Re: Emergency Need Help!!!! Platies, reading/using WWM   1/30/07 The fancy guppy was cared for properly and fed properly. I'm not dumb for doing that, so can you explain why now? I have the natural gravel that you buy from the store. <Read where you were referred... the possibilities are too vast to guess from what you've presented. RMF>

Platy Fry Hello crew, I have a question. My female platy has recently given birth. And so, should I leave the fry in the community tank or should I buy another ten gallon tank and raise them in there? <Mmm, if you want to maximize the possibility of their survival, I'd separate them...> Also are there any suggestions in how to tell the sexes of the platies? <This is posted... where you've been referred to... the gonopodia of males...> They mate very often and now I have noticed that all the female platies are pregnant! The question is that I don't know the ph, or the nitrogen, are they sensitive to this? And are they okay now even though there breeding? I asked this before and I never got an answer, please help me this time! Derek. <... Read, don't write. BobF>

Please... teach your children well.... Yes I have questions, My first one is that I have a 10 gallon tank, and I'm just wondering how many guppies and platies can I put in it? Also a family member of mine wants to buy Japanese goldfish like pearl fish or something close to that and the fishes cousins. Could you tell me the requirements of that goldfish and the platy question too? Thanks! ^_^ <One last time... these questions are all answered, and much more related material you'll want to, need to know... on WWM... GO THERE, learn to and use the indices, search tool.>

Hannah's Fishy Dilemmas  6/29/06 Dear Mr. Bob, <Lisa> To help with my questions I attached pictures of my fish.. In my 10 gallon tank I have: a) two mollies (a male just died today of old age, so actually one) b) three platies (a boy, a girl, and a mystery) & c) two male guppies I want to know if you could help me determine the genders of my mystery platy <The one labeled "platy" is a male> and tell if my (for-sure) female platy and molly are pregnant. <Could be... but not very> If my mystery platy is a girl could she be pregnant?? I'm pretty sure that both guppies are males, but could you justify? <Don't know about justification, but they both have gonopodiums... are males> My last black molly and her mate were kept in a simple fishbowl and about two years ago, I was surprised to find two fry, (but they were both dead :( ) so I have pretty much no knowledge of what to do if she is pregnant, except for what I have read on your (very interesting and WONDERFUL) site. So... what should I do?!?! ahh! please help!! Thank you sooooooooo much in advance!!!!! Hannah ps. who's who! Picture #1: My black female molly Picture #2: My red female platy Picture #3: My mystery platy Picture #4: my two guppies <Enjoy them! They all appear healthy. Bob Fenner>

Tiny Tank With Fry On The Way   4/30/06
I have a 5 gallon tank with 2 swordtails, 4 mollies, an Otocinclus and 3 small shrimp. My silver molly is pregnant, will she come to term in such a small tank? Also, I do have a few live plants but will the fry survive? I am not sure if it will be too crowded and effect the other fish. Thanks!
<Hi, Don here today. Yes, your Mollie will give birth in this small tank. I would think that most will be taken by the swordtails if you leave things as is. This is not a bad thing, it's nature's way. But if you want to raise the fry and keep the fish you currently have, you will need a second (or larger well planted) tank. You are already overstocked, the fry will put additional stress on the system. Look into setting up a 20 gallon long for your current fish and using the 5 as a fry and shrimp tank. If a new tank is not possible I suggest you pick your favorite 2 or 3 fish and find new homes for the rest.>

