what do you do with the all the fishes

[missbettapls]

when they are grown? Do you keep all of them or sell them? I have one for sure that is pregnant and I don't know if I'm able to keep all of the babies. I'm going to put her in a separate tank (is a 2 gallon tank ok?) with no gravel but is rocks ok? I'm new at this and my first time breeding. Actually didn't plan it. My son is super excited though. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Tooj]

most people tend to think that a 2 gallon tank is too small. Myself, i think its ok for babies. But you want to make sure that you have a place for them to go when they start to get a little bigger. Also, you mite want to use a cycled tank? The best way to do it is to have a breeders net in your main tank. This ensures that the babies are kept in a fully cycled tank. That way you dont have to deal with 2 tanks at once.

Gravel is really a way to grow bacteria. The more surface area you have, the more bacteria can grow. Rocks will work, but only for a certain amount of time. Once the baby fish start to produce more ammonia then the bacteria (on the given surface area) can consume; youll have a problem.

Again, best way is to have a breeding net in your main tank.
Personally, i put plants in my tank so that a few babies can survive. Not all....It may sound mean, but its the way life goes. Eventually your going to be over run by fish if you dont keep your population in check. A few from every mother is all i really need to keep a good variety in the tank. Plus, that way only the strong ones survive?
If your not a fan of that, lots of plants will do. Im sure your LFS will take them off your hand at no charge! =) some might even pay you a small fee?

what kind of fish is giving birth?

 

[lauraf]

For a fry tank, I recommend starting with as few decorations as possible - it makes the task of cleaning up the detritus at the bottom of the tank much easier, as well as being able to observe the tiny fry. I found a small chunk of free floating java moss worked well to give the fry a 'place' to hang out, and it collects infusoria that the fry can snack on.

 

[zgoalie32]

Since your new to breeding I wouldnt worry about having to many grow to adult hood some die here and there until you learn how to raise them correctly but then again some die just because. But you could always give them to your sons freinds or to your freinds.

 

[missbettapls]

a mickey mouse platy fish. I read somewhere that I shouldn't use gravel so I put rocks. I should check out the java moss thing....what's a cycling tank? I did buy a breeders net but then I read somewhere it's not good for the mother etc....my son wants to keep them all but I told him he has to "share" (give away) to his friends. We already have 6 bettas and two just bred! The things I do for my son! hahahaha!

 

[missbettapls]

oh I'll probably just sell/give them to the petstore or to anyone if any survives!

 

[ValRasbora]

A 2 gallon is OK until the fry grow up, although they grow much much faster in a bigger tank, not to mention its much healthier. No rocks is OK, but you should have a filter in it with pantyhose over the intake so no fry get sucked up.

I give mine to friends or put them in a different one of my tanks. I haven't had to sell yet, but the day will come

 

[Tooj]

I should check out the java moss thing....what's a cycling tank?

hmmm
well thats a good place to start! =)
theres tones of stuff on the net about cycling a tank
basically, when a tank is new, the good bacieria hasnt had a chance to develop in order to break down fish waste into less harmful stuff; therefore, bad crap is in your tank that can kill your fish. baby fish are extremely sensitive to fish wastes, so having them in a fully cycled tank is a must imo.
putting them into a non cycled, new tank, is probably going to be a bad thing...thats why a breeders net in your exsisting tank (cycled) is your best bet

a breeders net can stress out the mother quite a bit, but if your able to time it, put her in there just before shes about to give birth (hard thing to time...cuz who knows??)

rocks work fine for holding bacteria, but its all a matter of surface area? more surface area = more places for bactiera to grow. your filter should have one of those sponge things in it, so i think youll be ok

 

[missbettapls]

well I did buy a breeders net but when I was going to put it in I noticed she already gave birth to them. I did remove the mother and the lil ones are growing and growing and all 12 are still alive! There's only one plastic plant in there. They like to hide in there. No rocks or gravel. I get what you mean about cleaning the tank. My son loves watching them but he's like "mommy where's the mickey mouse?" hahahaha

 

[lynmccoy]

I have 2 other grandchildren waiting anxiously for the babies to be born so that they can have some babies and watch them grow up to be "big" guppies. My sister also wants some fry for a guppy tank that she has bought for her grandson who is 7 months old. She says that way they will all be babies together. So I won't have any guppy fry left after all my my relatives come and take the babies they want.

 

[Kiara1125]

You might have some left though. Guppies can give birth anywhere from 5-80 fry in a single batch, plus a single female gives birth once every month. You'll probably be able to give away the fry when they are 2-4 months old. If you feed them right, guppy fry grow fast. Personally though, I think that Guppies are the fastest growing livebearers, because you can tell their gender at 2-4 weeks and they can reach sexual maturity at anywhere from 2-4 months.