Do you intend to breed platies? You are at the appropriate website. Platy fish breeding is an exciting thing that aquarium hobbyists should do.
You will learn, * To set up the platy fish breeding tank * To Select breeding pairs * Sexing platies * How to identify pregnant platies * To care platy fry
The platy is a live-bearing fish, which means that a female Platy will give birth to live fry. It sexually matures in 4 to12 months typically. Breeding platies is not a difficult task. Let’s breed your platys at home.
What tank size is ideal for platy fish breeding?
A 30-gallon fish tank is optimum for breeding platys. Platies are good community fish. They can make babies in the tank they already live in. But we use a separate tank for breeding them as we want to ensure the safety of babies.
How to set up the breeding tank?
A well-optimized breeding tank stimulated the platy fish breeding process. Water quality parameters in the tank should be under acceptable levels. Find a reliable water source to mitigate pH and water hardness inquiries.
As platies are tropical fish, they prefer warm water around 74 Fahrenheit (70 – 77 Platies prefer warm water around 74 Fahrenheit (70 – 77 Fahrenheit) as they are tropical fish. You can use an aquarium heater to regulate the water temperature accurately. Aquarium heater placement should be a considerable fact.
Setting up a filtration system is vital to accurately continue the water quality parameters. Remember to utilize an internal filter rather than an external one. External filters can damage your fries while circulating the water. A sponge filter or a corner filter will give better results as the breeding tank is not a crowded one.
Fill the tank bottom using gravel. Do not use tiny sand; make it harder to separate babies. Aquatic plants play a significant role in platy fish breeding. Plants provide hiding places for pregnant females and newborn babies. Fill half of the tank with submerged aquatic plants.
Now the tank is optimized to the required conditions. Next, please keep it for three weeks in quarantine to finish the cycling process. In that period, purchase or select the breeding pairs and put them into quarantine for at least seven to ten days.
Selecting breeding pairs
A fish breeding session aims to make a healthy, colorful and pure new generation. The broodstock we use in breeding should have pure genes; we can know it from the pet shop we buy. Un pure genes caused to give weak and less attractive babies.
What is the male and female ratio?
The answer is three females to a male (six females: two males or nine females: three males). Platy male fish is aggressive during the sexual period and causes stress to the female. By reducing the male fish amount, we can stop it.
How to sexing platies?
Identification of male and female platy fish is easy. Anal fin shape is the key. The anal fin of the mature male platy is called gonopodium and looks more clamped, flat and elongated. It allows copulation and sperm transfer.
The anal fin of the female platy is noticeably more rounded or fan-shaped. The females are larger than the males and have fuller stomachs. Female platys can reach about two inches in length, but males remain one and a half inches, more petite and brighter than females.
Read more. Find more. males and females in platies
Important: Be careful not to harm or stress the fish while sexing.
Mating behavior
Platies adapt to a new environment within a few minutes and start the mating behavior soon. The male fish shows extra activeness while the female fish stays calm and quiet. Usually, she lays down the gravel or hides in plants or something. They start mating behavior with some movement.
Male fish close to the female and releases sperm via the anal fin. His narrow anal fin helps to direct the sperm to the female anal fins. She stores the sperm in her body. Her abdomen size increases after spawning.
Keep males and females together for a week and remove the males from the breeding tank.
Pregnant platy
The gestation period is generally between four to five weeks. The female abdomen gradually gets swollen when eggs get mature. In the last week of pregnancy, the swollen abdomen is significant. The female is less active during this period, trying to lay down or hide on plants. This week, water quality parameters should investigate again. Feeding also should be done carefully.
After gestation, female platy can give birth to as many as 50 fries.
Can I keep babies and the mother together?
No. Just after giving birth, platies start eating their babies. A breeding box is the better solution in this matter. But pregnant females get stressed when they put it in. Unless we can remove the mother fish just after giving birth, it is also impossible in some cases.
When the mother platy gives babies, she often gets stressed and weak. In similar situations, the mother should be separated from the previous tank.
Platy fry care
Ten days old my platy babies
They may not want to eat for the first 24-48 hours but sprinkle a little food in. So that food is there when they’re ready. Feed them crushed fish food, a few pinches probably, 2-3 times per day, according to the size or number of the fries. When they are one week or above, they need more food to grow than other adults, so they need at least 3-5 times feeding daily.
Filter intakes, larger fish, gravel vacuums, poor water quality, some species of invertebrates and starvation may cause the reduction in numbers of fry.
Filter intakes can exhaust the small fries and trap them. We can cover filter intakes with a prefilter sponge or use sponge and corner filters.
Larger fish and invertebrates, including crabs and crayfish, are a threat. Hiding places or breeding traps can protect the fry from them. But a separate fry’s tank is more peaceful for fries.
Do regular water changes. It will prevent the accumulation of toxins in the water.
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