More fish-based advice needed

Hello again!

Beryl and Casanova's first batch of baba's failed, because she decided to pop while I was out. And I came back and she was thin and all the babies were gone. Which upset me. But I think she's pregnant again. I think. God knows. They might've cannibalised this lot too (she keeps escaping the birthing thingy!)

Anyway, for all you who don't know, they're freshwater platy's and I have 2 in a 19L tank. They look all small and lost, bless 'em, and I was wondering whether I can introduce a couple more now that the place I got them from actually has more in. They're in different colours and stuff, and I could be really annoying and force them to give me specific ones out of the tank and stuff. Y'know. For revenge and that. For the fish police failing to inform me that the 'boring' fish they'd sold me would give birth all the time and set me off into a panic trying (and failing) to save them.

Not bitter or anything.

So, my question, since it got lost in stupid rambling, is whether or not I could get a few more and introduce them to the tank? I'm worried they might fight because they've been in there about months on their own now (fish police wouldn't let me buy more than two at first even though they said I could keep 6 or so in there). I don't want many more, I've just become slightly obsessed with watching them, and, well... You know how it is. I would ask at Pets at Home, but they are the most useless staffing in the world, ever, so I'd rather not. And after the positive response from the fish keepers in my last thread, I know you're out there.

Help is much appreciated already. Even if I get none.

(Well, not if I get none, actually. Because then there will be no help to be appreciated. Durh.)

Hakuna Matata,

Aya.

reply to post by Ayana


my boyfriend has also been sucked into the world of watching fish. I swear we go to a different fish place 4 times a week.

We have konvicts that breed like cockroaches, giving 30-40 babies at a time, they are adorable.

Also I would like to say, you have every right to specify on a certain fish that you want. Its their job to sell you the fish, they can take the extra 10 minutes to fish out the one you like most. (:

Good luck with your tank!

I am not that familiar with your fish, but I have raised other live bearers. You babies probably got eaten as fast as they were popping out. You will need a nursery box (small plastic box that sits in the tank to allow babies to drop out and away from the mother), or lots of java moss or something so they can hide.

Yes, your fish will be pregnant, constantly, that is their nature.

I don't see how it will be a problem to add more fish if your filtration can handle the extra load. The males may fight more, I would have more females than males in the tank.

Please don't be too hard on the 'fish police'. They care about the animals and the percentage of fish that die because of owner's inexperience is probably around 75% (I am being generous on that).

If your tank was just being set up, a small initial amount of fish are best until the filtration has a chance to build up the necessary biologic film to adequately complete the nitrogen cycle, which may take weeks.

You might find it more rewarding to do what you need to do to preserve the newborn babies so they can grow rather than buy more fish. I know that all of my babies; fancy goldfish, koi, guppies, etc. are more precious to me than the ones I paid cash for.

reply to post by czygyny


She escapes the hatch-box, that's the only issue :/. I have no idea how she manages to do it, but she just does. One minute she's in, the next she's not. And it stresses her to hell actually putting her in there, which concerns me. I've got enough cover at the bottom of the tank, but I guess the male probably ate them as soon as they came out, and before they could get to the shelter at the bottom. (I spent ages sitting watching as well. Typical she does it when I'm out.)

I'm not planning on getting too many more, and would rather have females... Hence specifying which one's I want, rather than just fishing a couple out of the tank.

Yeah, I know. Thing is, they go through all of this rigmarole, then don't bother to inform me the fish are livebearers. Al they had to say was, "they will breed" and I'd be okay with it. But they didn't tell me. Y'get my point? I have LOTS of pets, so them asking questions doesn't bother me, I'd rather they did so they go to a home where they won't end up dead or mistreated, but simple bits of information like that should be passed on to the customer, just so you're aware of it. Or else you end up getting a shock like I did. Because I've only ever had goldfish, I sort of didn't realise that fish bred live young and would in a commercial tank. I was under the (usual) assumption that it was almost impossible for someone with just a tank to watch could breed fish. Until now, of course... Lmao.

I have plenty of experience with mammals, just not a lot with fish... LOL.

Not familiar with that particular type of fish, but if your tank can handle a few more, you may want to give them "Territories." Put a large stone, or statuary near each corner of the tank, that way they have their own space, and will fight generally to protect their area.

I really miss my 90 Gal. tank!

reply to post by chiefsmom


They're tiny and quite cute. Although the woman in the shop described them as 'boring'. They're dead fast and really nice to watch, but since they're so small they look dwarfed by even a 19L tank. She also seems to spend her whole life pregnant...

I figure if I have a couple more, I might manage to actually breed some babies a bit better, and have some more surviving. We talked about getting another tank in the living room for the babies, but none are surviving. Plus the ones I saw were different colours and that sort of fascinates me, the silver ones are beautiful; mine are sort of yellow and orange, and the male is pretty stunning when he catches the light. So it's no wonder that I've sort of gotten obsessed.

In fact... He looks like this little fella...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/891d8aacb5d8.jpg[/atsimg]

(I have no idea how people manage to get these pictures. They must be wizards. Everytime I try to take pics of mine, they swim off and it turns out all blurry.)

I just wanted a tank with a few fish in to watch. They calm me down, and I get stressed quite a bit, so watching them helps me relax. But I always look in there and think, aw, they look tiny, so I'd quite like a colony. I think they're quite friendly, but I'm not really that clued up and I can't find anything about introducing new fish into a tank anywhere, so I might add in some rocks and stuff for them. I just don't want to introduce new fish if they're gonna get hurt (I'm ridiculously soft like that). I'm a rodent keeper by nature, and I know they don't like new ones being introduced, and will usually fight and kill babies, so it's instilled in me not to. Whether that is right or wrong, it's sorta stuck in there. Haha.

