Livebearers population control

Question
Good evening,

I would love to start a community tank of some livebearers, perhaps platys, guppies, or mollies.  From all that I have read, reproduction with these species is not an "if" but a "when".  I do not want to be faced with a tremendous over-population problem.  I was wondering if either of these two thoughs might be a way to handle the population:
1) Would it be at all possible to net the fry and place them in my goldfish tank?  I know it sounds awful, but my goldfish seem to devour practically anything and was thinking they would eat as many as they could.  But I don't know how small or fast fry are and if it's even possible to net them.  I'm assuming I can't put my goldfish in a livebearer tank for a few days since it will be heated.

2) Would any freshwater shrimp take care of abundant fry? Perhaps ghost or cherry shrimp?

Thanks,
Joann

Answer
Hi Joann,
I agree with you. Awful as it seems, sometimes you have to use your other fish to keep your livebearer fry population down. I know firsthand how bad the population can get out of control and I've had to use my cichlids and some community fish to gobble up the extra babies. Usually they are gone in an instant and all you can do is tell yourself "this would happen in nature all the time" at least that's what I drill into my brain. Its hard sometimes, because livebearer fry are ungodly cute sometimes!
Its definitely possible to net them, especially if they are only a day or so old. Once they are a bit older than that, they get faster of course, the bigger they get. Also if you have a lot of plants they will be difficult to net somewhat. Another option for you to definitely think about is to keep several well-known "fry-eaters" which are just as you'd expect... fish that are big predators of fry. The best fry eater might be a couple of angelfish, but I don't know if you want these fish or if your tank is big enough. Another option is several rosy or gold barbs, (tigers might be too nippy) Barbs in general are fast and ferocious eaters. Just a thought.

Shrimp would make a wonderful addition to your livebearer community but they just aren't quick enough to grab fry unfortunately. So your best bet is to stick with a fish to take care of the excess fry.

I hope this helps and best of luck!
Karen~