Help please! How are there babies!?

[Eemiia]

Can somebody tell me are these both female platy?

Looking online they both have fan tails and should be female but I have baby fish and not a clue how ( I do have neons and cerdinals too but the babies look like platy as per photo)

See photos ty

 

[hazyvonne]

Yes, they both look female to me. The thing about platies (and I think other livebearers) is that once they get impregnated by a male platy they can "store" that sperm and use it for more than pregnancies later. I think I read that you can expect them to have babies for up to 6 months later. I removed my platy boys 2 months ago and my girls still keep having soooooo many babies.

 

[Byron]

Two things to mention. First, both platies are feemale. But, they were very likely impregnated by a male before you ever got them, and once done they can deliver several batches, depending upon this or that, not really relevant to the question.

Second, I would think the fry might well be a Paracheirodon species, but I cannot see it well enough. Paracheirodon is the genus in which cardinals (P. axelrodi) and neons (P. innesi) occur.

 

[Eemiia]

Yes, they both look female to me. The thing about platies (and I think other livebearers) is that once they get impregnated by a male platy they can "store" that sperm and use it for more than pregnancies later. I think I read that you can expect them to have babies for up to 6 months later. I removed my platy boys 2 months ago and my girls still keep having soooooo many babies.

I'm so glad it's not just me! They both have female fins!

I read this too about then storing sperm for mo ths and I checked with the lady I took them from who guarentwes that they were both alone and she's never had any other fish. Its absolutely bizzare but they are deffo platy babies
Maybe I have a hermaphrodite... Is that a thing even!?

 

[Eemiia]

Two things to mention. First, both platies are feemale. But, they were very likely impregnated by a male before you ever got them, and once done they can deliver several batches, depending upon this or that, not really relevant to the question.

Second, I would think the fry might well be a Paracheirodon species, but I cannot see it well enough. Paracheirodon is the genus in which cardinals (P. axelrodi) and neons (P. innesi) occur.

Thanks so much for your reply.

I did ask old owner who said she's only ever had those two fish together it's so so strange.

Do you think the babies could be cardinal tetras or neon rasbora then? It's difficult to get a piccy cus they are so tiny my cam doesn't focus on them properly but their tails are fanned not forked which made me believe platy.

 

[Byron]

Thanks so much for your reply.

I did ask old owner who said she's only ever had those two fish together it's so so strange.

Do you think the babies could be cardinal tetras or neon rasbora then? It's difficult to get a piccy cus they are so tiny my cam doesn't focus on them properly but their tails are fanned not forked which made me believe platy.

I cannot see it well enough, I only suggested it might or might not. A livebearer expert like @emeraldking will be much more reliable than me.

 

[Eemiia]

I cannot see it well enough, I only suggested it might or might not. A livebearer expert like @emeraldking will be much more reliable than me.

Thanks!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I cannot see it well enough, I only suggested it might or might not. A livebearer expert like @emeraldking will be much more reliable than me.

I'm not a livebearer expect, but that's a platy baby.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Thanks so much for your reply.

I did ask old owner who said she's only ever had those two fish together it's so so strange.

Do you think the babies could be cardinal tetras or neon rasbora then? It's difficult to get a piccy cus they are so tiny my cam doesn't focus on them properly but their tails are fanned not forked which made me believe platy.

Where were they from? An established tank?
It can happen from the fishes's siblings, if the previous owner didn't separate male and female young in time. Or, she may have had a male too at some point, these girls were producing fry at times, but something else in the tank was eating the fry before she even realised there were any.

 

[Eemiia]

Can somebody tell me are these both female platy?

Looking online they both have fan tails and should be female but I have baby fish and not a clue how ( I do have neons and cerdinals too but the babies look like platy as per photo)

See photos ty

I went back to old owner and told her she must have exposed to a male and she finally conceded that she had only had them two months before giving them up. Not sure why she wasn't straight about this to begin with? Maybe uncomfortable at having them for such a small portion of time before loosing control of the tank cleaning.
So there we have it.... By that math I have four more month of them potentially giving birth and they both look fat and pregnant again :0 new tank here we come....

 

[Eemiia]

Where were they from? An established tank?
It can happen from the fishes's siblings, if the previous owner didn't separate male and female young in time. Or, she may have had a male too at some point, these girls were producing fry at times, but something else in the tank was eating the fry before she even realised there were any.

This is exactly what's happened,

She finally admitted she only had them two mo this before giving them to me

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I went back to old owner and told her she must have exposed to a male and she finally conceded that she had only had them two months before giving them up. Not sure why she wasn't straight about this to begin with? Maybe uncomfortable at having them for such a small portion of time before loosing control of the tank cleaning.
So there we have it.... By that math I have four more month of them potentially giving birth and they both look fat and pregnant again :0 new tank here we come....

I'm sorry to break it to you, but it can be for longer than six months... @emerald truly is a livebearerer authority, writes articles on them any everything - and according to him it can last for even up to a year... doesn't mean it will, but it can.

 

[emeraldking]

As already stated before, both adults are female platies. That fry in pic#3 is a platy fry. Very recognizable from this pic.
Yes, sperm storage in an ovoviviparous female livebearer can last up till over a year. So, half a year won't be a safe time period to claim that a female is clean (out of sperm storage).