squeee!
Upon coming home from work today, I managed to catch my high-fin platy giving birth! I caught four or five deliveries before quickly sheathing the filter intake with an old piece of panty hose (so the babies don’t get sucked in, you know).
I also saw one of the dumber baby fish head out into open water and get swallowed by one of the other platies (but he made her work for it, at least). Hopefully at least a few of the others are a little smarter. I expect a little bit of the “law of nature/circle of life” thing, which is okay, because these fish can deliver two dozen or more at a shot and I’d be quickly overrun, but all the same, I’d like to be able to keep a few around. The tank this fish came from at the store had some interesting colors in it.
To help them along, I distracted the other fish with some flakes and turned the lights off. If the babies make it for a couple of days, they’ll be too big to eat.
I thought this fish was pregnant when I bought her, but had basically given up and written her off as fat after having her for over six weeks (regular gestation on these guys is about 28 days). It was a nice birthday surprise.
