BAP Report from: Benjamin E. McGrew
Video Journal
Species
Xiphophorus maculatus
Platy (Female Sunburst Mickey Mouse / Male Sunburst Wag)
Reproduction
Method of Reproduction: Livebearer
Number and Gender Distribution of Parents: Single Pair
Origin of Parents: Tank Raised (Purchased from LFS)
Approximate number of fry: 11
Date of Birth: (06/26/2019)
Approx. Number of Fry at 30 Days: 11
Aquarium Conditions
pH — ca. 7.3-7.6
GH — 7 (125.3 ppm)
KH — 3 (53.7 ppm)
Temperature: 79-degrees Fahrenheit in tank, 74-degrees F in fry container
Average Nitrate: 10-15 ppm
Aquarium Size: in inches, 10 X 20 X 12 — standard 10 Gallon aquarium
Water Source: town / city water
Water Changes: 50-60% 1x per week
Filtration System: basic hang-on-back, with additional small sponge filter
Décor & Environment
Live Plants: Ludwigia Repens, Amazon Sword (small), Java Fern
Caves or Similar Hiding Places: “Dragon Stone” cave
Substrate: Tan, generic Pea-sized gravel
Lighting Type and Timing: two low-light LED strips, one came with 10 Gal.
kit, the other bought from WalMart and attached to the lid underside
with zip ties. Lights are on for 14 hours, from 7 am to 9 pm
Feeding
Food Fed to Parents and How Often: 2x / day — mixture of live baby brine
shrimp that we hatch, Fluval Bug Bites, and Cobalt Fry Minis
Food Fed to Fry and How Often: 2x-3x / day — first weeks, mixture of Sera
Micron powder mixed with tank water, and baby brine shrimp that we
hatch; after two weeks, we feed same foods to fry as parents, in
smaller amounts
Photographs
Comments and Additional Information
We built a small rig using a critter container with unequally drilled holes, and airline attached. Air lifts water from the 10-gal tank up one hose into the fry container, and a lower outflow hose returns water down to the tank. This keeps fry separate from the parents without dramatically changing the water chemistry. The water temperature is about 5-degrees Fahrenheit cooler in the rig than in the tank.
A small sponge filter was added to the tank before transferring the month-old fry over from the small fry rig. This was to help account for the greater bio load.
A young long-finned albino bristle nose pleco was added to help moderate some of the algae build up . . . and because we plan to breed plecos eventually, and were eager to find this variety.
The fry vary slightly from both parents in darkness of orange-yellow coloration, and in the tail patterning. This may change with growth and maturation.
Hello Dave and Ben,
This is to confirm that you will be awarded an additional 5 points for your detailed video submission for a total of 15 points.
Thanks for the update. Very interesting. Those fry have surprisingly good situational awareness to figure out how to hide in the baskets so quickly and effectively.
As for coloration, diet+lighting+space to grow+various water parameters play some part in color articulation -- we find that there is some pearl-green sheen emerging on the sides of the platys in the tank at the school. But in the original tank, it is more difficult to see.
HI Patchin (this is Dave). We'll post some photos. We have about four Platys that are fully adult in another aquarium set up at a private School nearby. The original set up is small (10 gal), and we did away with the extended breeder container. In this context, only two-three fry survive per month. The colony is very slow-growing. At the School, however, we set up pond baskets with holes in for fry to escape out from being eaten in a second tank, and immediately have 30-50 fry that are thriving there! We got the idea from this video Cory and Dean did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlHOMjxhCV4
Hi Ben, if you have time it would be interesting to see close-up pictures of the fry and the parents to compare their adult coloration. How are you enjoying raising the adolescents? They already looked gigantic and ready to eat you out of house and home at 4 weeks of age. :)
Hello Ben,
This is to confirm that you have been awarded 10 points for the successful spawning and rearing of your Xiphophorus sp. platy fry.
Thanks,
Raychel