Platy Fry Population

HI all,
I'm trying to get my platy fry stock under control...
When I got these platys, I was told they were all males. Unfortunately, we learned the hard way that a couple of them were not... so now we have about 20-30 regular sized platys and fry. We started out with 4-6 of them.
Now, I like these fish and everything but having 20 of them are overwhelming...especially when the 2 tanks they are in are 29 gallon tank and a 20 gallon tank. They have consumed 2/5 of my tanks and it's almost to the put of having to put some in my 75, which I'm not AGAINST but I also am because it's a fairly new set up and my family is starting to get annoyed that we have so many RED fish and that we can't exactly explore other options because of these guys. So I've come to the conclusion that something needs to be done because even now, I'm, starting to get frustrated. I used to love the color red and now it is everything I see hahaha
Anyway,
Working with what I've got... I have around 18-20 fish in my 29 gallon tank - 3 strawberry tetras, 2 indian pea puffers, 3 dwarf gourami's, 2 otos, a molly, and the remaining are platy's - whether full grown or fry.
The 20 gallon I have is 1 pea puffer, 1 blue guppy, 2 otos, and the rest are platy's.
The 75 gallon I have set up only has 4 fish currently in it. It has an angel, and 3 glofish. I plan to add oto's, a pictus catfish, a few puffers (for the snail population), a rainbow shark, and some more glofish.
Now, I don't find it humane to flush these platy's down the toilet alive, as my sister has said she has wanted to do for months now when they first started reproducing. So I'm trying to please everyone here and figure out how to go about this.
I have heard angelfish are excellent eaters of fry. But I'm not entirely sure if just one angelfish will be enough to eat all the fry that come. (I have at least 3 females, from what I can see now.) I am able to get another angelfish if these are the best solution to this and put what females I know of in the 75 but I just do not want my platy stock to work its way into the 75 because as previously said, I would like some other species of fish other than just platy's. But I was also trying to figure out what other fish/etc would be the best fry eater.
I know oto's couldn't care less since they clearly aren't doing much about the issues in the 20 and 29 gallon. The molly and adult platy's I'm sure have eaten some but obviously not enough, same for the gourami's.
I did at one point have a rainbow shark in my 29 and once he died (sadly, I was misinformed on how to -start- a tank up, but now I'm getting good at it), I did notice the population of the baby fry go up. Would having this shark also be a help?
I'm not sure if a pictus catfish or glofish (tetras, danios, barbs) will eat fry either...
Either way,
summed up, I need guidance to help me with this fry population.
What is my best solution with what I've got?

thank you in advance

 

Why don't you sell the fry, or ask if someone will take them off your hands? Sometimes fish stores will buy extra fish if there are a lot and they are healthy.

 

I agree, try to sell them or give them away. Things like craigslist or facebook would help.

You also have stocking issues if you would like to discuss them.

 

Why don't you sell the fry, or ask if someone will take them off your hands? Sometimes fish stores will buy extra fish if there are a lot and they are healthy.

I forgot to add in that we were going to try to convince my uncle and aunt if they wanted to take a few in, since my aunt is starting to get into the trade...but that wouldn't be until about December when and if they wanted to, since we were going to find them a 29 gallon tank and stand.... as for a fish store taking them in, we've actually asked and they have said no because they are "not confident they are healthy" even after I told them there has never been an outbreak of any illness in my tanks. (they just NEED to be sure that they aren't going to kill their product and I get it. but I am 100% confident my fish are healthy.) as for selling/just giving them out goes, I'm not sure how to even go about that. I don't know many people who have fish tanks.

 

I forgot to add in that we were going to try to convince my uncle and aunt if they wanted to take a few in, since my aunt is starting to get into the trade...but that wouldn't be until about December when and if they wanted to, since we were going to find them a 29 gallon tank and stand.... as for a fish store taking them in, we've actually asked and they have said no because they are "not confident they are healthy" even after I told them there has never been an outbreak of any illness in my tanks. (they just NEED to be sure that they aren't going to kill their product and I get it. but I am 100% confident my fish are healthy.) as for selling/just giving them out goes, I'm not sure how to even go about that. I don't know many people who have fish tanks.

How a about selling them on eBay or Craigslist? There are hundreds of people who want to buy platies on there.

 

I agree, try to sell them or give them away. Things like craigslist or facebook would help.

You also have stocking issues if you would like to discuss them.

