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View Poll Results: What would you do with an overcrowding problem (due to birth)?

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  • Give your fry away and raise your parent fish

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  • Give your parent fish away and raise your fry

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Thread: What would you do with your newborn fry?

  1. #1
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    What would you do with your newborn fry?

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    Hey guys! I'm rather new to posting on forums so kindly correct me should I make any genuine mistake.

    Also, I'm relatively new to keeping fish. My father has been keeping fish since he was a teenager though, and so has shared some of his experience with me. However, he insists that I learn on my own just like he did, which I agree with! I enjoy figuring things out on my own (so long as it doesn't harm my livestock!)

    I've started out with guppies and platys, rather hardy livebearers so I heard. I also have a number of malayan, fire and crystal red shrimp. Not mentioning a new type of shrimp I managed to find at a local pets store called the "marble liu li" shrimp. All doing fine so far! Been about 4 months since I've started my tank.

    Added my guppies and platys around 2 months ago. I've heard they were avid breeders and readily give birth to their young. However, I was rather ignorant (to be perfectly honest) as to the number of young and the space they require.

    3female guppies, 2male guppies, 2female coral platys, 1 male coral platy.

    I've been following up on the guppies and managed to time one's gestation rather nicely I must say. Put it in a smaller hospital tank for a while, and the next day I'm staring at a small litter of 12 (countable) guppies. For everyone's information, I'm having the albino guppy.

    Now, my ignorance has cost me. I really don't have much of a clue as to what to do with my 12 fry! My tank will not have space to accommodate them (especially when they grow bigger and start to breed amongst themselves!!! ). And I thought it seemed really inhumane to "get rid" of the fry via any of the culling methods I've read (ice cubes, flushing, hammering and what not). Honestly, I can't even bear to leave the mother in the tank and let her consume all her fry.

    Which leads me to my question. What would you do with your fry if you don't have space for them? The way I see it, I have two options.

    1) Give my parent guppies away (either back to my LFS or to anyone here who wants them) and raise the fry instead, leading to a new generation of guppies in my tank.
    2) Give my fry away (same, back to my LFS or to any members eager to give this a shot) and continue raising my fish.

    I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post that but kindly let me know if I need to remove the part where I offer to give my fish away to members!

    What's important to me is that I respect all forms of life as life and don't wish one bit to mistreat them. Open to suggestion!

  2. #2
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    Re: What would you do with your newborn fry?

    Firstly, i would like to ask how big is your tank?
    For the fry, i suggest next time you dont need to separate the the female when it is about to give birth, just leave it in the tank and put more hiding places for the fry (in the form of plants) and let them survive on their own. This way, the weaker ones will naturally be eliminated, and you will have stronger fry and also less fry.
    I think both options are viable, you can keep the parent fish, but when your parent fish get old, then you can start keeping some of the fry. Meanwhile, if you keep on breeding from the fry, after several generations, you must outcross (buy more guppies to introduce more genetic variety to the tank) so that the health of your fish will not be affected due to poor genes.

  3. #3
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    Re: What would you do with your newborn fry?

    I have two tanks: (L x B x H) 18cm x 13cm x 15cm for one, 17cm x 17cm x 21cm for another. Both initially meant to keep shrimp only but my friend had an emergency and needed to dispose of his personal fish tank. Hearing that he wanted to um "get rid" of his fishes, I adopted his guppies and platys in order to save them.

    My tank is quite well planted, but I always read that separating the mother would increase the chances of fry survival (which was my goal at that point). But what you're saying about natural selection makes more sense, for my platys I will leave the females in the tank during their birth period, thanks!

  4. #4
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    Re: What would you do with your newborn fry?

    to be honest, your tanks are really small, even for keeping shrimps. Do you have any filtration for your tank? Otherwise it will be hard to maintain the water quality, especially when you have more fish. I think it would be better for you to start with a 30cm tank.

  5. #5
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    Re: What would you do with your newborn fry?

    Yes I know the tanks are really small! I do have one waterfall-type filter for my small tank and my other one has a filter which came with it!

    If I had the space I'd get a larger tank. I understand with a larger one there's also more room to make mistakes, since the change in water quality won't be so significant as compared to a smaller tank! ie; one piece of uneaten food goes a long way in a small tank but might not even be noticed in a larger one. How? Unless I sell my two smaller tanks (which are side-by-side) and replace it by a larger one, I don't think I can afford the space. The tanks are on my table by the way!

