Red Platy

[Bellie816]

Okay so my tank is finally cycled! Yayyy!! :19: lol

I got 3 red platys today... 1 male, 2 females. The male seems to hang out more on his own and the 2 females sort of hang out together. Are they supposed to school?

Question: What do they like to eat other than the flake food? I got them TetraMin flakes with the natural color enhancer... but I read they have a high herbivorous requirement. I don't have live plants, only artificial. Will they eat algae wafers? Any suggestions on how to vary their diet would be greatly appreciated.

Also is it true that they do not eat their own fry? I got a female that looks pretty chubby.. lol so I'm guessing she will be giving birth soon!

I'm so excited! :hmm3grin2orange:

[rich311k]

They will eat the algae wafers, they will pick at hair algae. You can get spirulina flakes for them as well.

[annageckos]

Congrats on the platies. You can feed them algea wafers. Fresh veggies are great food too. Dark leafy greens like kale and collard green, squash, cuke, zuhcinni, just about anything. Don't feed iceburg lettuce. And they will eat their own babies too. So if you want to raise any fry you will either need a lot of hidding spots, live plants work great for this and will also provide some food for the fry. Or you can get a breeder net or seperate tank. IMO a tank would be better than a net.

[Deleted User]

Congrats on your platys!!!

They may like these Veggie 8 flakes. I give mine those sometimes and they like them thumbs2:

[Bellie816]

Is it normal for them to hang out near the top of the tank?

I want to make sure there is enough oxygen. I don't have an air stone... I had one when I first set the tank up but found it created quite a bit of current for my little 10 gallon. Are they necessary to provide enough oxygen?

[Deleted User]

Yes they some times do that.
If the fish are at the surface gasping then the water is too still.
For your 10 gallon. You don't really need an air stone. Just make sure the part of the filter that shoots the water out is either on the surface or slightly above the surface of the water so it agitates it. :ssmile:

[Bellie816]

Yes they some times do that.
If the fish are at the surface gasping then the water is too still.
For your 10 gallon. You don't really need an air stone. Just make sure the part of the filter that shoots the water out is either on the surface or slightly above the surface of the water so it agitates it. :ssmile:

Thanks! Well it seemed like they were hanging out at the top when I first turned the light on this morning, but now they are all over the tank again. I make sure that the filter is right at the surface or slightly above, also. There is a small amount of little bubbles right where the filter is at so that should be good. Thanks for your help! :ssmile:

[Bellie816]

Congrats on the platies. You can feed them algea wafers. Fresh veggies are great food too. Dark leafy greens like kale and collard green, squash, cuke, zuhcinni, just about anything. Don't feed iceburg lettuce. And they will eat their own babies too. So if you want to raise any fry you will either need a lot of hidding spots, live plants work great for this and will also provide some food for the fry. Or you can get a breeder net or seperate tank. IMO a tank would be better than a net.

When I feed them the algae wafers or the leafy greens and veggies...is that supposed to take the place of the flake food for the day? Or is it in addition to the flake food every day? :ssmile:

[Lab_Rat]

Feeding an algae wafer definitely takes the place of flake food for the day. I usually throw veggies in with the regular food a couple times a week, but I'm feeding many fish with different dietary needs. If I just had 3 platies I would just feed the veggie and skip the flake for that day.

Platies aren't schooling fish so no worries if they're not hanging out together.

[Cascade]

I had sunset platies a while ago. I once watched the female give birth, spin a 180, and consume the fry that barely had a chance to uncurl itself from the fetal position. It was sort of depressing. On the other hand, they have so many babies so often that, just based on the numbers, some can and do survive. From my experience, though, platies seem to be way more aggressive about hunting and eating their own fry (unless mine were just abnormal)...my mollies seemed to be more willing to live and let live.

Also, periodically i would take a frozen pea or two, thaw it out and mash it between my fingers (pull the skin off) and drop it in the tank. They went crazy for the extra treats!