advice on platys?

[graceluvsplatys]

Im gonna start a tank(20 gal) with platys
I need help!

1) should i cycle with or without fish

2) should i get 3 dif type of platys, or all the same?

3)fry care? ( sice from wat I heve listened, they repoduc frequently

or any other helpful advice!

[gm72]

1. FISHLESS! Please, go fishless. No stress on the fish. Fast and efficient. We are here to help you along!
2. Doesn't really matter. Get what you like.
3. Fry care is pretty easy and is straight forward. I think let's cross that bridge when we come to it. You've got a while to learn about that. Honestly it is easy to the point of me telling you that all you need to do is feed them crushed (to the point it is a powder) flake food. That's about it.

[cocoa_pleco]

Im gonna start a tank(20 gal) with platys
I need help!

1) should i cycle with or without fish
Definitely fishless!

2) should i get 3 dif type of platys, or all the same?
Doesnt matter, just get what you want

3)fry care? ( sice from wat I heve listened, they repoduc frequently
A 5g with a small sponge filter and java moss is good, along with a 50w heater

or any other helpful advice!

_________________________________

[MelonMan]

i thought that the platies would crossbreed and the colours wouldnt turn out right if you wanted to sell them. im not sure what a cross of say a red wag tail and a sunset platy would look like.

[Nick_Pavlovski]

Platy fry need hiding spaces. If you can construct caves only they can get into...if you can provide thickly-planted, fine-leaved plants only they can easily navigate, you'll be guaranteed of a few fry surviving each time. After that, as the mighty gm has advised, feed them really finely crushed up flake food. and feed them a little, but several times a day.

[Sasquatch]

Pretty much what has been said above.

Fishless cycling is 100% the way to go.

As for varieties or types ... doesn't really matter. The only reason you'd want to get a specific type of platy is if you really like them more than the others or you plan to breed that specific type.

For the fry. You can leave them in the tank with the adults and they'll gradually get eaten, keeping the population down. If you have a lot of cover, some will survive ... you might even reach an equilibrium where as many fry survive as adults die, just watch out for inbreeding. My father has had this happen in his 30g guppy tank. :19:

If later on you want to get into breeding them, that's a fair bit more involved ... but not that much. :c2:

[Mvjnz]

Different colours of platies are still just platies. They are all the same species so it doesn't matter if they cross breed. Their colours will be fine. That being said, your tank will prolly look tidier if you get similiar colours. Heaps of different colours tend to look a bit chaotic.

[NickFish]

i thought that the platies would crossbreed and the colours wouldnt turn out right if you wanted to sell them. im not sure what a cross of say a red wag tail and a sunset platy would look like.

They look like normal sunsets, just a little darker.

Cross breeding fish gives a whole new dimension to livebearer keeping. Sometimes the colors don't turn out that great, but if you know your combinations and have a general idea of what it will look like you can make some awesome platies. I get twice as much for my blue/red platy crossbreeds than I do for my normal blues and reds. It can be fun. Keep the best looking colors to continue breeding and sell the rest. I even mix platies with swords and then you get these really narrow, streamlined platies with big fins.

Go for fishless cycling.

Sell your fry to an lfs, most will take them and some give store credit. If you can ensure a steady supply of fry you can arrange a contract and they will pay you in real money.

It doesn't matter what colors you get, they are all the same fish. Pick what you like.

[graceluvsplatys]

Yeah. I was planning on fishless,I have a betta tank so I was gonna use gravel from that

I want dif types, but I was afraid that the lfs wouldnt take them........ or would they prefer them?
oh, should I put in my female betta with the platys, ( of course I would observe and monitor their actions toghether)? I want my betta to have better conditions, and I can afford/ maintain another full size tank besides my 20 gal tank

btw. do bettas resemble platys too much to be tankmates?

[gm72]

Great that you are going fishless. Good decision.

The LFS would probably prefer a single strain platy fry. Otherwise hard to confirm long-term viability of the fish and hard to sell a fish that is just described as a hybrid.

Appearance of the fish isn't really a consideration. If you are talking about a female betta they will be fine. A male betta I don't believe looks much like a platy and that is perhaps where you may find an incompatibility because of his temperament.

[graceluvsplatys]

I wanted to get different types, but I also want to make sure that I could find homes, so if the lfs ont take hybrids, i gess ill just not do hybrids