New to platies = New to fish babies

ira_desent

ira_desent

Small Fish
#1
Aug 17, 2009
15
0
0
Chicago
#1
I have baby fish!! Cutest thing ever! This is all new to me and boy was I shocked!
*BOUNCINGS
They must have been a few weeks old already by the time I found them. There are at least 2 and they hide out in this knotty driftwood I have in the tank.

One is orange (I think a girl) and the other is a dark gray. That one blends in with the background so I can't get any pictures or see any definition in the fins. On the orange one I can start to see black spots on the tail forming (they were born between 2 mickey mouse platies)

Here is a photo of the orange one. It's in the middle of the picture within the leaves, watching the danios swim past.
 

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bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#2
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#2
Yay for baby platies! I have two babies platies right now as well. One is a sunset coral dwarf baby (bright orange) and the other is a marigold variatus baby (bluish and orange when full-grown, tannish clear right now). Mine are just about two and a half weeks old now. The sunset coral dwarf baby is about 1/2" long and the marigold variatus baby is about 3/8" long. However, I was told that you cannot even begin to sex them until they are at least 3-4 months old. :)
 

fiddlybits

fiddlybits

Medium Fish
#4
Jan 15, 2010
51
0
0
BC, Canada
#4
You can protect the baby fry in the breeding trap for a little while, but not raise it in there. If the babies are raised in a confined area they will be stunted. They should have at the least a 2-gallon tank, but preferably a 5 or ten-gallon to spend their first 2 or 3 months in, safe from bigger fish. Or you could just let them take their chances, they made it so far and could get lucky and survive to adulthood in the main tank. They'll need small food (crushed flake will do) and lots of cover. Live plants are good; they nibble algae off the leaves.
Good luck!
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#8
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#8
define "looks like"
Do you mean body shape/size wise, or the determining features? (which are gonopodium only for platies)

And then you have the huge female-looking MALE platy that fiddlybits owns xD!
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#9
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#9
Stanley's anal fin looks like a gonopodium and Ninja's is the fan-shape of a female. They have total different body shapes 'cuz Stanley is a sunset coral dwarf (deeper body) while Ninja is a marigold variatus (more streamlined). I tried to take pics of the little buggers, but they're hard to get pics of.
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#10
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#10
two and a half weeks? not likely. the reality might be that you didnt find those fry right after birth, and they might have stowed away in your tank for many weeks before you found them...
I'm not trying to sound accusatory, but only at 2 weeks their color should be showing up. 2 months old showing first signs of a gonopodium is more like it, at least from my experience...most sites say the fry mature at around 3 months, with some taking much longer..
 

ValRasbora

ValRasbora

Superstar Fish
#11
May 2, 2009
1,202
0
0
Atlantic Canada
#11
bassbonediva said:
You has another baby?! YAY!!! What's this one's name? ;)
Click to expand...
for now his name is...

*drumroll* *DRUMMER*

NO-NAME!!!!

yeah I didn't name him so I won't be dissapointed IF he dies. I think he wasn't newborn when I found him, he looked a bit older. Anyways he's doing good so far and I'm hoping he'll make it to adulthood and hang out with the "gang". Anyways I can take pics if you all want...
 

fiddlybits

fiddlybits

Medium Fish
#14
Jan 15, 2010
51
0
0
BC, Canada
#14
They also fan out their anal fin only when they feel like it, which may not be while you are watching, so you might have seen a folded-up fin resembling a gonopodium. At such a young age you need a good magnifying lens to see it. ;-)
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#15
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#15
also i notice the bottom most ray on the anal fin of a male will be much thicker (maybe becuase it will become a tube) than the bottom ray on the fin of the female..hope that kinda helped to sex juvie live-bearers...
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#16
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#16
Imma just gonna wait to say for sure what sexes Stanley and Ninja are until I can see them better for sure. Right now Ninja is still pretty much tannish clear, so seeing ANYTHING on him is difficult. From straight on, he looks like just two little black eyes. :p
 

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