Platys won’t stop breeding - help!

[crazypiglady]

We thought we were getting 3 females…we’re now on batch number 3 of babies & I don’t know what to do! We only have space for 1 tank but it’s filling up quickly! I’ve tried giving the babies and the male away but no one wants them 😭

Will the pet shop take the male back? Unfortunately this is what livebearers like Platys do best. A female can also have up to three batches of fry over a 4-6 month period once the male has been removed as they will retain sperm from previous matings. It might be better to give the females back to the pet shop!

What size is the tank? I don't recommend less than 60-70 litres for Platys but pet shops love to sell tanks far too small for them :(

I might contact the pet shop, they’re brilliant fish, I love watching them, but I wanted 4 - not 14 😂

Chances are they are female and arrived pregnant. Livebearers can store sperm for months and have multiple broods from one impregnation

On fb in my city we have a fish rehome/swap group

Same issue with mollies.
We take the fry that survive a few weeks to the aquarium shop who, we hope, resell them. Most of the fry disappear (get eaten, sorry). We were really worried about getting overwhelmed with the same type of fish, but after a few months we get very few fry, a couple survive, not sure if this is nature's way.
I've no idea if this is typical.