Freshwater 20g... unexpected surprise...  - 04/27/06
Hello... and thanking you already for any help/advice you can give,
   I've been searching your site but haven't been able to find exactly what I'm looking for so I do apologize if this type of issue has already been addressed and I just couldn't find it.
   I recently bought a 20g tank for freshwater fish. I am very new to this hobby and mistakenly took the advice of the PetSmart salesperson - I didn't know a thing about cycling until stumbling across your website. I did purchase a bottle of Cycle and have been adding as per the directions but no one at the shop told me not to add the fish right away.
<A very common mistake... often deadly>
My bad for not investigating further.  I've had the tank for almost three weeks and so far the fish I have are doing alright - I have 5 platys and 5 mollies. They're "happily" swimming and eating and there don't seem to be any problems ( please keep your fingers crossed for me :) ). Here's my problem  - I specifically asked for only male fish because I didn't want the possibility of having fry until I became more accustomed to taking care of the adults if that makes sense. Well, lo and behold I now have eight fry ( three of them I noticed last week and the five new ones I noticed three days ago - the new ones are still "baby babies" ). This is my question ( finally :o ) - I would like at some point soon to get into the tank with my gravel cleaner, how safe is it to do so with these babies hiding everywhere?
<Not generally a problem. They avoid such>
Secondly, since I biffed the cycling process should I wait awhile before cleaning the gravel in an effort to not create an even larger problem?
<Yes... you are wise here. "Cycle" (Hagen product) does often fail or not work in the first place. I'd wait another month or so before changing water>
Thank you again... it's so very very much appreciated!!
Geri      
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Re: fish fry stuck in mother
Thank you very much.
<Happy to be of some help.>
So if they don't come out does she die and the fry live?
<If the egg material isn't reabsorbed into the female's system, which is typically what we'd expect, yes, it can be fatal to her. Once born, the fry are going to be reliant on you, not "Mom". You might try adding a small amount of aquarium salt to the tank, on the order of one tablespoon per 10 gallons.
I've no first-hand experience with using salt for this purpose but have run across this suggestion during other research. Good
luck. Tom>
Everett

Livebearer problems    4/10/06
Firstly hello to you all, the site is great, I have spent 2 nights now looking at the numerous posts and replies trying to find the answers to my questions. I also read the tips on asking questions page which was very informative and also a good laugh (I probably shouldn't have said that, but some of the posts listed here as examples are hilarious.
<Heee! Agreed>
A great suggestion would be to have a monthly list of bad/funny emails, that would make people a little more considerate.).
<Were there but time...>
Okay, my tank has been set up for 2 years now and been a brilliant source of interest and wonder for my 2 kids (now 5 and 8). I have 2 adult Albino Corydoras (been with me from the start), 4 young Bronze Corydoras (added early Jan), 8 adult Loricate Catfish (Otocinclus, now been with me for 1 year), 6 female Platys, 2 male Platys, 3 male guppies, 5 female guppies. Also due to breeding in this tank I have 1 guppy fry and 12 platy fry all in a breeding net.
<Okay>
Tank temp is 79 degrees and cleaned by 2 box filters in the rear corners also 2 air stones 1 in the breeding net and the other running at the rear, substrate is smooth pebble and fine sand the cats/Corys seem to love it.
<Wow, time warp!>
The problem started 18 days ago I swapped 16 young platys and guppies with my local shop for flake as I seem to do quite often (my kids love the livebearers having babies, and as you know they oblige every 4/6 weeks). The owner had some swordtail platys which looked fantastic so I took 1 male and 1 female. All seemed ok and after 3 days they went from my 12x12x12 quarantine/fry tank into the one above.
Its then that disaster happened the following day the female sword died, we had the funeral (dead fish go to a big river in the sky you know, kids fault) and I hoped that was it. 2 days later the first male guppy died (another funeral) and I had a really good look at my fish to see if I could see any more problems. A couple of the female guppies and 1 female platy had tiny white spots on their tails, I had a look at your site and spoke to my fish shop owner who said that half of the swords that he got in were dead or suffering from white spot (a bad batch he said), he gave me (he felt guilty) anti white spot plus (Interpet) and I treated my tank.
<Probably not ich... but... likely another protozoan>
I then during the next 7 days lost 2 male and 3 female guppies, 3 female and 1 male platy (guppies also looked like their tails had been shredded) I took a selection of the deceased back to my local shop (my kids understood, I think even they had gotten fed up with a funeral per day) and was told to also treat for fin rot (Interpet fin rot) and add some aquarium salt to the tank. This I have done and haven't lost any more fish for 4 days now.
I cant see anymore white spots and the remaining live bearers look ok except, they all seem to have clamped fins my last female guppy seems to wobble and shimmy through the water rather than swim (don't think she'll last much longer), also my Corys and cats have now taken to occasionally rubbing themselves on the substrate what should I do about this?
<Is likely resultant from exposure to the "med."... if so, this will solve itself within a few weeks>
, I'm keeping up the water changes approx 10-20% every other day. Is their anything else that I should be doing? My fry seem to be holding their own they haven't been affected or so it seems.
<Mmm, maybe...>
I blame myself for not keeping the swords in quarantine for a week as I had planned.
<Two weeks...>
With my tank being well established and all seeming ok I am so disappointed that I have now only a few livebearers left. I know my tank was a good habitat due to its breeding successes and my albino Corys had on 2 occasions recently laid eggs all over the glass (none rescued due to fry tank being full and with this many Corys and cats the eggs don't last long).
I had wanted to try and breed the Corys on the next spawn but how do I know if the eggs have been fertilized as both albinos look the same sex (female obviously, just adding that so you don't).
<I see>
Please help and please don't hammer me too badly re the quarantine my 5 year old has already given me the guilt trip by saying I killed her guppies by adding the swords (kids gotta love em, if you ring their necks you get arrested).
<The promise of tomorrow... if they make it that far!>
By the way the male sword is still here and doing fine (cant say he's my favourite don't know why).
Regards,
Dave Wilkinson
Hull, Yorkshire, England (the home of correct spelling)
<Oh! Our friend, roommate of 14 years is from Yorkshire as well... I would likely just leave all go at this juncture. Should you experience another of these "wipe out" syndromes, I would utilize a one-dose treatment with Flagyl/Metronidazole... otherwise... the requisite isolation/quarantine of all new livestock for two weeks. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

