Female Dwarf Platy

[dortiz24]

Okay, so I posted a topic about a month ago asking opinions on when she would drop fry. Majority of posts were "in a couple days" to "in about a week". Well, in the past month she hasn't given birth to any fry. She has gotten a bit bigger though.

Just how long is the platy gestational period? Similar to guppies? She's driving me nuts! I'm dieing to see her fry! lol She's always hiding in the plants and teasing me with signs that she's going to give birth but....she won't!

 

[nmonks]

Just how long is the platy gestational period?

Depends on the environment, particularly the temperature. Also, some varieties of Platy look "fat" already, so you can easily misjudge whether they're pregnant or not. The gravid spot is as good as useless on Xiphophorus spp., so simply because you can see a dark patch around the back of the abdomen doesn't mean much either.

Similar to guppies?

Usually a bit longer, but it varies.

She's driving me nuts! I'm dieing to see her fry!

Do remember that these fish will often produce fry when you're not looking, and then the fry get eaten by other fish in the tank (or sometimes even the mother). That's why it is usually recommended that livebearer tanks are stuffed with floating plants, so that any babies produced have at least some security. You can then look for fry once or twice a day and remove them to another tank.

Cheers, Neale

 

[dortiz24]

Update: I moved her into my fry tank, free swimming and she sure enough started having babies. 5 live ones so far and a few came out looking like they were a bit decomposed, dead obviously. Yuck. No eggs.