Too many platies!

[H20girl]

I have a 20 gallon tank with 5 grown platies... one had babies and 9 survived in the tank with the adults... they are about a month old now and the adults really don't even chase after them anymore.

The 3 grown females all look very pregnant right now, so I think there will be even more babies soon.

Trouble is, I'm attached to the fry... I don't want them to go just anywhere but I can't keep them. One thought was to keep a few females and take the rest of the fry and the adult males to a fish shop. Do you think they'll take them (and not use them as feeder fish)?

I responded to an ad on Craigslist written by someone looking for fish, but didn't hear back. Maybe I can post an ad and find them homes that way, but again, I am worried about what will happen to them.

My remaining idea is to get another tank and separate the boys and girls... Is a tank full of boys a bad idea (i.e., would they fight)? My boyfriend would not be happy about me getting another tank (Him: "WHERE are you going to put it?!"; Me: "Your office?"; Him: "Uh, no."), but I'm still considering it!

Any idea how old the fry have to be before you can tell their gender? They all look like girls right now...

 

[Kunsthure]

Around 3-4 months is what I've been told for when sex becomes apparent. I'm still waiting on my fry to show theirs.

Some LFS will take fry. One around me will give 1/3 retail value in store credit, but since livebearers are like $1 it's not a lot. I've read of people on here taking their fry to Petco, but no money or store credit is given. You may or may not be able to find a store to take the adults. Petsmart told me that there is no way in heck that they will take back a fish after the 14 day guarantee period, even for free.

You'll still have fry for several months even after separating the boys and girls, but it's still a long-term solution. I had four platy boys but three ganged up on the fourth sensitive one and he died of stress. . But the three now all jockey back and forth and it's ok since they have similar personalities. So it can work.

-Lisa

 

[Marc M]

I have had many fry in my main tank. I even bought a 10 gallon fry tank and a floating breeder to save them. My LFS takes them and sells them as Native Born Platies. If you plan to kep livebearers you can't get attached to the fry. You could try segregating them by gender but the males may fight. If you can find an LFS that will take them you may find yourself enjoying breeding them. I just saved about 12 new fry tonight!

 

[Kunsthure]

"Native born platys" huh?

-Lisa

 

[H20girl]

Ha, that's interesting about the "native born"! I imagine most platies are native born, but that's funny they are advertising them as such.

I was kinda thinking that nature would take it's course and all but maybe one or two fry from each batch would get eaten, but it looks like we have too many hiding places in our tank. *Although, maybe we could get a gourami or something else that would go after the babies more aggressively.

I was clueless when we got these fish and had no idea how to tell the boys and girls apart... if I had thought this through more we would have only gotten females. The fry are super cute though and I am looking forward to keeping a few to watch them grow.

I will call up some LFS and see if they will take them. Unfortunately the majority of the non-chain stores near me have closed in the last year or two due to the economy.

 

[ranga97]

Hello, welcome!!
The best thing to do is try to give them away if you don't want them, please don't flush them down the toilet!
If your lfs is a chain then most likely they won't accept anything, they might, but in most cases they don't... But if it is, it could be worth a try.
Maybe your friend, family or someone else would love to take them!
When I had mine, five survived the first two months, but only two survived the first 5 months.
Maybe you could invest in another tank (8 gallon minimum) and use it to raise platies or as a quarantine? As they grow from fry, and if you have sufficient filteration (biological) you probably won't have to worry about ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. But if you do this than you platies could start to become aggressive toward each other.
* the gouramis would definatley eat the fry although I'd rather keep them. That's in my opinion! You can do whatever you wish as it is you tank! The gourami might even add a spice and dash of colour to your tank, just remember to add only one specimen to decrease risks of aggression. This is only really important for males!

Do whatever you can, and best of luck!

Ranga

 

[H20girl]

Update: I posted an add on Craigslist and someone came and picked up the 2 males and a few of the fry. I felt guilty letting them go, but the man claimed to have a 40 gallon community tank, so i'm hoping for the best for them.

 

[Marc M]

That's the best you could do. I am confident someone who was willing to make contact and drive to you is not using them as feeders. You could buy feeders mega cheap.

 

[Aquarist]

Good morning,

I have moved your thread to the Live Bearer/Platy section of the forum.

Thanks!
Ken

 

[H20girl]

Thanks, Ken - I thought that was where I'd posted it! Whoops!

Marc - Thanks for your comment, it made me feel a little better. I think you are probably right.

 

[ranga97]

So what ended up happening????????

 

[H20girl]

ranga97 - I put an ad on Craigslist and a man and his daughter took the 2 males and most of the babies. They said they have a 40 gallon, so hopefully they're doing ok there. Now I have the 3 females, 4 babies, and 3 new cory. When the babies get bigger, I will find homes for the males. Eventually I'll get a few more cories.

 

[konstargirl]

Hi! Your females will still give birth for at least a couple of more months. I think your should take the remaining fry to the petstore. I take the fry that my females gives, but they don't give me a store credit or anything.. They should though. And don't add anymore fish at this time until your females will not give birth anymore. Do your females get along with each other or do they fight? My two females do not get along with each other and now I have a tank divider and they seem to enjoy their space.

What kind of cories do you have?

 

[H20girl]

Yeah, I figured there'd be more babies for awhile longer. I just found a pretty good LFS (yay!), so I'll see if they'll take them (assuming they have more).

One of the girls has been harassing the other two females ever since the males left, but things seemed to have improved since I added the cories. I think they're ok though... she hasn't nipped anyone's fins yet and they all still want to swim together (nobody hides or anythihng).

Oh, my cories are C. Trilineatus ("false Julli"). They look like this:

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