Burst growth in guppy/platy fry?

**epicfish** · 10-19-2006, 07:01 AM

I kept all my fry (~20) in a small small growout vase, like 1 gallon. I fed them every day, no noticeable growth.

Once they got a tad bit bigger so that they couldn't be eaten, I decided to throw them all into the main tank. In mere days, they grew 3x, 4x what they did in the past week they were in the tiny growout tank. I did 50% WC twice a week in the tiny tank...what the heck happened?!

crazie.eddie · 10-19-2006, 07:30 AM

I used to breed guppies. I used to put the guppies in a seperate 2.5 heated tank with filtration. I didn't see any noticeable growth either. If I left the fry in a breeder container inside the main tank with the rest of the fishes, the fry grew faster. Eventually, I wouldn't even bother placing them in the trap and just let the fry survive on their own in the main tank. I had allot of hiding places anyways. What my assumption is, the parents or other fish maybe producing some kind of hormone to all faster growth in fry. I have read that there maybe some kind of growth limiting hormone given off by some fish to allow them to grow faster compared to their tank mates, so maybe these hormones have negative effects on fry.

**gabeszone247** · 10-19-2006, 11:12 AM

Yeah today I found platy fry in my tank about 10 of them and they look about a quarter size of the adults. I cant belive I didnt notice them until today!

Ibn · 10-19-2006, 04:01 PM

Higher temperatures in your main tank vs. your vase I take it?

TankCleaner · 10-19-2006, 04:04 PM

Good point Ibn... The higher the temp, the higher the metabolism, the faster the growth... I have not heard about the hormones though...

**epicfish** · 10-20-2006, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ibn

Higher temperatures in your main tank vs. your vase I take it?

Bingo. You win. I knew there was something I wasn't thinking of. =)

seastar0328 · 10-20-2006, 03:21 AM

crazie.eddie is right. I read in one of this month's magazines a question similar to this. Basically it stated that fry can be kept in a small tank if 15-20% water changes are religiously done every 2 days or so. The reason for this is that the fry give off a growth-inhibiting hormone and in such a small space X how many fish are present I would gather it wouldn't take long to fill the water with this hormone.

TINNGG · 10-20-2006, 03:14 PM

Interesting. I removed the adults (guppies), left the fry in a 2is gallon Marina (hagen jobbie) with the filter still in place, do a w/c about once a week, and they appear to have grown considerably. I found another baby with a couple of females (one had been exposed) and in comparison, it's maybe 1/4" whereas they're approaching the 1" mark. This has been since... the middle of August anyway. I did notice a young male that I deliberately left with a young female did not grow much until I removed her and put him in with a bunch of adult males.

I did notice a growth spurt after I fed them a piece of algae wafer. Almost overnight in fact. Maybe too much protein in the fry food?

**epicfish** · 10-21-2006, 07:58 AM

Man, the fry are about 3-4x as big now. It's been probably 4-5 days since I've put them in the main tank. I've found maybe 8 or 9 new guppy fry. They're freaking everywhere!

As for my platys, no more fry in the tank. Even if females have dropped, the fry are being eaten since I haven't fed any of them in a few days due to a blackout I'm doing to get rid of GW.

10-19-2006, 07:01 AM	#1 (permalink)
epicfish Planted Tank n00b (View User Tanks) PTrader: (72) Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,320	Burst growth in guppy/platy fry? I kept all my fry (~20) in a small small growout vase, like 1 gallon. I fed them every day, no noticeable growth. Once they got a tad bit bigger so that they couldn't be eaten, I decided to throw them all into the main tank. In mere days, they grew 3x, 4x what they did in the past week they were in the tiny growout tank. I did 50% WC twice a week in the tiny tank...what the heck happened?!

10-19-2006, 07:30 AM	#2 (permalink)
crazie.eddie Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (8) Join Date: May 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 1,683	I used to breed guppies. I used to put the guppies in a seperate 2.5 heated tank with filtration. I didn't see any noticeable growth either. If I left the fry in a breeder container inside the main tank with the rest of the fishes, the fry grew faster. Eventually, I wouldn't even bother placing them in the trap and just let the fry survive on their own in the main tank. I had allot of hiding places anyways. What my assumption is, the parents or other fish maybe producing some kind of hormone to all faster growth in fry. I have read that there maybe some kind of growth limiting hormone given off by some fish to allow them to grow faster compared to their tank mates, so maybe these hormones have negative effects on fry. __________________ 125 gal (473 liter): Low Tech (1.5wpg PC for 10 hours, no CO2/ferts, gravel substrate), Equipment (72" Coralife PC, Eheim Pro II 2128 w/built in heater, FilStar XP3 w/Hydor ETH201 inline heater), Fish (6Discus, 2Angel, 5Clown loaches, 4L-018 Gold Nugget pleco, 1L-260 Queen Arabesque pleco, 7Cories, Farlowella cat)

10-19-2006, 04:01 PM	#4 (permalink)
Ibn Moderator (View User Tanks) PTrader: (7) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 3,123	Higher temperatures in your main tank vs. your vase I take it? __________________ Eric

10-20-2006, 03:14 PM	#8 (permalink)
TINNGG Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: NE Tennessee Posts: 493	Interesting. I removed the adults (guppies), left the fry in a 2is gallon Marina (hagen jobbie) with the filter still in place, do a w/c about once a week, and they appear to have grown considerably. I found another baby with a couple of females (one had been exposed) and in comparison, it's maybe 1/4" whereas they're approaching the 1" mark. This has been since... the middle of August anyway. I did notice a young male that I deliberately left with a young female did not grow much until I removed her and put him in with a bunch of adult males. I did notice a growth spurt after I fed them a piece of algae wafer. Almost overnight in fact. Maybe too much protein in the fry food? __________________ My mind is aglow with trancient nodes of thought, careening through a cosmic vapor of invention - Hedley Lamar

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10-19-2006, 11:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
gabeszone247 Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (37) Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Japan Posts: 986	Yeah today I found platy fry in my tank about 10 of them and they look about a quarter size of the adults. I cant belive I didnt notice them until today!

10-19-2006, 04:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
TankCleaner Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Aurora, CO Posts: 46	Good point Ibn... The higher the temp, the higher the metabolism, the faster the growth... I have not heard about the hormones though...

10-20-2006, 03:21 AM	#7 (permalink)
seastar0328 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1) Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: IL Posts: 284	crazie.eddie is right. I read in one of this month's magazines a question similar to this. Basically it stated that fry can be kept in a small tank if 15-20% water changes are religiously done every 2 days or so. The reason for this is that the fry give off a growth-inhibiting hormone and in such a small space X how many fish are present I would gather it wouldn't take long to fill the water with this hormone.

10-21-2006, 07:58 AM	#9 (permalink)
epicfish Planted Tank n00b (View User Tanks) PTrader: (72) Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,320	Man, the fry are about 3-4x as big now. It's been probably 4-5 days since I've put them in the main tank. I've found maybe 8 or 9 new guppy fry. They're freaking everywhere! As for my platys, no more fry in the tank. Even if females have dropped, the fry are being eaten since I haven't fed any of them in a few days due to a blackout I'm doing to get rid of GW.

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