Expecting Platy - When?

[kacella]

I know this topic probably has been answered over and over again, but there's nothing like a personal confermation to get the facts straight.

Alright, so about 2-3 days ago I noticed that my mickey mouse platy was indeed pregnant. I had been speculating over the size for a while, but when I noticed the gravid spot I knew. Well, it wasn't really a spot. It was more like round dots in the back of her belly. Yay baby platies! So I took some pictures and went to petsmart where they said that my platy was definatly pregnant (I also went for the free water check, haha).

So each day she's been getting fatter, more round from the top and back view, and more square from the side view. The spot has gotten less colored (before it was a super noticable bright orangey red), and I can see black dots forming. I think I actually saw the outline of one of the babies (I have no clue how they're piled in there, haha) this morning (3:00 AM).
Also, she's been getting more reclusive. She hangs out at the top corners of the tank, or the bottom, or underneath the filter (it hangs so there's space there), or behind/in some fake plants I have towards the back of the tank. This morning she was almost bipolar in her behavior. She would hide and be less social, and then be swimming around at the front of the tank, up and down in the corners, or swimming with my black molly (female). Also, she's had the white spot below her anal fin for a while.
So after doing a huge amount of reading, I decided to put her in the breeding trap. She is quite large, but I'm still worried that nothing will come of it and it will just stress her out and make her abort or reabsorb the fry. She freaked out when I tried to put her in, but I want to keep the fry and I don't think the plants I have in my tank will give them enough hiding places while they're still small, so I just coaxed her on in.
Anybody have any suggestions? Do you think she's close? Should I wait a little longer before I put her in the trap? I have some pictures from a few days ago that I'll post if it helps with any answers anybody could give me. What was the pre-birth "phase" like for your platy? Any comments would be greatly appreciated and very helpful~

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the site Kacella. It sounds like your platy is very close so keep an eye on her and expect something to happen in the next day or two. Everything you have said relates to a fish that will have an imminent delivery. Do you have at least a 10 gallon tank cycled and ready for the fry to grow out in? If not, you may want to reconsider trying to save all the fry. A breeding trap will allow a fairly safe delivery of a number of fry but is not big enough for very many fry to grow up in even after the female is removed and the internal partitions are removed.

 

[chesterscot]

to tff youll find loads of info here and helpfull ppl to
regards scot

 

[kacella]

thanks chesterscot~ the site is very helpful :3

I do have a 10 gallon tank that is fully cycled, yes~ I might just let her birth them out of the trap and let nature work, because I'm sure that at least one will survive, and there's always the "stored supplies" the platy has, haha. I have a peppered cory catfish, a figure eight puffer (coretta), a green spotted puffer (brychan), an otocinculus, and a black molly. The platy hangs out with the molly a lot, and the molly sometimes follows her. I'm positive the black molly is a female, so I don't know if this is maternal comforting or what, haha.

I put her in the breeding trap around 3am this morning and went to bed, but when I woke up there was nothing in the trap so I let her out. She's being a lot more reculusive and mellow today, less activity. I hope I didn't stress her out, but I've heard that when birth is closer that the fish will get very lethargic and less energetic. She'll still feed and she comes out from behind her plants every now and then. She actually just did a full circle of the front of the tank, very wary like. She might be checking out the area to make sure it's safe for her babies, haha. I'm just so excited to be a fish mom, I'm a freshman marine science major in college and I'm in love with fish, so having babies is a great joy for me~ Thanks for the feedback, and I'll keep this thread updated and post pictures of the fry when they're dropped~!

 

[kacella]

So a quick update here. My platy is looking bigger, and more squared off, especially in the back. She started looking that way last night, but there were no births. Today she seems to have gotten bigger and I can see the eyes more clearly.
Also, something that may mean I will have fry very soon happened: the little white opening seemed to have the little black dot in it. I've read that that means they're going into labor and that's where the fry come out. I could have sworn i saw it. It's a little harder to see since she's swimming in almost an L shaped pattern, along the bottom then up behind my filter. She seems to be trying to stay away from my female black molly, who has been following her around a bit but is now on the other side of the tank. It's only 3:41 pm and I read that most fry are dropped during the very early morning hours. Anybody have any clue what's going on? Any suggestions?
I think I might just keep watch and when/if she starts dropping fry I'll put her in the breeding net.

 

[nosoup4you]

My livebearers don't really care what time of day it is...my last two drops have been in the middle of the afternoon. Just keep an eye on her and as you said place her in the trap when she starts dropping fry. It does sound like she is showing some signs of impending labor. Is she still eating? Female livebearers produce a hormone shortly before the fry are dropped which suppresses their appetite (a neat little trick of nature to keep them from eating their fry as they pop out),this doesn't always work but if she is not eating or is taking in food then spitting it out, this can be a sign that labor is imminent.

 

[OldMan47]

Kacella, by the sounds of things, she is either delivering her fry or very close to starting. You will find that the puffers and the molly are a threat to the new fry so unless there is very good cover in the tank you will need to take action if you want to save any. My platies are in a mixed community tank like that and although I am sure they each drop fry every month, there are never any fry for me to find. One of my mollies gave me 30 fry when she was in a tank alone but since she went into a mixed community 6 months ago, I have seen none at all from her.

 

[kacella]

Well the white hole went away and she's been eating, but I can see the frys eyes more clearly, so I'm definatly going to stay up all night (again) and watch her. I feel bad for just putting her in the breeding net and shutting the light off, I don't want to stress her to the point of discomfort/abortion/reabsorbtion. I do want a few fry though....or twenty, haha. She is still large and boxy. I'm just going to keep a close eye on her, checking every 10 minutes or so while I'm out of the room.
Thanks for all who replied, I appreciate the help! I'll post if I get any fry tonight/this morning~ =)

 

[5teady_2012]

can you get any pictures of them for us to look at?

Also, if you place her in the breeding trap, to minimize stress, out the lights, cover the tank with up so no light can get in from the room lights/daylight, and give them a bit of food... leave her in for no longer than 48 hours, if no fry, release and her and keep a close eye on her, try again 2-3 days after..