Polly is pregnant!

[MamaPizza]

And Paul is the daddy

Breeder trap ready, am on constant watch to get her in on time but not too early so she can safely pop her babies and they can hide from her and the others.

WTF am I going to do with 20 odd platies?

[MamaPizza]

Eyebrow tweezers?

That white spot on her foofoo is definitely bigger and more prominent now, so I think she is dilating

DS (two and a half years) is standing by the tank saying:" Come on Polly. We want to see your babies. You can do it." He will make a fine birthing partner one day

[NoWittyName]

Lol!!!!!

News?

[NoWittyName]

....??? Starting to get frantic. Hope Polly's doing okay.

xxx

[EauRouge]

Hopefully the reason you're not posting is because you're putting on another laundry load of tiny, tiny nappies.

[MamaPizza]

Sorry, no news and I really don't know what to do anymore. She is proper squared off, her foofoo has opened up big time (big white bulge) but no babies. She is starting to get frantic in the breeder box, but on the other hand, if I let her out the males would chase her and make her even more uncomfortable. What would you do? Keep her in or let her out? It surely can't be long anymore, she is so ready but something is stopping her from birthing.

[EauRouge]

Keep her in, I would. If the babies are stuck then there's not an awful lot you can do other than wait it out and keep your fingers crossed :( Good luck, Polly. Is there anything in the breeder box for her to hide in? Could you chuck in a handful of java moss or some floating plants? Or a tiny little tupperware container would do if you've got no plants, just so she's got something to hide behind.

[MamaPizza]

She has calmed down a bit now. There are plants in her box. I so wish we could do a fish episiotomy

While I was reading for signs for readiness last week I came across a story of a guppy who simply couldn't give birth and she died. When the owner got her body out he squeezed the belly and the babies came out. The guppy simply couldn't get her babies out. So sad, I really hope Polly won't die.

[EauRouge]

It happens quite a lot, I don't know why. Must be to do with selective breeding or maybe in captivity they have more and/or bigger babies. Hopefully she'll be OK. You could turn the lights out too, that might help her to calm down a bit. The plants should be fine for a few hours.

[MamaPizza]

Oh dear, a lot? Please, Polly, be ok. Will turn lights off, daylight should be enough for the other fish for a day, so fingers crossed. Will update as soon as something happens (hopefully).

[EauRouge]

Well, a lot more than you'd expect if the species were to survive. There's not much evolutionary advantage to being so pregnant that you snuff it. I really hope she's OK :( I've got a book about livebearers, I'll see if I can find anything useful in there.

[NoWittyName]

Oh gosh. I'm sorry you're having a stressful time. Hope things go okay. xxx

[EauRouge]

Haven't found anything yet, I'll keep looking though.

[MamaPizza]

Thanks both. She is still pregnant, still some fretting but alive. Let's hope all will be well and we wake up to babies tomorrow.

[MamaPizza]

No babies overnight, sorry :(

We got her out last night so she could swim around, but again the males were after her. She was in the plants this morning, so assume she is REALLY close now?! (Although we thought that beginning of the week). We put her back in the breeder tank and we will keep our fingers crossed for this weekend.

Oh a positive note - we picked up the huge new fishtank (142 l), our ebay bargain. DH and me are chuffed and DS's first words this morning were "wow, a big giant pishtank" It even came with the U4 filter which wasn't even stated in the auction, so more money saved. The filter has been working until recently so the cycling should go fairly fast? Tell me if I am wrong, EauRouge, you seem to know those things.
Once it is ready the adults will go into the big one and the babies can swim around in the current smaller one and it will be the breeding tank for the future. Much more space for the pregnant mummy-to-be.

[MotherPanda]

Oh wow- just saw this thread. I'm rooting for you polly! A home water birth - how lovely.

[EauRouge]

Poor Polly, I hope she has those babies soon!

New pishtank, how cute And a freebie filter? Excellent! Is it this one? How long was the filter off for? You can get total die-off within about 24 hrs. Let me know if you need any tips for setting it up.

[MamaPizza]

MotherPanda, the lovely, calm home water birth is turning out to be a little of a dreaded long labour and all the birthing partners and midwives are getting anxious.

