How do I catch the babies?

[js]

Hi there

I have a platy and guppy who were pregnant and I bought a mesh breeding container for them. Amazingly, I actually got to see 2 baby guppies being born on Saturday night, but they got eaten straight away and there are no more babies to be seen. Not sure how many she should have had. The platy has now gone back to her normal size, so I think she must have had hers at some time too, but eaten them all.

How do you manage to keep any babies?

[ryanjury]

Easiest way is to have lots of plants in your tank particularly floating ones for the fry to hide in.. Another way is to house the females in net a with with fairly big holes large enough for the fry to get away from them to savefy in the tank.

[js]

Thanks for your answer. My tank is a 200ltr community, so I think even though I have plants, they don't have much chance of surving in there either. I now see there are breeding nets with a tray halfway in them, so that the fry drop through when mum gives birth. Perhaps I should have had this setup? Do these work? Do the fry actually fall through the grates and stay down there?

[Caryl]

No :lol:

Mine always swam back up again :roll:

As said, have a small tank with lots of plants in it, especially ones like Indian fern, water sprite, ambulia, cabomba and Java moss. The fry can hide in there quite easily.

Don't forget though if you save all these fry (which they will produce every 4 - 6 weeks) you have to have somewhere to put them.

I have a 280L community, heavily planted. The odessa barbs often spawn (as do the bristlenoses) and I have at least 2 odessa fry swimming about that obviously survived. Both from different spawnings too judging by their size. Usually all the eggs would be eaten before hatching but obivously at least 2 made it to fryhood 8)