    Here's a picture to show you how they look!



    Suggestions?

  6. #6
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    Re: What would you do with your newborn fry?

    Wow, your tanks are really densely planted, the fry will surely be able to survive. What is in the smaller tank at the left?

  7. #7
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    Re: What would you do with your newborn fry?

    Both tanks contain shrimp!
    Left tank - fire + malayan + marble liu li shrimp
    Right tank - fire + crystal red shrimp

    In terms of fishes, I moved my pregnant guppy from the right tank into the left tank as a "birthing tank". When she was done giving birth (I gave her one night), I took her out and put her back in the right tank. So here goes.
    Left tank - 01 x otocinclus, 12 x albino guppy fry, 01 x horned snail (algae control)
    Right tank - 01 x otocinclus, 5 x albino guppy, 03 x coral platy

    Should I trim the plants? Everytime I trim, the shrimp seem to be less active! I'm essentially a shrimp lover and would like to prioritize their happiness (sorry fishes!)
    Dymax IQ3 Acrylic Nano Aquarium: 220mm(L) x 170mm(W) x 220mm(H)
    Small Glass Aquarium: 180mm(L) x 130mm(W) x 150mm(H)

    Why do space constraints exist, whyyyy.

  8. #8
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    Re: What would you do with your newborn fry?

    Well, if you want to prioritise the shrimp's hapiness, you should remove all the guppies and platys from the shrimp tank, basically separate shrimps and fishes, because the fishes will eat the shrimplets and nibble/bite the adult shrimps. You can also cover the filter inlet with a sponge so that it will not suck up the baby shrimps.

    Personally, i feel it would be better if you could get two larger tanks one for the shrimps one for the fish (if you have the space) otherwise you can upgrade to one larger tank for both fishes and shrimps, (however in this scenario you will have to fear for the safety of your shrimps). So, unless you want to risk the shrimp's safety and combine both tanks into a bigger tank, the option is to maintain the status quo, and you can give/sell away the fry/adult fishes. So, you can keep shrimps in the left tank, fishes in the right tank or vice versa, do not mix them.

    If you want to upgrade both tanks, i suggest you put two 30cm tanks breadthwise beside each other, since you have some space in front of the tanks, you can utilise that space? Then both your shrimps and fishes can have an upgrade.

    Regarding trimming the plants, it is because when you trim the plants, the shrimps may feel less secure as they have less places to hide, hence they are less active. However, if need be, you should still trim the plants.

  9. #9
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    Re: What would you do with your newborn fry?

    Putting two 30cm tanks side by side doesn't quite seem like an option, there is about 45cm of space maximum before it hits my work area. Sad to say, I think I'd have to end up buying one 30cm tank and give/sell away my fishes. Admittedly, I'd like to keep shrimp more than I'd like to keep fishes.

    My dad, however, has a pretty decent LIDO JUWEL (61 x 41 x 58 cm) aquarium with fish + shrimp in it. There's a nice piece of wood with java moss on it, amongst other densely planted plants. His shrimp have been reproducing rapidly. I'm sure the fishes have snacked on a few loose shrimplets but I still see a substantial amount which is pretty cool. If I must say, I would like to try keeping a larger aquarium with space for my shrimp AND fish, and see how they survive. If it does come down to the worst, my fish will have to go.

    What's the stand on plant pruning/trimming? Why do we need to trim plants if they provide adequate cover and concealment for the shrimp? The only reason I can think about is, if we don't trim the plants, the fish will have less space to swim. But is there another reason? Lets say I give my fishes away, do I still need to trim plants? Why or why not?
    Dymax IQ3 Acrylic Nano Aquarium: 220mm(L) x 170mm(W) x 220mm(H)
    Small Glass Aquarium: 180mm(L) x 130mm(W) x 150mm(H)

    Why do space constraints exist, whyyyy.

  10. #10
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    Re: What would you do with your newborn fry?

    The rationale of trimming plants is quite obvious when the time comes. That is when the plants in your tank overgrow & become aesthetically unpleasant. Fish become less jerky when there is enough plant covers provided, especially when your tank is that small. Therefore, don't compromise the plants for tank space since removing the plants will only allow for a bit more space for such a tank. There is not much difference if you give your fishes away. You will still need to trim the plants but do so only when you feel its necessary.
    Currently keeping large predatory fish 🐟

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