia. I haven't looked for that before, and stopped examining and started scrambling for treatment when I found the flukes. They'd already killed a pearlscale, and I found them in the gills of my oldest fantail friend. Unfortunately, when I ran out of PrazI (which didn't seem to work) I tried Fenbenzadole. I WON'T do that again.

Oh my goodness! Your babies sound like an adorable pool of genes. How fun to watch them unfold with SO many possibilities. Those boys are sneaky sometimes. I had a male common in a tank of three once and never did find out which fish. They're in ponds now, so someone is probably finding surprise babies. If it's your common gf you'll really have random fry! Double tails are a dominant gene, and some fancies have a single gene in there somewhere. Tails are so hard to count on newer fry too. You might have a second spawn by the time you find out if the single tail is involved. Do u know who mama might be?

 

Under the microscope I found found an abundance of vicious, overactive skin flukes - the live-bearers of the pest world. That's not to rule out other plagues like costia. I haven't looked for that before, and stopped examining and started scrambling for treatment when I found the flukes. They'd already killed a pearlscale, and I found them in the gills of my oldest fantail friend. Unfortunately, when I ran out of PrazI (which didn't seem to work) I tried Fenbenzadole. I WON'T do that again.

Oh my goodness! Your babies sound like an adorable pool of genes. How fun to watch them unfold with SO many possibilities. Those boys are sneaky sometimes. I had a male common in a tank of three once and never did find out which fish. They're in ponds now, so someone is probably finding surprise babies. If it's your common gf you'll really have random fry! Double tails are a dominant gene, and some fancies have a single gene in there somewhere. Tails are so hard to count on newer fry too. You might have a second spawn by the time you find out if the single tail is involved. Do u know who mama might be?

Dang, I hope you eventually find out what happened
And I don't actually have any fry yet, I just call my goldfish my babies, lol, sorry for any confusion.
Only issue with potential fry is I think all but my Yuan Bao are female :/
He's got a bad swim bladder issue though, probably can't spawn.... Guess we'll see though, lol
Also, very interesting to learn double tail is dominant