Breeding Platies?

[orangefish]

I have 4 young platies that I bought from my LFS as a bit older than fry. I would guess they are around 5 or 6 months now- they're about 2cm long. One of my males keeps following my female and I'm not sure if he's trying to breed with her as well. Can they breed at such a young age, or are they just playing? Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

That kind of play leads to a fry drop. At about 2 cm, a platy is very small but with fully developed sex organs they can reproduce.

 

[orangefish]

Oh dear! Ok, so how will you be able to tell if/when she's pregnant? Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

Chances are not bad that the females in the situation are already starting to develop new fry. With a platy, fry development is around 28 days at typical temperatures where we keep our fish.