I'm not sure how I'd go about selling them or giving them away. Facebook doesn't typically allow selling of live animals and I'm super against being a hypocrite because I'm always saying how I will never come to that.
i'm aware I have stocking issues. i'm trying to fix that issue but it's difficult to while I have 30 platy fish and fry. and I know I let it go on for too long but this 75 gallon tank has only been set up for a few weeks (and there is healthy bacteria I got from my other tanks and which that made the tank instantly cycle).
i'm not DEFINETLY adding everything I said I was adding to the 75, if that is also where you're going at. i'm just going with the flow on that tank and know the limits of how much I can add into the tank.
but you're welcome to tell me more since I am somewhat still new and am open to learning new things

How a about selling them on eBay or Craigslist? There are hundreds of people who want to buy platies on there.

Are there? I've never actually looked. I guess my issue with that is I do not want to "ship" fish. I get that they're are options for only close by meetups and whatnot but it seems a bit sketchy to me

 

I'm not sure how I'd go about selling them or giving them away. Facebook doesn't typically allow selling of live animals and I'm super against being a hypocrite because I'm always saying how I will never come to that.
i'm aware I have stocking issues. i'm trying to fix that issue but it's difficult to while I have 30 platy fish and fry. and I know I let it go on for too long but this 75 gallon tank has only been set up for a few weeks (and there is healthy bacteria I got from my other tanks and which that made the tank instantly cycle).
i'm not DEFINETLY adding everything I said I was adding to the 75, if that is also where you're going at. i'm just going with the flow on that tank and know the limits of how much I can add into the tank.
but you're welcome to tell me more since I am somewhat still new and am open to learning new things


Are there? I've never actually looked. I guess my issue with that is I do not want to "ship" fish. I get that they're are options for only close by meetups and whatnot but it seems a bit sketchy to me

It's mainly temperature and low number issues.

In your 29 gallon, I'm surprised you haven't had the puffers or the DGs all kill each other. I didn't think you could put those puffers with anything else, they may end up killing all the other fish in there. There's also a major chance that your DGs are going to fight and kill until you only have 1. Otos are also social fish and like to be in groups of 3+ I believe. Strawberry tetras are also schooling fish that like to be in groups of 6+. But you don't have room to up those schools right now, I understand that.

The 20 gallon, again, surprised the puffer hasn't killed everything in there.

For the 75, the angel and the glo tetras have different temperature requirements. Angels like 78+, glo tetras like 72-74. I believe otos like cooler water than the angel so I wouldn't add those. I'm not sure about the other ones you have planned for that.

I'm gonna call on BottomDweller on this cause I'm not completely sure about everything I've said.

 

Can you separate the males from the females, and stop their reproduction? Then deal with the overload as others have suggested.

 

It's mainly temperature and low number issues.

In your 29 gallon, I'm surprised you haven't had the puffers or the DGs all kill each other. I didn't think you could put those puffers with anything else, they may end up killing all the other fish in there. There's also a major chance that your DGs are going to fight and kill until you only have 1. Otos are also social fish and like to be in groups of 3+ I believe. Strawberry tetras are also schooling fish that like to be in groups of 6+. But you don't have room to up those schools right now, I understand that.

The 20 gallon, again, surprised the puffer hasn't killed everything in there.

For the 75, the angel and the glo tetras have different temperature requirements. Angels like 78+, glo tetras like 72-74. I believe otos like cooler water than the angel so I wouldn't add those. I'm not sure about the other ones you have planned for that.

I'm gonna call on BottomDweller on this cause I'm not completely sure about everything I've said.

