# platie fry not growing



## platies2013 (Sep 3, 2013)

Hi all
I am new to the forum and new to fish keeping and I was wondering if anyone can help. One of my platies had fry 3 weeks ago and they do seem to be growing. they are not even half a centimeter yet? What am I doing wrong.
I have them in there own tank and I feed them twice a day. 
thanks


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

What size tank are they in,how often do you change water(how much)and what are you feeding them?
I raise swordtails(hundreds) so I may be able to help you.


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## BeccaBx3 (Sep 21, 2011)

I am interested in this also.. i cant seem to keep platy alive either...


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Fry growth has to do with not only how often they are fed but the quality as well. You should be feeding high quality food several times a day, and doing waterchanges, about 50% daily to every other day.


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## platies2013 (Sep 3, 2013)

They were in a small 5 litre tank. but I have mived them into a 12 litre tank about a week ago. I chang the water every 3 or 4 days as it gets really dirty.
thanks


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

With such a small tank at least every other day water changes should be done.If the water appears dirty then you are probly over feeding.
Do you use a sponge filter(air driven) in tank?


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## platies2013 (Sep 3, 2013)

Thanks I will star doing water changes daily. I feed them baby mini bits flake food. should I be feeding anything else?


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## platies2013 (Sep 3, 2013)

I had a sponge filter in the tank but I have taken that out and just put a filter stone in as the sponge filter claimed about 10 life's of my fry. so I only have about 6 left now.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I do pretty well with HBH baby bites and the occasional addition of frozen baby brine shrimp or decapsulated brine shrimp eggs(available cheap{lifetime supply for $8} at kensfish(on internet).Once they're a couple weeks old I add crumbled flake.
swordtails and platies are as close to the same fish as you can get,so the feeding should work well.The water changes are way more important than many think(I never test water I just change 50% whenever I can(2-3 times weekly at least).
Keeping fry in largest tank possile will really help also.IMO a 20 long is the smallest I would try to raise fry in.Mine start in a 30gl breeder then go to a 75gl.I sell/trade around 200 a month!
Is there a filter in with them?A simple air driven sponge filter is best and cheapest.I run like 20 sponges between all my breeder/ fry tanks!(also available at kensfish{great site})(at least 2 sponges per tank{1 every 10 gl})The sponges should get any fry I use them with my rams also which are microscopic and maybe the size of sword/platy fry once they get to be 3-4 weeks old!


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

One issue is the tank is too small for them. Place them in a ten gallon (about 37 liters) with a sponge filter and they will thrive much better.


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## Jenniferinfl (May 3, 2013)

Not to thread hijack, but, coralbandit, what's your stocking density like on a 20 gallon long? I have some sailfin mollies that have just stalled out for growth. I do a 50% water change everyday but only feed twice a day. Probably have 20 of them in there stalled at around .75". It seems like they've been the same size for a month now.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Jenniferinfl said:


> Not to thread hijack, but, coralbandit, what's your stocking density like on a 20 gallon long? I have some sailfin mollies that have just stalled out for growth. I do a 50% water change everyday but only feed twice a day. Probably have 20 of them in there stalled at around .75". It seems like they've been the same size for a month now.


I don't think your overcrowded (I have packed them in), but they may just crave a larger tank "to stretch their legs".
I can get away with 1 feeding a day safer than less water changes.all my swords go into 30 B first day I catch them(I have /will never use traps) as my fry are born in a 40B with floating plants(anacharis,hornwort and javamoss,and over 20 3-4 inch adults!) and placed in 30 B with fry/juvis up to 1".
I did fail to mention earlier that I think live plants(particulary the java moss,hornwort would be next) are key as my fry ,and large fish munch away all day at them.While on plants and as much of a "nuscance" it may seem,all my tanks have duckweed also(huge filtering plant beyond any discussion).The proof of the nutrient uptake in duckweed is try to get rid of it!I pull aprox75-80% of it out weekly and it keeps comming back(eating nutrients!).
There is a great chance that all trying to raise fry would benefit from having "simple live plants",again anacharis,hornwort and java moss,and duckweed ,don't know where I would be without them?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I have kept Swordtails, Mollys, Platys, and Guppies for a few years now. The one thing I have noticed is Platys take much longer to get to full adult size. If you read up on them it says it takes one full year and in this case I believe the book I have. Mine get raised in a 125g tank with about 45 other adult fish. They are able to reproduce at around the 3-4 month point but do not get to the 1.5" size until just about 12 months. 

I wouldn't be too alarmed in how slow they grow, but I do believe your tank is much too small. Back when I had some Swordtail fry that were born at the same time and split beteen my 75g and my 125g, the ones in my 125g were twice the size of those in my 75g in only 3 months time. The size of the tank does affect the growth rate quite a bit.


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## kicksilver (Aug 9, 2012)

This is my second time raising platy fry, and my current group is about 4 weeks old, and living happily in a 1G bowl with lucky bamboo, and water lettuce. The water is unfiltered, and I change 40% of it daily. Before introducing the fry to the bowl I allowed it to sit full of water on my patio until the walls became coated with algae(about 3 weeks). I then cleaned off just enough of it to view them and do a daily headcount. 
I feed them crushed flake food that is ground to a powder, and increase the size of the flakes as they grow. I change the water after they have finished feeding, and try to collect all the uneaten food.
Currently I have 39 of them in this setup, and in two more weeks I will be transferring them to my 30G hexagon that is currently populated only by snails, and preparing the bowl for the next group.

I also still have one from my last time raising them, and he is the smallest out of the shoal in my 55g. He is 6-7 months old and not full grown.


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## platies2016 (Mar 23, 2016)

Hi
I need your help seriously. I'm trying to raise swordtail fry, and it's been
about 1 month I've been feeding them in a 3 gallon bucket, the weather is hot here...
and they don't appear to be growing at all. Looks like they are stunted.
What am I doing wrong?


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