19 litres isn't very big at all & I wouldn't try to fit too many in there, they will fight if they feel crowded, & Id imagine you'd need to do a lot of cleaning to keep the water quality up.

As for saving your fry (babies), try some form of lid on top of the hatchery, maybe some fly screen or a plastic takeaway container lid with a few holes punched in. Dont use plastic wrap.

I know from experience this doesnt always stop a determined fish from escaping, so the only other suggestion right now is put in a lot of hiding places for the fry, cut up short lengths of pipe (eg pvc) that the adults cant fit in, but as fry like the surface, also try some bushy plants (plastic is OK) & have them floating on the surface. Again it wont stop a determined adult but some will probably survive long enough for you to save them.

Breeding fish is a dangerous & expensive thing to start, I've been doing it for over a decade now its so addictive. I have six 3', three 2', & a heap of small 30 litre tanks, I've got them everywhere but electricity costs mean Ive shut most down. One day I will get back to breeding seahorses, but I just got a new axolotl, they prefer cold water so they are much cheaper to keep, as are my ever growing flock of birds.

Make sure you have somewhere to sell them also, almost all aquarium shops around me have shut down as I guess people cant afford to keep fish these days. The couple that are still open have so many breeders with fish they can demand ridiculously low prices making it not worth it unless you go for exotics. My cleaners daughter is trying to sell what I have left to her friends for a 50/50 cut.

Finally, make sure you have food ready for the fry, what the adults eat wont work. You can buy it at pet shops, look for Liquifry or something like it,, Fry Food for Live Bearers. Thats the simplest method, if you want more info on other foods pm me.

reply to post by SNAFU38


Thank you, that's much appreciated

And yeah, I was told I can keep up to 6 adults. But we have contemplated getting a bigger tank for the living room if any babies survive, and I have people who would accept some fry too if needs be!

reply to post by Ayana


Unless you buy from a dedicated Aquarist you will never get advice that relies on anything more than faith.

I have kept this type of fish for decades: Corydoras Paleatus

So cool

It is a very good choice for the community aquarium, as it is a hardy, good looking, and peaceful fish. They can be successfully kept with other small, peaceful aquarium fish like livebearers, danios and tetras.

Source

For a 19L tank, 3 would be fine.

They have great faces and great fun to watch

reply to post by nerbot


Thanks!

It, like everything, is a case of dive in and see, then?

Originally posted by Ayana
reply to post by SNAFU38

 

Thank you, that's much appreciated

And yeah, I was told I can keep up to 6 adults. But we have contemplated getting a bigger tank for the living room if any babies survive, and I have people who would accept some fry too if needs be!

Uh-oh, I detect the first sign of fish-addiction...'let's get a bigger tank'. Watch out, it only gets worse from here.

It's only taken job loss and a tough economy for me to put a halt to my ponding and koi keeping, all my koi and shubunkins are up for sale. The most fun I've ever had was raising the eggs of the koi and fancy goldfish. I have some of the coolest orandas and ranchus that I've known since little transparent slivers with eyes.

reply to post by czygyny


Oh wow.

Yeah. Even my parents are a bit obsessed with the fact they're having babies...

Originally posted by czygyny

Originally posted by Ayana
reply to post by SNAFU38

 

Thank you, that's much appreciated

And yeah, I was told I can keep up to 6 adults. But we have contemplated getting a bigger tank for the living room if any babies survive, and I have people who would accept some fry too if needs be!

Uh-oh, I detect the first sign of fish-addiction...'let's get a bigger tank'. Watch out, it only gets worse from here.

Thats why I said its a dangerous hobby, you start with 1 tank, upgrade it, then eventually end up like me with about 15, & with nobody to sell the fish to

For the OP, I also wouldnt go buying any more as you will soon have more than you know what to do with.

reply to post by SNAFU38


They just eat the babies though. She's had 2 clutches now and neither have actually borne any fry. I have no idea what I can do to save the babies, so, y'know.

Gonna get 2 more I think, if any fry survive, we can get another tank. It's not an issue

But next time... I'm getting fish that lay eggs.

Okay, scratch that.

I went out to buy some fish this morning and came home with a Russian Dwarf hamster :|

To save platy s babies you should put it in different tank or just put the female when near breeding time and take the female out and left the babies alone in the tank. Its really cute to see the babies, mostly when they are a bit bigger about 2 weeks old.

Platy can breed fast enough, even with only a couple of them, you will end up having lots of it. I had hungreds of them in my pond long ago just start from 2 couples lol so much but still soo cuteeee little fish.

Originally posted by Ayana
Okay, scratch that.

I went out to buy some fish this morning and came home with a Russian Dwarf hamster :|

It'll drown unless you get it a little set of scuba gear.

reply to post by maung


Yeah, I have a separate tank for the fry if any survive but I don't want to stress either parent out though, that's the only thing. And I don't really know when she's close to giving birth. It's hard to know when exactly she's gonna pop :/, sorta makes it difficult to separate them.

reply to post by nerbot


LOL! It's okay. She's living on dry land next to the fish tank rather than in there with them...

Although now I think about it, I have an image of her with a snorkel on and it's making me laugh

Ahh, I'm a small mammal keeper at heart. Fish confuse me greatly! With their fins and gills and water and... love of music, apparently. I'm assuming the reaction to music is either in my head or to do with the vibrations in the tank. Can fish actually hear things? They definitely swim around more and look at me if there's music on or I'm singing. Weird.