Pregnant Platy?

[Blentern]

G'day All,

I realise this sort of post comes up a lot so apologies for starting it up again.

I'm about 90% certain one of my platies is pregnant, I have all the necessary equipment and have read other forums as to what the typical pregnancy looks like but as this is the first fish I've had get pregnant, am struggling a bit with identifying it in my own tank.

Can anyone:
-suggest if they'd agree/disagree with my pregnant diagnosis
-suggest how far away away birth might be (I think she's a minimum 3 weeks pregnant
-give me a really clear way of telling whether or not she's 'box shaped' yet... I sort of think she is, am really struggling to tell.

My fish have never been overly fond of photos so I apologise that the quality in the photos isn't brilliant. I've tried to get her from a few angles.

Thanks so much,
Beth

 

[lauraf]

Those are actually pretty good pics! She looks pregnant to me but it's hard to say how far off she is...wouldn't call her 'box-shaped' yet.

 

[ladygsss]

I would say she is pregnant and I must say that you should have plenty hidding spaces for the babies because the mother will try to eat them. I brought some platys for the first time last year and the mother produce babies at least three times when I had her. The first set, there was three that survive,second set there was about 5 and the third set there was 6 that survive, I gave her away and she has had a fourth set since I gave her away, The playty that I had just kept on having babies and I didn't have enought room that is why I gave her away., Hope you have the success that you want with your platyies.

 

[keishakay]

do you have her in a tank by herself? or in a breeder? i recomend separating the mom to be and then separating her from the babies. she looks pregnant to me i would say in the next two weeks or so. if shes not under too much stress. make sure she has plenty of air. if shes starting to look like a box with a tail then shes really close, from the pictures you have she doesnt look at all squared off.
i hope this helps
P.S. every adult fish you have will eat the babies.

 

[CoralBlueHiFin]

She is Pregnant but id say you got another 2 weeks at least. I breed Hi Fin platys in my 50gallon tank, I would recommend a birth net if you want most of the fry to survive. Put her in it about 2 to 3 days before so she gets used to it and provide some sort of fake plant in the net for the little ones to hide .

 

[Thyra]

About two weeks ago I bought two very small female platies. Neither of them had the slightest indication they were pg, but I now have three fry in the tank and their only companion is a male betta. IME the females don't have to get huge before they drop fry. Perhaps its because when they are young they have fewer fry at a time.

 

[OrangeCones]

Exactly, Thyra!

The fry will develop until they can survive outside the mother. If she has one fry developing, you would not even know she was pregnant. If she has 50, you will know. And since livebearers can store sperm from one mating to fertilize eggs later, there is no way to really know 'when' the big event will happen. Available food, stress on the mom, water conditions and temperature all play a role in how quickly the fry develop.