Guest Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 Hi I guys, I was thinking about getting some WCMM and breeding them (I’ve heard that they're easy to breed). I have bred platys a couple of times and wanted to try breeding a fish that lays eggs. I have a 60 litre community tank with quite a few plants. In it there are 2 black widows, 8 neon tetras, 2 Panda Corys, 3 small BNs, 1 skunk loach and 8 platys. I also have an empty 15 litre with a heater and filter, a 35 litre which currently has 70 platy fry (ranging in age from 4 days - 5 weeks) & a 25ltr with my new family of Guppies (thanks to Tsarmina). So I just wanted to know everything there is about breeding them, like is there anything I need to do to make them breed? What is there survival rate in a community tank? How do I tell the difference between male and female, apart from females being fatter, as they all look the same in the shops? How many females to males do I get? What size tank will I need? How often do they breed? How many eggs do they have? And any other info to get these fish breeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 i didn't try to breed mine. i put 6 adults outside in a bathtub, beginning oct last year. march this year i pulled out 60, incl the adults. they did breed in a tank, but i lost all the fry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 No big secret... get a bunch of about 6, that way you should have male and female, unless you are really unlucky :-? Once you get them home and feed then the females will start fattening up and you will be able to tell them apart. Then get a tank and put HEAPS of plants in it, java moss is ideal. About 1/2 clear space, about 1/2 plants. Plastic ones will do in a pinch. Put some WCMM and feed / water change etc. Wait for fry to appear. As long as the tank is well planted most will survive I have had them breeding happily in an 18l tank with just an airstone. They may breed in a community tank, but most of the young will get eaten :-? Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 Thanks for that. I've also just read that they can go in a cold water tank so could easily set that up to breed them in. How do you turn them from tropical to cold water, or cold water to tropical? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 As previously said, you don't really have to "try". With good food, good water conditions and lots of plants you can't go wrong. Also fyi, they don't lay eggs, they scatter them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 warm - cold if you have them in a heated tank of their own and slowly turn the heater down. cold - warm put them in a coldwater tank, add heater (set at tank temp) and slowly turn it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 How do you turn them from tropical to cold water, or cold water to tropical? Tropical to cold water.. turn off the heater To adjust them to tropical, add a heater at min setting and turn the temp up 1 or 2 deg per day untill it's tropical. I think they are best just left at room temp inside. Although they may grow slower, they live longer, but they can handle temps up to 25C or so. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 They definitely breed without you trying. I used to have them in a coldwater tank what sits around 14 degrees in winter, then I switched to tropical and the temperature was 28, so I thought I better sell them otherwise they won't like the heat. Lots of plants will do the trick, in a community tank the fry will get eaten very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janelle Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 Mine bred before it was a community tank, just white clouds in there. I did nothing special, just kept them well fed and put floating plants to help them hide. The fry are so tiny I almost didn't notice them, and only noticed when I made a water change and noticed them swimming in my bucket. =( They died when one of the adults died and fouled the water, unfortunately, then it became a community tank and since then I've found no fry.... I think they would succeed again if I gave them more plant cover though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 Thanks for all the help guys. O.K just one last question (probably the most important of them all) what do I feed the fry? I’ve been feeding my platy fry crushed up flake. Can I just feed them that or do I have to go out and buy some special food? I’ve seen some liquid food for egg layers/egg scatterers for like $7 is this all right as I don’t really want to buy a micro-worm culture or set up a brine shrimp hatchery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 i don't feed my minnow fry. but, if your are setting up a small tank just for them, then use the liquifry 1. its 1 drop for every 4L, so you don't use much. before adding to tank, mix required amount with a little tank water, in a small container, then add. that way you don't get lumps on the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 O.K thanks for that I'll have to go out and get some luquifry food. So you can't just feed them crushed flake (thats been crushed to a powder). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 not till they're a little older. they are almost invisible when they first hatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 O.K I thought I might as well post in one of my old posts about my question rather than make a new post. I've been looking all over the Internet and can't find out any info on how long the WCMM fry’s egg sack lasts for and even if they have one. Also can I feed the fry infusoria (I only just read about it in my search to find out about their egg sack) but once again couldn't find any info about it. I've just read that you put a lettuce leaf in some water and leave it in the sun until it goes green. But there once again there wasn't much info on. Stuff I wont to know is how do you feed it to them, how do you tell when to feed them to the fry and stuff like that. I've got my tank set up it is a 20 litre tank with a marbles on the bottom (so the adults can't eat the eggs) with a clump of java moss down one end. Is this any goood as a setup or do I need to change it? At the moment I'm just waiting for the WCMM to come in the to the pet shop (they said they were ordering them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imsweet Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 Hi Cam, i would suggest to place heaps more plants in your tank. The marbles are ok as they will let some of the eggs fall through so thats the 1st stage covered, but as ppl have been saying the fry are so tiny and really need plant cover. Java moss is good for that, do you have more you could put in? Even floating plants perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imsweet Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 Oh yeah. Im a 1st time user of insofuria myself (shubs spawned a couple of weeks ago) I crushed the lettuce, poured boiling water over it and it sat in a warm place for 4-5 days. I found it didnt go green but a very weak brown. I just poured it in to the fry (not the lettuce tho). Dont really know how many times, but i did small amounts 3x a day. Did that for 3 days then went on to crushed egg yolk. I think the egg sack usually lasts 3 days..... Generally start to feed them when they are free swimming. If you can see them that is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 I do have some Indian fern planted in my baby platy tank that I could proberly use. Would it help if I spread the java moss out along the bottom more rather than a clump down one end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janelle Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 I never fed my fry when I noticed I had some (quite a while ago now) but when I did notice them they were always at the top, so I would say floating is best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.