On Fry in general

[sawcat]

For anyone who's raised livebearer fry, this is directed towards you in particular. Somewhere online, I read that fry will grow faster in a heated tank. Is this true?

I have my one remaining platy fry, who's almost one inch long now. She currently lives in a half gallon betta kit container, which is plenty big enough for her. But I'm leary of moving her into the big tank with her mom mostly because I don't want her to fall victim to the filter intake of doom. But if they do grow better in heater tank, I was wondering about getting a breeder net to put in the big tank so she can get the benefit of being in the tank, but not letting her loose until she gets a bit bigger.

How does this sound? Reasonable?

[amanichen]

People only say "heated" tanks because most people keep the temperature of their dwelling below what most subtropical and tropical fish would normally live at.

The determining factor isn't whether or not a tank is "heated," but rather the temperature of the water.

Fish metabolisms increase as water temperature increases. If you're raising fry, they should be kept at the same temperature as the adult fish would normally live at. If you're raising certain types of livebearers, that might mean a subtropical temperature (around 72-75F.)

[bcroft]

Yes LB fry grow very fast if they're in a heated tank around 80 degrees. Also water changes are essential to their health and fast growing, so make sure you change the water. If the fry is in a bowl change the water every day and if in a tank a 20% water change every other day will be needed. Your final question about the benefit of being in a tank, it they will benefit from this. My guppy fry bloomed when moved from a breeding net to a 10 gallon in a matter of weeks.

Remember, LB fry poop every 20 minutes That's a lot of waste!

[sawcat]

Ok, Thanks. I think I might get a breeders net for it, since it was fairly cheap at the fish store. I'll make sure to keep the turkey baster at the big tank so I can do quick clean ups of the net