I need moral support…

[Beanbo7]

Hi friends,

I am surrendering some baby platy fish to a local fish/exotic pet rescue who sells fish to expert fish keepers as there are no good LFS’s in my area who truly care about fish. It is absolutely shattering my heart as I love these fish more than anything, but just don’t have any more room for all of the babies they keep having.

For some more context, I got 6 platy fish from a LFS who I have since learned do not care for their fish as I had a bad case of ich when I brought them home (killed 3 of my 6) and every time I’ve gone to see the LFS since their fish look awful. I’ve grown very fond of those 3 survivors and they have had many batches of beautiful babies who I’ve also grown to love. However, I just don’t have a big enough tank to give them a long happy life anymore. I will be keeping a few of the same gender (at least one of the full grown adults and probably a couple of babies) but the rest will be gone.

All of this to say, I feel like a crazy person being so attached to these fish that are like $1 at stores. I am absolutely heartbroken but know it is in the best interest of the fish to give them a chance to go to a home where they have nice big tank to thrive in. Any one else have a hard time getting rid of babies or am I too sensitive about this all?

Photos are of my 3 surviving adults along with a needle felted version of the fish that my mom gave me a while back. ❤️

[Creedmoor Aquatics]

If you are consistently producing more babies than you can handle, and its taking a mental toll on you, you might want to consider keeping fish that aren't as prolific as platys. 

You can also do things that will slow the breeding behavior, like reducing water temperatures and not feeding as much food or as often. I know that last part can be hard when you have a setup where your fish are your 'wet pets', as watching them eat can be a big part of the enjoyment of keeping fish. 

You could also work on improving your tank's ability to host more fish at once-- more plants, faster growing plants, floating plants, and stable water parameters will go along way towards being able to support a platy colony in your tank. 

You could also transition to higher quality foods, frozen foods or even live foods, that will feed more 'cleanly' with less food waste contributing to nitrates and algae in your tank. Raising small cultures of foods like daphnia could be a fun project in and of itself. 

I'd also suggest removing your breeding net-box. Some of the adults will snack on some of the babies, and that's their natural behavior that allows the colony to 'right size' itself to the tank and foods available. 

[Beanbo7]

On 1/22/2024 at 7:52 PM, Creedmoor Aquatics said:

If you are consistently producing more babies than you can handle, and its taking a mental toll on you, you might want to consider keeping fish that aren't as prolific as platys. 

You can also do things that will slow the breeding behavior, like reducing water temperatures and not feeding as much food or as often. I know that last part can be hard when you have a setup where your fish are your 'wet pets', as watching them eat can be a big part of the enjoyment of keeping fish. 

You could also work on improving your tank's ability to host more fish at once-- more plants, faster growing plants, floating plants, and stable water parameters will go along way towards being able to support a platy colony in your tank. 

You could also transition to higher quality foods, frozen foods or even live foods, that will feed more 'cleanly' with less food waste contributing to nitrates and algae in your tank. Raising small cultures of foods like daphnia could be a fun project in and of itself. 

I'd also suggest removing your breeding net-box. Some of the adults will snack on some of the babies, and that's their natural behavior that allows the colony to 'right size' itself to the tank and foods available. 

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I only had the breeder box for a very short time with the first round of babies when I was looking to add more, I was hoping they would feast on the babies a bit more than they have, they don’t seem to be interested! 

The parameters and everything are fine, I’ve gotten some more live plans since those photos have been taken and do regular water changes. It’s only a 10 gallon so just too many fish in a small space so it’s stunting the babies ability to grow. They have stayed pretty small for how old they are, and just want them to have plenty of space at a new home!

I have loved my livebearing adventure and knew the risks of too many babies, mainly just get too attached to my fish friends 🙂

[Tony s]

I currently have a platy tank, 20g. with some amazon swords, dwarf sag, and floating hornwart. This is probably the most stable tank I have. I got the platys before i knew how to sex them. and they have been multiplying since then. They range from 2-year-old adults to 3-day old fry. The numbers are stable at around 30 for about 2 years now. Yes, they will eat fry up to a certain size. But that usually doesn't happen until the third generation comes along. The Hornwart helps tremendously for removing nitrates and when it gets to look too much like a jungle looking, just tear off bits and toss. Feeding time is interesting, it's like a platy ball or platy party all looking for food.

[Scapexghost]

I think it is good you care so much. Maybe you can find other local hobbiests to share your platies with? Theyre probably having as much trouble finding good fish as you are.

[smm333]

I am a softy too! I get super attached to everyone. I can't just let babies get eaten or toss my wild type shrimp into a tank where they will be eaten. Every one of my aquatic friends is loved! Those are beautiful fish!