I am an involuntary aquarium owner: my daughter wanted fish, and I'm the only one in the family responsible enough to take care of them. The last time we went to get new fish, my kids picked red wag platies; I love these fish, and they've got great personality, but had I known they were live bearers, I wouldn't have touched them with a ten-foot pole. However, I didn't know that, and so here we are....
"Here" in this case is lots and lots of fry. For some reason, be it lack of aggressive fish in the tank, or dense planting, or multiple decorations, a lot of babies are surviving, including about a dozen from the first brood alone. At this point, I may have 30 or more, at different stages of development, in the tank, on top of the two adults, three neon tetras, and a bristlenose pleco. That's obviously too many fish for a 10-gallon tank, especially since the oldest fry are now about half an inch long.
Where can I find a home for these fish? I don't want to see them end up as feeders: I don't have a deep emotional attachment to them, but I don't want creatures I've raised ending up as food. I've read some people sell them to local pet stores, but I don't even know what store I'd approach around here (I'm in Springfield); at any rate, I don't really care about getting money for them.
When it came time to offload the next batch, NOVA Tropicals was short on quarantine tanks, but I was able to drop them off (14 of them this time) at Centreville Aquarium, in exchange for a discount on live stock, which I used to replenish my aquarium plants--I'd been trying not to overfeed the fish due to overcrowding, and they'd eaten all the plants. Centreville Aquarium has a great selection of plants, BTW.
I'm glad you found a nice home for them and you've added a new fish enthusiast!
You're right to be concerned about the angelfish. They grow to be quite large and are an aggressive cichlid requiring lots of space to set up territories to help reduce aggression. As you've witnessed, they'll happily snack on smaller tetras and fry. That could solve some of your baby platy excess problem. However, I would generally recommend a minimum size tank of 55 gallons for keeping angelfish. You may look into taking the angels back to the fish store.
Or... you could get a bigger tank. You're sounding more and more like an aquarist yourself :) And I know a great club you could join.
I'm concerned about the angelfish given the size of my largest broods--they're right now about 1/2" to 3/4", and I've seen an angelfish try to swallow something as big as a neon tetra before.
The two tanks/families I'm working with now would have an angel fish, who usually take care of the small fry. Some people may not care for that so I'm ok if you would prefer not to home them with in tank like that. I'm not sure about the domestic violence shelter, they use to give some fish to the kids if they were moving to a stable home but they have stopped doing that during the pandemic.
If you still looking for a home I donate fish to settings like domestic violence homes and for older adults who need a different type of companion because they've moved to independent living apartments and have to give up their dog or cat (I foster cats that is how I got into getting fish for older adults). I can pick up on the weekends. Kathleen
I agree with Matt. Your best bet will be to sell or donate them to a local fish store, and Nova Tropicals will be the closest to you. If they're not able to take them at this time, then I would try Chico's Natural Pet Market in Falls Church. Our member John Mangan manages the fish section there. Best of luck.
Maybe someone here will take them.
If not, Nova Tropicals is a new fish store in Dale City. They might take them, although I doubt they'd pay anything for platys.