New fry and tank care  - 03/13/2006
Hello WWM Crew:
    I very much appreciate all your information and support.  I have written a couple of emails recently and have found great comfort in your replies and advice!  Thank you!!  My 3 1/2 daughter, Katee, has recently had some new additions to her fish family.  About four days ago her Mickey Mouse platy, "Sunshine," gave birth to 7 babies.  I was able to retrieve 5 right away and place them in a breeder's net within the tank.  Her tank is 16 gallons containing a total of 4 male guppies, 1 mm platy, 1 red platy, 1 silver platy, 1 baby black molly (given to her from the pet store about 4 weeks ago), and a dwarf Plecostomus.  Today we found 2 more babies swimming around the tank, retrieved one and put it in the net.  The last is still in the big tank. now named "Houdini."  I noticed that the tank near the net is growing algae...I am trying to keep it clean by sucking out the waste with a children's medicine dropper and I also use it to clear any uneaten food after 20  minutes.  Is this the best way to keep it clean?
<Perhaps a length (five, six feet) of flexible airline tubing fashioned as a siphon would work best here>
Any additional ideas?  How is it possible to do a water change if the fry are hanging at the top?
<Careful siphoning>
Do I even want to do a change?
<Yes, some every week>
I made a 5 gallon water change last Monday and added the required salt at that time too. I have been prepping my daughter that not all the babies might make it, but so far we have a 100 % success rate.  How many fish can her tank support?
<About this many when fully grown>
I am attempting to keep this tank as low maintenance as possible, is that asking too much?  
<Mmm, no>
We do have a place some of the babies can go to at school, a very well maintained 20 gallon tank with only 6 platys.  How long do the fry need to stay in the net?
<Till more than mouth size...>
Is it better to leave them there or let them be free...."Houdini" has done very well and he is the smallest.  Currently the fry are being fed 3 - 4 times a day with "first bites" and the others get flake food each evening.  Should I maintain this schedule?
<Yes>
For how long?  
<A month or so>
Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.  Both Katee and I are extremely grateful for your input.  
Sincerely, Debby
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>