Platy fish just gave birth please help!!!

Hi I am new to the fish keeping world and my platy fish has just given birth to a fry of 4, I was aware her tummy area was bloated but unaware she was pregnant.
As a result the fry are in the tank with my two adult platys and I have no idea what to do, I have nowhere I can put them if I were to remove them but I know the adults may eat them how can I keep them safe?
Also the tank is due a 25% water change how do I do it safel without disturbing the fry?
Thanks in advance

 

One thing that you can do if you don't have enough room is to return them to the store. One time when I was at the store someone was returning some baby fish and the store was happy to take them. Or you can get another tank. Also, it takes about two weeks for the parent fish to know that their kids aren't food.

 

Give them some hiding spots like floating plants... Platy fry grow pretty fast.

 

How are they doing?

 

One thing that you can do if you don't have enough room is to return them to the store. One time when I was at the store someone was returning some baby fish and the store was happy to take them. Or you can get another tank. Also, it takes about two weeks for the parent fish to know that their kids aren't food.

Thank you for your advice! I couldn't return them to the store as its closed due to covid, so I decided to leave them in the tank and hope the parents didn't eat them, so far 2 of the fry have been eaten :'( but that was during the first night, 3 are still remaining and have been since then so hopefully they will survive.

 

How are they doing?

2 of the fry were sadly eaten however 3 are still going strong!

 

Give them some hiding spots like floating plants... Platy fry grow pretty fast.

Thank you! They have a few plants and a little ornament that the surviving ones have been hiding in so far!

 

Also, it takes about two weeks for the parent fish to know that their kids aren't food.

Are you saying after two weeks (in the same tank) the adults don't see them as food anymore? Does the clock start if I were to return the babies back into the main tank?

 

Are you saying after two weeks (in the same tank) the adults don't see them as food anymore? Does the clock start if I were to return the babies back into the main tank?

I can't be certain but I think they may have been referring to the fact that they will have grown enough to be recognised in this time. From my limited experience the adult fish do seem more aware of the babies now and the babies have grown considerably. After the initial 2 that were eaten on the first day no more have been and she has since birthed one more so there are 4 still alive and growing well. I don't know if this is because I never removed them from the adult tank (due to a lack of anywhere to put them) so they have got used to them, or if reintroducing them would have the same result but I hope this helps.

 

My platy likes to give me a new bunch of fry about every 5-6 weeks. I keep them in the main tank with everyone else. Some may be eaten but thats ok unless you are wanting a large community of platy and have the room for them. My most recent litter had around 12 survivors. (Im not sure exactly because they hide very well) once your fish store opens check in with them to see how big your fry need to be in order to bring them in. Platys mature at around 4 months, and my store requires them to be around an inch long. If you have a male and female in your tank get ready because they breed a lot. Enjoy your fishies!

 

Well, good luck with the babies!!!