Livebearers FAQ

Aug 8, 2010
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#61
Ack!

Well silly me did not think I had a live bearing fish when I bought the 2 platy's. I just went with ohhhhh they are pretty. I had bought the male from from Petco and he passed away a few days after that come to find out he brought a bacteria with him from the pet store. It was killing off a few of my older neon's but my other tetras and female platy are all right. Well I have been treating the tank with antibiotics this week because I noticed a sore on one of the tetras tails and I didn't want it to die like the other fish. Not knowing my female Platy was pregnant, she has been in the same water being treated as well. Well today she popped. I came home to find one baby in the tank about the size of my pinky nail and it looks just like the mama. It has been 8 hours now and she is still huge but I see no more fry. Will the fish antibiotics hurt the fry? I have rocks and plants all over the tank and I turned off the bubbles so it could hide behind the fake coral reef. So I am planning on leaving the one fry I do see in the tank but I am wondering if I should expect more or if I missed something and the one I do see is the sole survivor? I also noticed I have seen the mama pooping up a storm is that normal? I am just worried about her and the fry lol they are my 4 year olds babies lol he was so excited about the fry. *SUNSMILE*
 

fiddlybits

Medium Fish
Jan 15, 2010
51
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BC, Canada
#62
You might mention that the fry/juvenile livebearer fish all look like females until they become sexually mature, except the real females usually have deeper bellies. The male's anal fin does not develop into a gonopodium until then, which is at about 3-5 months old depending on species and conditions.
 

fiddlybits

Medium Fish
Jan 15, 2010
51
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BC, Canada
#63
healthy fish, obsessed fish

More stuff for the stickie.....

When buying fish at the LFS, observe the fish in all their tanks before you buy. Only buy from healthy suppliers. Look for sores, sickly-looking fish, tiny white spots (ICK), dirty tanks, dead fish that have been partly eaten... basically any sign that the tanks might not be healthy and well cared for. The tanks share water from a big filter system behind the scenes, so illness in one means potential illness in all. If you are not satisfied that all is well, do not buy from that store. If you have your heart set on a particular fish despite bad conditions, put it (them) in quarantine (seperate tank) for a month before you put the fish into your main tank. Medicate the quarantine tank if necessary.

Do not ever transfer any LFS water to your tank, you could be importing diseases. Catch the fish in a net, wipe the drips off the bottom, and hold your hand under the net to tip the fish into the tank.

Re: male livebearer being obsessed with one female and constantly harassing her despite presence of other females... try isolating the harassed female. Divide your tank, or isolate her in a big net, or put her in another tank for a week or two. This will give her a rest, and hopefully break the male's habit of chasing her. He should 'discover' the other females. If he doesn't mend his ways, replace him or the harassed female. Once they get obsessed about something it's hard to change their minds, which are not very big to begin with. ;-)


Lotus, thanks for doing this project!
 

Kyra

New Fish
Aug 22, 2011
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#65
I just had a Guppy die recently, who was very close to having her fry (from what I assume and read online, she was very close to giving birth)

The main thing I worry about is, how long do the fry live before they die within the Guppy mother? Do they try to escape on their own? When a guppy mother with a dark spot dies, will the fry still grow even if she is dead to some extent or will they die along with her within seconds?

I have wondered if I should leave the mother in my fry tank just in case they decide to wiggle out, or try dissecting her and making a clean incision that would allow the fry to escape, probably prematurely, but safely.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
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Yelm, WA
#66
Personally, I doubt its worth trying anything. Without the normal air exchange I would think the fry would die almost immediately. Also its possible to have the the fry die for what ever reason in the mother and then cause the mother death - I have seen that happen in other animals.
 

Kyra

New Fish
Aug 22, 2011
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#67
So my guppy fry and wag platy fry were born on the same day. The thing that bugs me is that, upon extracting the fry into a safer 20 gallon tank, the guppy fry will huddle together into little schools and swim around, but the wag fry will stand motionless in one place or hide in the plants. The wag fry are not sick or anything, and the few who do sit on the bottom do swim sometimes, but the fact that they will find a plant to huddle against and stand motionless made me think this wasn't natural. Do most non-guppy fry do this?