Yes, it is that filter. It has definitely been off for over 24 hours. Does it mean it needs a full six week cycle? So chuffed it came as a freebie, now we only need a 200w heater which I found fairly bargainous at Pets at Home. £22 is a good price, right? Do you know how to clean off water marks without harmful chemicals?

[EauRouge]

Depends what you're planning to do- if you are moving all the fish up to the new tank then you can cheat a bit. You've got a mature filter already so that will speed things up even if you are not moving all the fish over.

White vinegar and a bit of elbow grease should shift the water marks, make sure you give it a good rinse afterwards though.

Crikey, it's been a while since I bought any equipment! £22 sounds about right.

[EauRouge]

You could use malt vinegar but you'd smell like a bag of chips for the rest of the day.

[MamaPizza]

Oooh, I love chips and the smell of them so malt vinegar it is. Yup, got enough of Asda's finest in stock

So, to get it right. I can fill up the tank, add the heater and filter and let's say next week I can already add all my current fishies? (Sorry for being dim, still learning) I don't have that many fish (3 platies one of them a baby, 2 guppies, 1 cory, 8 minnows), so might aswell move them all. But I can't wait to build up a huge community tank once the new one is up and running.

[EauRouge]

if you are moving all the fish over and closing down your current tank, then what you do is this-

1. Set up the new tank and get it running for at least 24 hours so you can make sure all the stuff works and there are no leaks.
   
2. Test the water in the new and old tanks to make sure the pH is the same.
   
3. Drain out enough water from the new tank so that you can fit the water from the old tank in there.
   
4. Switch off both filters. Take the sponges out of the old filter (this is where all the good bacteria is) and stick it in the new one, then switch it back on.
   
5. Catch and bag the fish and float them in the new tank in the bags.
   
6. Drain out the water from the old tank and put it in the new tank.
   
7. Let the fish out once they are acclimatised- shouldn't take long as the temp and other water parameters should be about the same.
   

Hope that makes sense!

If you are planning to keep both tanks then you'll need to do things differently.

[MamaPizza]

Thanks so much

I am planning on keeping the old one though, it will be the breeder tank for all the baby platies. I assume I just don't do steps 3, 4 and 6?

[BertieBotts]

We ended up with millions of platies by letting nature take it's course!

I quite liked getting various colours and then seeing what the baby ones looked like. They are so cute when they're tiny, almost just an eye and a tail.

[EauRouge]

Right, plan B then

1. Set up the new tank and get it running for 24 hours.
   
2. Take out half the old sponge and put it in the new filter, get it back running again ASAP.
   
3. Move over whichever fish you are planning to move. Now here's the thing- normally you do not put fish in an uncycled tank but if you are going to take half the sponge to put in the new tank then you're only going to be left with half the bacteria in the old tank and all the fish. It makes more sense to take half the bacteria and some of the fish too BUT you will need to keep a close eye out for ammonia spikes and maybe do some extra water changes. I would have thought that low number of fish in such a big tank will be just fine though.
   

Bertie- baby fish are super-cute. The cutest thing I ever saw was when my goldfish spawned and right before the eggs hatched you could see the baby squirming around in the egg. It was amazing, I wish I'd got it on film.

[MamaPizza]

Thanks for plan B, sounds great.

Once DH is back from work we will get the heater and a stand and then we will set it all up. Well, once I have moved the boxes of happyland crap toys upstairs into the spare room. I would also think that the small amount of fish we have should be ok for the big tank, it should give the filter a good chance to get used to ammonia etc and we will take it very slowly from there. Got some magic potions which will help build up bacteria which I will also add.

I am so desperate for baby fish now. Come one Polly! I think if it hasn't happened by tomorrow morning the breeder trap will go and we will let nature take it's course. We got some life plants and one is very bushy, but no clue what it is called. Babies could hopefully hide there until the adults are moved into the new tank so they are safe afterwards.

EauRouge, if you don't mind - I imagine you having a beautiful, huge fish tank in your living room. You seem to be a real expert. Do you mind posting a picture? I am nosey