A few questions involving my mickey mouse platy.

[Divewjason]

Hi. I have a micky mouse platy. I just aquired this pregnant fish from my little sister. It hasn't given birth in a few days and I've been itching to get more fish for my platy. However, I don't want to get any more fish until I'm sure that it won't have anymore babies.

I have a few questions.

1. What kind of fish best go with the female mickey mouse platy?

2. How long should I wait before I get more fish for the platy to hang out with?

3. Is there any way to tell that my fish won't have anymore babies for the time being?

Thanks.

Jason

[Azear]

Hi. I have a micky mouse platy. I just aquired this pregnant fish from my little sister. It hasn't given birth in a few days and I've been itching to get more fish for my platy. However, I don't want to get any more fish until I'm sure that it won't have anymore babies.

I have a few questions.

1. What kind of fish best go with the female mickey mouse platy?

2. How long should I wait before I get more fish for the platy to hang out with?

3. Is there any way to tell that my fish won't have anymore babies for the time being?

Thanks.

Jason

1: Platy are platy afterall... here's a link that show a compatibility list : might find it handy if you want to know what you could add ... http://www.timstropicals.com/Inventory/Livebearer/PlatyInfo.asp

2: is your tank cycled ? if it's not... I'd suggest to cycle before adding any new fishes. if the cycle isn't done, I'd suggest to read that post about cycling... might be really helpful. http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=5278

3: Live breeder fish can store sperm so one fertilization can result in many births (refer to text on web page at #1 question)... so... unless you wait a long while... you can't be sure... (unless somebody have a good way ?)

hope this help

[Divewjason]

1: Platy are platy afterall... here's a link that show a compatibility list : might find it handy if you want to know what you could add ... http://www.timstropicals.com/Inventory/Livebearer/PlatyInfo.asp

2: is your tank cycled ? if it's not... I'd suggest to cycle before adding any new fishes. if the cycle isn't done, I'd suggest to read that post about cycling... might be really helpful. http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=5278

3: Live breeder fish can store sperm so one fertilization can result in many births (refer to text on web page at #1 question)... so... unless you wait a long while... you can't be sure... (unless somebody have a good way ?)

hope this help

Thanks. That was a lot of help. thumbs2:

[Azear]

Thanks. That was a lot of help. thumbs2:

Always happy to see that some people appreciate the hand ^_^ I got a fair amount of experience with live breeder so, if you got other questions, just keep them coming.... and If I don't know the answer... I'm pretty good at googling too :P lol

(and other peeps might answer too ^_^... lol I bet they are as good as me for googling :P... )

[blu]

My opinion would be to get a few more platies for her(female of course) they really show their personality better when in a group. I know you dont want more babies so you could try getting females that are very thin(not underfed thin just not pregnant thin)..it worked for me and they didnt have babies but there is still a possibility they could be pregnant. If not that some small tetras would be nice and mabey some corys(this all depends a tank size and if your tank is cycled)

[Divewjason]

My opinion would be to get a few more platies for her(female of course) they really show their personality better when in a group. I know you dont want more babies so you could try getting females that are very thin(not underfed thin just not pregnant thin)..it worked for me and they didnt have babies but there is still a possibility they could be pregnant. If not that some small tetras would be nice and mabey some corys(this all depends a tank size and if your tank is cycled)

Yeah that sounds good. I'll probably get some female platys like you suggested. I heard that some tetras nip at fins though. Is that true? One other question, I have a 6.3 liter tank. How many fish should I have in that? I'm sure it isn't that many.

[blu]

well 6.3liters is about 2gal so you could mabey get away with one more platy but even that would be a bit crowded. Im sorry to say but your best bet would be to get a bigger tank. I set up my 10gal(37.7liters)for about $70 total but I started from scratch and had to buy everything myself(which is actually best) but the price for one really depends on the prices in your area.With a 10gal you could probably have 3-4 platys if they are the only fish you will have. Of course you would not be able to add fish until it is cycled but I think you will enjoy your fish more if they had a bigger tank but that is just what I would do. Just so you know if you do get a bigger tank using gravel,plant,and filter media from a already cycled tank will help the process go a bit quicker(its what I did for my 20gal)

As for tetras most small ones like glowlights an neons will not nip the fins of other fish. Most problems with tetras nipping comes from the bigger type tetras like serpaes and black skirts.

[Divewjason]

well 6.3liters is about 2gal so you could mabey get away with one more platy but even that would be a bit crowded. Im sorry to say but your best bet would be to get a bigger tank. I set up my 10gal(37.7liters)for about $70 total but I started from scratch and had to buy everything myself(which is actually best) but the price for one really depends on the prices in your area.With a 10gal you could probably have 3-4 platys if they are the only fish you will have. Of course you would not be able to add fish until it is cycled but I think you will enjoy your fish more if they had a bigger tank but that is just what I would do. Just so you know if you do get a bigger tank using gravel,plant,and filter media from a already cycled tank will help the process go a bit quicker(its what I did for my 20gal)

As for tetras most small ones like glowlights an neons will not nip the fins of other fish. Most problems with tetras nipping comes from the bigger type tetras like serpaes and black skirts.

Thanks that's very informative. I might buy a bigger tank around Christmas. My parents didn't want me to get one that was any bigger and money is kind of tight right now.

[CAF]

All common livebearers can change sex from female to male under the right conditions, but they can not go back. So if you really don't want breeding get males and give up your girl. If you buy girls, you will eventually have at least one male. The dominant females will pick on the sub-dominants until they switch.

[blu]

Ive heard of livebearers changing sex but never them picking on eachother until they do. My three female platies never pick on eachother.And I have always had females and none of them have ever changed. Is this something thats supposed to be really common? I would definately believe it with mollies though mine terrorized eachother and I had to take them back.Also had one molly that was female and then later after I had her a while showed the male fins.