To be completely honest with you, I knew NOTHING about puffers until about 2 or 3 weeks before I got them. And only 2-3 weeks because I had to wait for my local fish store to get stock of them. The only reason why I got them was because I was having a pest snail issue and I was and still am against clown loaches because I do have 2 mystery snails that I like very much so. And obviously, the loach would have eaten them by now and the puffers seem to be doing their job when it comes to keeping the snail issue down and we've actually even gone to the local store tog et some nuisance snails to restock for them. They have however been in the tank since about February/March and although I have seen some fin nipping, I haven't had any fish die or even show signs of stress. If there is stress, I would imagine it would be because of the low amount of numbers I have for each of them. As for the DG's, again I have had those since about March/April and for the most part, they seem to be doing well. They all keep to their selves. I originally got 3 because I read they did well with 2's and my sister wanted a 3rd. So perhaps I should've told her no and kept with the 2. But it's kind of impossible to say no to my mother and sister...because originally I had issues wit my 29 gallon tank because they wanted 15 fish to start out and I said no and they basically just didn't listen and it lead to all type of nonsense. Luckily, I figured that issue out and all my tanks are good now and haven't shown ammonia in months.
As for the otos, unfortunately, I didn't get 3 because again it's impossible to please my sister and she only wanted 2 even though I said 5 times how they do well in 3's. and by the time I even figured this out, we had only gotten 2. But I DO intend to get more once this platy population is sorted out. For my 75 gallon, I was planning to get 5-7 of them since I am now aware of them liking to be in groups. The same kind of goes for the tetras, except I thought it was 3 at least and then,5,7, etc. So we got 3 because it was convenient to get 3. again, once the platy issue is sorted out, I can fix this problem. as for my 75, I haven't gotten any more but we do plan to get more, so as for that, there will be plenty of them to be in a school (I was hoping at least 12 of them).
For the 75 and the glo and Angel I have, I've read that glos can go from 72-80 and I currently have it on about 78-79. and to be honest with you, the tetras are extremely active and seem to be fine (although I know "seem" and "are" are different so for all I know they aren't fine..but going off how they swim and whatnot, they look happy). my current oto's are in a tank at about 79 degrees so i'm not entirely sure how accurate these numbers are. i'm sure you're excellent with fish, better than me probably but I do know my current oto's are doing well. i'm sure they will do better when I have the chance to add to their group.
the pictus catfish is a fish that I can reconsider, since I read they do prefer 72-77 degrees (but some other resources say different numbers so at the same time, I think it does vary in all fish). but as said, i'm not stuck on everything I have said I wanted to put in there. I know the rainbow shark did well in my tank before which was at 79 or so, so adding that I think should be fine. i'm not adding everything at once but slowly. I just put in the 3 glo's on Thursday and am going on vacation for a week and then will be adding more unless I can find the time to add some this Thursday. I know it sounds newbie-ish to say but fish adjust and those ranges that are given, typically as long as they're in those ranges, they should be fine. the oto's are from 72-79 and I don't want to harm them but I do know that they adjusted to the 79 in my 29 gallon. unless you think I should just get 3 pictus catfish (because I've read they can live as 1 but if there is space, they do well in 3's) and avoid the oto's altogether. the purpose of them is mainly algae and any catfish is okay to me as long as I don't put these fish in harms way.

Can you separate the males from the females, and stop their reproduction? Then deal with the overload as others have suggested.

the issue is, the females are still pregnant now so I don't want to just put them in with my angel and not know if they angel will eat them. I have no issue putting them in a separate tank but I just don't want MORE of them and I would kind of be screwed if even 1 fry managed to stay alive in the 75 since there's a 50% that would be a male and i'm not really good at telling if they're male or female until they're actually pregnant.

 

Your angels won't eat your platies, but they will eat the fry.

 

Your angels won't eat your platies, but they will eat the fry.

yes that's what I am hoping for if I put them in the tank. If I was confusing, excuse me haha, I do know the adult platies will not be eaten. I just want to control the fry. I just am not sure if I put 3-5 currently pregnant platies in there if 1 angel will actually catch all of the fry.

 

yes that's what I am hoping for if I put them in the tank. If I was confusing, excuse me haha, I do know the adult platies will not be eaten. I just want to control the fry. I just am not sure if I put 3-5 currently pregnant platies in there if 1 angel will actually catch all of the fry.

Oh yes. He will be a happy man that day.

 

It's mainly temperature and low number issues.

In your 29 gallon, I'm surprised you haven't had the puffers or the DGs all kill each other. I didn't think you could put those puffers with anything else, they may end up killing all the other fish in there. There's also a major chance that your DGs are going to fight and kill until you only have 1. Otos are also social fish and like to be in groups of 3+ I believe. Strawberry tetras are also schooling fish that like to be in groups of 6+. But you don't have room to up those schools right now, I understand that.

The 20 gallon, again, surprised the puffer hasn't killed everything in there.

For the 75, the angel and the glo tetras have different temperature requirements. Angels like 78+, glo tetras like 72-74. I believe otos like cooler water than the angel so I wouldn't add those. I'm not sure about the other ones you have planned for that.

I'm gonna call on BottomDweller on this cause I'm not completely sure about everything I've said.

I agree with everything you've said apart from maybe the otos. Personally I think 3 is too few.

Along with what ValerieAdams has said I'll add that platies need cooler water than angels. If you're just putting fry in tbere so they get eaten then I guess temperature compatibility isn't really an issue.

I am very suprised the puffers haven't caused issues. Too be honest I'm shocked they haven't controlled the fry issue along with the gouramis. Dwarf gouramis are commonly recommended to keep fry numbers down.

