My Pregnant Platy

[new2platys]

My platy is pregnant and has been for several weeks. I have noticed that she is starting to square off(I believe she is squaring off anyways), her gravid spot is noticeable and is about the size of her eyes, her anal opening is bigger than normal and is white in color. She has been scouting the bottom of the tank since early this morning and is not swimming with my other three platy's. I have placed her in a breeders trap and have turned off the lights occaisionally observing her. I took a picture which is attached here. Can anyone tell me if she is close like I believe she may be?

 

[fluffycabbage]

to be honest i dont think shes anywhere near ready ( at least a week left, if not more). she hasnt squared off. if you look at the pictures in the links at the top of the livebearers section you'll see what i mean. take her out of the breeding trap, it'll only cause her unnecessary stress.
are you intending on keeping the fry and raising them then?

 

[new2platys]

She's been pregnant for atleast 5 weeks already and this is her first brood/litter. I am attaching another photo. The first photo wasn't exactly straight on with her. This new photo shows her belly better. She is very calm in the trap for right now. I've been doing a lot research online and I have read that first time mommy's don't always get very big for their first time. Is this true and will this keep her from squaring off like you described?

 

[fluffycabbage]

She's been pregnant for atleast 5 weeks already and this is her first brood/litter. I am attaching another photo. The first photo wasn't exactly straight on with her. This new photo shows her belly better. She is very calm in the trap for right now. I've been doing a lot research online and I have read that first time mommy's don't always get very big for their first time. Is this true and will this keep her from squaring off like you described?

View attachment 61404

Ok gestation can be from 3-6 weeks, depending on water temperature. What temp is the water? Yep a livebearers first drop will be relatively small compared to later ones, but wouldnt really affect the squaring off (well not from the advice ive received on here). She'll just not become as big as older platys.
How do you know shes been pregnant for 5 weeks?

Can you post an actual picture of her, not an enhanced one?

 

[new2platys]

I have had her for 6 weeks and 1 week into it I noticed her getting bigger. She has just recently in the past 2 weeks gotten much bigger. The tank is at 78 degrees as well. I raised the temp to 80 degrees about 2 hours ago. It still hasn't reached 80 but almost.

What do you mean by not an enhanced picture? I can only upload up to 100 KB so I have to crop the pictures I do take of her so they will upload to here. I released her back into the tank and am going to keep an eye on her. I am going to take pictures of her on Thursday if she hasn't dropped by then for comparison. These will be my first drop. I do appreciate the feedback.

 

[mrs biffster]

Does she look broad in the body. Platies look big and heavy when they are about to drop.

 

[new2platys]

Does she look broad in the body. Platies look big and heavy when they are about to drop.

Mrs biffster....she isn't very broad bodied.. as I stated earlier in the post she is a first time mommy. She is rounded when looking at her from the top view, but not significally like a mature Platy would be.

 

[fluffycabbage]

what i mean by enhanced is that she looks like shes done a round with photoshop! shes briiiiiiiiiight!! like reaaaally bright! (too bright )

 

[fluffycabbage]

here are some pregnant platies of mine

 

[new2platys]

LOL... She's bright like that because I have an aquarium plant bulb in. She was the color of the pictures you posted on here before I changed the bulb. After I changed the bulb, she started projecting a more bright color. Photos are definitely not photo shopped except for being cropped. That light changed the way everything projects its color in my tank. Even my other three platys have a brighter color. Thanks for the photos. They really are a big help. How close were your platy's to giving birth when these photos were taken?

 

[fluffycabbage]

god thats nuts lol! is the bulb ok for fish?
they were all less than a week to go in these - but their shape squared off more in the few days before. the rear photos were a couple of days before.

 

[new2platys]

god thats nuts lol! is the bulb ok for fish?
they were all less than a week to go in these - but their shape squared off more in the few days before. the rear photos were a couple of days before.

Yes the bulb is completely safe for the fish. Thanks for all the info you have provided fluffy. I appreciate it. I see now that my platy still has a little while to go. Thanks again.

 

[OldMan47]

Lighting can dramatically affect the appearance of fish. I personally prefer something along the lines of a daylight spectrum but other color spectrum bulbs can definitely show more color in fish than I see in mine. Back to the original question, I do not see an advanced state of pregnancy in your female New2Platys. I would guess that your female is no closer than about 2 weeks from her next drop. If she was carrying fry 5 weeks ago, they became fish food almost a month back.

 

[new2platys]

Lighting can dramatically affect the appearance of fish. I personally prefer something along the lines of a daylight spectrum but other color spectrum bulbs can definitely show more color in fish than I see in mine. Back to the original question, I do not see an advanced state of pregnancy in your female New2Platys. I would guess that your female is no closer than about 2 weeks from her next drop. If she was carrying fry 5 weeks ago, they became fish food almost a month back.

She dropped her fry early this morning. Not quite sure how many she had, but I was able to seperate 5 of them into a breeders trap before they became lunch! There are a few more swimming around freely in the tank with plenty of hiding spaces. I have two more platys that are pregnant as well. The one is a Mickey Mouse platy and she looks like she has a few days if not another week left on her. The other one is a Sunset Platy and she just started showing signs of being pregnant within the last 24 hours. She was put in the tank the same time the male was put in, which was 4 weeks ago. I greatly appreciate everyone's advice.

The Mickey Mouse platy that dropped early this morning was squared off very nicely last night before I went to bed. However, she still had a hearty appetite which threw me for a loop. Do they not always loose their appetite?