Fry Question

[muffin]

So over the weekend I noticed that there were some platy fry in my hornwort plant. I ended catching 8 of them and put them in a breeder net thing. I think I saw 5 more in the tank and they seem to be doing well. I have one of the horwort plants floating in the breeder to help the fry stay calm and what-not.
I am currently feeding them egg yoke 2 times a day. I will be leaving for a long weekend and will not be able to feed them for 4 days.
Will the fry be OK for that long without me feeding them?
Is there something that I can put in there over the weekend that will not spoil?

[mitcore]

egg yoke????????
i have never heard of platty fry being feed that ever,
i feed my fry crushed flake and they eat the slim off the plants etc,

you can buy fry food, they might not survive for that long is there a reason that they cant be in the main tank?
what other fish do you have in there?

i dont seperate my platty, sword or guppy fry i keep them in the main tank and they hide in the plants,
i have had a few losses but that is due to me having a bumble bee gory in there and he is sololy a meat eater

[muffin]

A little over a year ago when I started to keep fish I had a mollie that was prego when I got her from the LFS. She was really good at getting the fry, so I got the breeder net and raised a few of the fry. Had something go through my tank a weekend when I was gone a lost a bunch of fish, but that's another story. I started the mollie fry off by scraping a toothpick on a hard boiled egg yoke and swirled it in the water. They loved it..

Anywho, I just got a larger tank and a few platy. I got a few females and a male. I wanted to try to save as many of the first batch to get the amount of fish in the tank up. I just assumed that the platy would 'hunt' the fry like the mollie did.

Would I be better off just letting the fry fend of themselves in the tank? I do plan on eventually getting something that will eat the fry to help control the population in the future. But that will be some time later.

[mitcore]

the parents wont hunt them, but like all fish the is a risk that they might be eaten, if you have good hiding places for them they should be ok,
i honestly have never heard of egg yoke and i havent seen my platties, swords or guppies take there fry or any fry, i do have other preditors in the main tank, tetras will take fry as will neons which i have as well as the bumble bee gory,

i really dont think they will survive 4 days on thier own without food and you circlating the water in the net,

this is a tough one as i would let them go just on the off chance they will be alive by the time i get back, being live bearers they will keep havin fry and lots of them,

so even if you lose this batch you can be assured they will have more

i will keep an eye on this thread post any questions and if i cant help someone will

[blu]

When my platies had fry they ate them..so I had to use a breeder net. When I had mollies they ate their fry to even with hiding places.

I dont think its a good idea to leave them unfed for 4days...they are so small that I think they would starve in that time. I would also start feeding something besides/in addition to the egg yolk. they are platys and like plant matter in their diet as well as some meaty foods.

[jweintraub]

I definately agree with blu, I always move my platy fry to the bredder trap. I also feed the fry at least 3 times a day, usually just crushed flake like mitcore was saying. My platy's are definately the hunting type and will suck up their own fry in a heartbeat!

[Siamese Fighter 1]

i feed my guppy fry crushed flake food there in a net trap with a snail that eat uneaten food.i feed mine 5 times a day so they grow really fast.

[Tolley]

Set them free, they'll live off the alage for a few days sure some fish might get eaten but its better than starving right?

[muffin]

Hey thanks for the help guys.
I was planning on waiting a little before feeding them the flakes. But I will start tonight when i get home from work. Also, I suppose it will be better the see if they can make it on their own in the main tank. I know that there are a few fry that I didn't catch that are still looking good. I thought I had 4 still out there but I found a 5th this morning. and they have been staying alive by the food that has been getting caught in the hornwort that they are hanging out in. I will probably just let the other fry loose near that plant and wish them the best. I have a few rocks and plants, both live and silk for the fry to hide under.
I guess I will let you know on Chrstmas day when i get back from the trip.

Thanks again guys.

[muffin]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to say thanks again for the advise. I got back and found at least 7 of them still hiding out. They even grew a little while I was gone for those 4 days. I am not sure if all 13 of them made it or not. But hey, more probably stayed alive since I let them out of the breader net than would have if they stayed in there unfed for 4 days.

Thanks again!!

[Tolley]

good good! if they've grown that means they found food! :11:

[mitcore]

no worries congrats on the surival