For the 75 and the glo and Angel I have, I've read that glos can go from 72-80 and I currently have it on about 78-79. and to be honest with you, the tetras are extremely active and seem to be fine (although I know "seem" and "are" are different so for all I know they aren't fine..but going off how they swim and whatnot, they look happy)

I'm not suprised they are active. High tenperatures will stress fish out and basically speed everything up. Their metabolism is sped up, they grow faster, they breed faster and ultimately they die sooner. 76f is their maximum but they are happiest around 72-74f.

 

I agree with everything you've said apart from maybe the otos. Personally I think 3 is too few.

Along with what ValerieAdams has said I'll add that platies need cooler water than angels. If you're just putting fry in tbere so they get eaten then I guess temperature compatibility isn't really an issue.

I am very suprised the puffers haven't caused issues. Too be honest I'm shocked they haven't controlled the fry issue along with the gouramis. Dwarf gouramis are commonly recommended to keep fry numbers down.

I'm not suprised they are active. High tenperatures will stress fish out and basically speed everything up. Their metabolism is sped up, they grow faster, they breed faster and ultimately they die sooner. 76f is their maximum but they are happiest around 72-74f.

Thanks! I couldn't remember if otos were schooling fish and like 6+ or if they were just social and liked a few of them to be around

 

I agree with everything you've said apart from maybe the otos. Personally I think 3 is too few
Along with what ValerieAdams has said I'll add that platies need cooler water than angels. If you're just putting fry in tbere so they get eaten then I guess temperature compatibility isn't really an issue.

I am very suprised the puffers haven't caused issues. Too be honest I'm shocked they haven't controlled the fry issue along with the gouramis. Dwarf gouramis are commonly recommended to keep fry numbers down.

I'm not suprised they are active. High tenperatures will stress fish out and basically speed everything up. Their metabolism is sped up, they grow faster, they breed faster and ultimately they die sooner. 76f is their maximum but they are happiest around 72-74f.

when I say they are "extremely active" I mean that they seem to be normally active as my other fish in the 29 (and 20 but I don't have tetras in that one). idk although I have read about temp issues and temperaments, I did read angels get along with them so I figure it's safe to have them in there with them. at this point, i'm not just going to throw them out and I can't just leave 3 alone in there. and obviously I cannot add them to my other tanks.
I would just put the FRY in there, however, it is easier said than done doing this. fry are tiny and I already had enough trouble getting the larger of the fry to put in my 20 gallon, so I feel as if my only option if I don't want to give away the females, is to put them in with the angels. again, I've had my platies in 79 degrees and they are fine. I also am aware that higher temps cause a faster metabolism and that they will ultimately die sooner.
it may seem like i'm not knowledgeable on the fish I have and plan on getting and to be fair, I wasn't. but as soon as I found issues in the tank, I did heavy research (probably more than necessary). I've even done (again, probably more than necessary amount) research on this 75 tank i'm setting up. I did NOT however take into consideration me adding these platies but from my previous knowledge, it was alright to put them in with the angel because they're known to get along and they'd eat the fry.
as for the puffers, I was told that they were fin nippers. and although I have seen some nipped fins, it's very minimal and i'm not even sure it's from the puffers.
I wish both the puffers and the gourami's were doing something about the fry but they aren't. maybe they've helped a little bit, but they still haven't gotten them all and even just beginning with one, it has caused an outrageous amount of platy fry.

regardless, although the stocking issue help and whatnot is appreciated, as previously stated, I also didn't intend to have this be the main focus.
As far as I am concerned, my platies that I do have, seem to be content at 78/79. and I will even throw out there that at one point, it was at 75 or so and they did not seem happy. maybe they were used to it being at 78/79, but regardless it was at 75 in the beginning (after the ammonia issues were cleared up) and they didn't seem to enjoy the water perimeters as much as they do when it is 78/79.
And as far as the puffers and guarami's go; sure I should've done more extensive research before getting them. But the puffers seem to be content (I DID do research on them) and happily snacking on the pest snails and the guarami's probably would be happier with less in the tank, which was the point of my original thread, but regardless of that, they seem to be happy.
I just did more research on what to keep in my 75 gallon tank and I have concluded that I won't be doing a pictus catfish, as they are known to not get along with them. the glos, shark, oto's and a few other things are what I plan to go with.
I really just wanted to know if my best option was to put the pregnant platies in with the angel so that I could finally control the fry situation. To be QUITE honest, I am sick of the fry. I love the coloring and I love platies, but the color red is the only color I see in this tank and it just wasn't exactly the ideal situation for the tank. Hence why I want to know if the angels will DEFINETLY get these fry.

Thanks! I couldn't remember if otos were schooling fish and like 6+ or if they were just social and liked a few of them to be around

I do plan to get more once I establish this platy issue. I plan at least 7 for my 75.

