my mickey

Question
why does my fish keep having babies even though i took all the males out? (i have 1 male and 1 female)

Answer
Hi Lucy,

If by mickey you mean you have a platy, this is not unusual. Livebearers (like platys, guppies, mollies, etc.) can actually store sperm. It usually takes about six months, give or take, to "clean her out", which is why it is completely possible that upon buying only female platys for your tank, you still end up with fry!

My suggestion would be that you either let nature take its course and let the fry become predated upon (might have to introduce another fish for this purpose, not all mothers have the urge to eat their fry, contrary to popular belief) or you dedicate a rearing tank to the fry.

Rearing the fry in a separate tank is always best, because it is so messy...the fry need several tiny meals a day (some experts recommend as many as six per day) and water changes should be done, if not daily, every other day. 25% is minimum. Use gentle filtration, sponge filters work best but a regular hang-on back filter will work as long as the flow is low. The water changes and frequent meals will ensure that your fry have optimum growth, and by the time they are 1.5-2" you will be ready to trade them in for credit at your local fish store!

If you can't find a store locally that will accept them (be sure to check) then I would definitely go for the natural route instead of trying to raise them...getting 20-50 fry per batch is not out of the ordinary, and no one has that kind of space in their tanks!

For more information, check out these two sites:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=419
http://www.fishforums.net/content-page/99216/Livebearers-Stocking-and-Fry/page/0...

I hope that helps, take care.
Nicole