How to Breed Strawberry Platy Fish

Strawberry platy fish are very popular and make a great choice for starter fish. Not only are they easy to care for, relatively sturdy and easy to breed, they can survive on a relatively inexpensive diet. Plus, they do not grow substantially in size once they reach 2.5 inches, making them relatively easy to care for. The easiest way to breed platy fish is to purchase two or three female platys that are fat.

Instructions

    • 1

      Pick out two or three female strawberry platys from a pet store. To tell the sex of the fish, look at the gonopodium, or the anal fin, which is substantially longer and larger in the male fish. The fish also should be very plump, indicating that they will likely give birth within a month.

    • 2

      Keep the fish in a 5-gallon (or larger) aquarium, and feed them a base of flake food, supplemented by some live food (lettuce, pieces of carrots and small shrimp).

    • 3

      Keep the aquarium clean, changing 25% of the water each week. Stock the aquarium with lots of hiding places for the young fish (gravel, marbles and bushy plants) to protect them from their mother after she gives birth.

    • 4

      Separate the mothers from the young fry, if possible, after the mother gives birth. Mothers will not be hungry for 12 hours after giving birth, but after that, all bets are off and chances are that they will eat most of their children.