How do you know how far your fish is in it's pregn

[TropicalDude86]

How can you tell how far your fish is in it's pregnancy i have quite a few pregnant fish right now..how can you tell how far they ? Any pics that could help?

 

[Annastasia]

Hmmm....

Well, I've noticed the gravid spot gets darker, and the fish gets bigger and bigger as she gets closer to giving birth. When she's very close to giving birth, she will look like she is about to explode, and may get a kind of squarish shape when you look at her head on.

I'll look for some pictures to help you.

 

[TropicalDude86]

Thanks...i think also they swim around in like circles or in one area back in fourth alot.. thats what happend before my sword gave birth but other fish are diffrent..

 

[Annastasia]

Maybe they do that. I've never seen mine do that before they gave birth, but then again I've never actually been home when my fish gave birth!

 

[TropicalDude86]

Ive seen it happen i was just looking in the tank cause i was about to feed them an then go out but then all of a sudden my swordatil started to give birth

 

[Annastasia]

Wow, that must have great!

I hope one day I will be able to experience it too.

 

[TropicalDude86]

I'm sure you will...it's at night when fish usully drop em..ive noticed they do it at night every time..almost every time most of the time

 

[Annastasia]

Yeah, mine usually drop at night too. I wake up the morning, and see little fry swimming around the tank! Might have to stay up all night when one of mine looks very pregnant...but knowing them, they will pick that night NOT to drop!

 

[TropicalDude86]

haha it took my fish 3 hours to drop all i only saw for like 5 minnutes cause i was goin some where but i was only gone for 1 and a half cause i had to pick up somthin so ya when i was back she was still dropping them so an hour later she finnally stoped an was skinny she looked tired and stressed but she was swimming fast an the next moring i see her on the floor of the tank laying sideways dead an loosing it's color cause it died..

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I've seen alot of my platys/guppys give birth...

Look at it this way; most livebearers take about 4 weeks from getting pregnant to delivering fry.
Lets take guppys for example, if you have a male and female in the tank even if the female does not look pregnant it is most certain that she is at least a couple of days pregnant.
The first week of pregnancy will go almost unoticed, perhaps a slight increase in appetite and a tendancy to be harrassed by the male alot.
The second week you will start to see a definate bulge in her and the appearance of the gravid spot.
The third week her behavior will change alot; she will spend more and more time hanging around the bottom of the tank/near plants and become more competive for food and intolerant of other platys. Her gravid spot will have become very dark.
Fourth week will be the same and she will look she's about to pop and gravid spot will be very dark/large until she gives birth.

If you split the pregnancy into 4 stages, its easier to regognise how pregnant a fish is; all fish vary a little in how long the pregnancy takes and in my experience mollys take the longest, platys second longest and guppys the fastest to get pregnant and deliver fry.
I don't know about swordtails as i have never had them but i would have figured they were on the same level as mollys due to their size.

 

[TropicalDude86]

i never thought of it that way thanks that helps alot..i makes sense as well


Where exatly is the gravid spot?

 

[Annastasia]

It's right above the anal fins. About where the body meets the tail...here's a picture that might help.

http/www.fishforever.co.uk/images/pregnantguppy.jpg