 

I am trying to answer the OP's question more than what the real problem is... ValerieAdams BottomDweller

 

I am trying to answer the OP's question more than what the real problem is... ValerieAdams BottomDweller

yes and I appreciate you answering my main question. and to clarify, I am aware there are some underlying issues I am not bringing up. but be aware that I am aware of them and have been and will be fixing some of these issues...but to start, I need to get the platy control under way first.

 

It does say, and I quote from the website,
"Puffers Aren't a Community Fish"

After reading about them, although these fish are interesting, it would be better if they had a tank all to themselves. I don't mean plural for several in one tank, unless it is a very large tank.
In a 29 gallon there should only be the one puffer, with nothing else except snails and other live food for the puffer to eat. The freshwater puffer, creates a lot of waste, therefore ammonia spikes.

Too be fair, I am not sure about the smaller puffers, like pea puffers that I have heard others mention.

 

If I were in your position, I would find a home for the females and the fry and just keep the males you have. Petco will often take in fish to rehome, but I found a home using craigslist for the guppies I had at the time. I gave them away. Bagged them up and met the person at a grocery store parking lot and handed them over.

 

I was curious about the freshwater puffer fish and found this website...


It does say, and I quote from the website,
"Puffers Aren't a Community Fish"

After reading about them, although these fish are interesting, it would be better if they had a tank all to themselves. I don't mean plural for several in one tank, unless it is a very large tank.
In a 29 gallon there should only be the one puffer, with nothing else except snails and other live food for the puffer to eat. The freshwater puffer, creates a lot of waste, therefore ammonia spikes.

Too be fair, I am not sure about the smaller puffers, like pea puffers that I have heard others mention.

although most of that is correct, from what I researched anyway and was told about them, the one thing that isn't as accurate is the ammonia. although they do eat a lot, they actually produce as much ammonia as other fish. I thought they were high ammonia producers too until my trustworthy fish store (not petsmart, Petco or a "name brand pet store) told me that it wasn't true. although a pea puffer would do best with their own kind, no matter what they are put with, they can occasionally be known as nippers. from having these pea puffers since January or so, I feel confident in having them in the tank. I DO however have 2 in my 29 gallon but I am also thinking about rehoming him to my 75 gallon once it is set up. I got them originally for the pest snails and now that they are under control and that my 75 gallon will soon have them, I can put 1 in my 75 gallon and look after it. if it doesn't seem to do well in there, I can put him back in the 29 gallon until I find another way to rehome him, etc. I have had the puffer for 7 or so months now, and have been reading up on them since 3 weeks before getting them and look after them every day. so I confidently say that for now, they are okay until I find a better home. again, got these because I was, and still am, not a fan of a clown loach or any other snail eating loach/fish since they would eat my MS.

 

If I were in your position, I would find a home for the females and the fry and just keep the males you have. Petco will often take in fish to rehome, but I found a home using craigslist for the guppies I had at the time. I gave them away. Bagged them up and met the person at a grocery store parking lot and handed them over.

the thing is in this statement that doesn't sit well with me is I don't know which ones are male. I can spot the 3 pregnant ones but some are still too young to tell if they're female. and I find it almost impossible, myself, to tell the difference until they are actually pregnant. but I will look into craigslist because they are overwhelming and I can't contain them anymore.


Also, for everyone advising me against all my fish and my ways, I need to mention again that I am aware of my fish and their well-beings. None of my fish show signs of stress, there is 0 ammonia in all of my tanks and not once have I had an outbreak of an illness.

honestly I just wanted help with my fry population. I will strongly consider other options and temps and temperaments, and everything else that was stated (including adding more tetras and oto's to my 29 because I was going to anyway, since I knew AFTER the fact that they did better in larger groups). but my concern was my platy fry.

 

the thing is in this statement that doesn't sit well with me is I don't know which ones are male. I can spot the 3 pregnant ones but some are still too young to tell if they're female. and I find it almost impossible, myself, to tell the difference until they are actually pregnant. but I will look into craigslist because they are overwhelming and I can't contain them anymore.

Adult platies are pretty easy to sex. Just take a look at their analfin. Males will have a thin pointed analfin and females have the triangular fanned out analfin. Females also have a slightly rounded stomach even when they're not pregnant. Females also tend to grow slightly larger. Be aware that all babies start off with a female analfin.

It's not a great picture obviously but my profile picture has 2 platies. The red one at the back is male and the orange one in front is female. If you want you can post a few pictures of a few of your platies and we can tell if they're male or female so you get used to sexing them.