Platy Mating?

[AundieRae]

So I was just wondering what exactly goes on during platy mating? I know how to tell a male from a female obviously but exactly how does it happen? Will they go hide behind a plant or something? Will they just mate out in the open? What happens
And after mating how long are the babies expected after? I've had a platy/betta tank for almost a year now and never seen any babies I think maybe my betta eats them, but it seems unlikely that he would eat all of them
Thanks!

 

[Cazgar]

They mate whenever & wherever they can.
Gestation is approx 28/30 days.
Unless the babies have plenty of hiding places, yes, it's possible the Betta, or even the platys ate them all

 

[the_lock_man]

The male sneaks up behind the female, wham, bam, thank you ma'am, now where's the next female?

 

[OldMan47]

The actual contact time for a typical poeciliid, like a platy, can be measured in fractions of a second. The male may or may not perform some courting activity first so that the female will hold still long enough for him to make contact. A platy or guppy uses minimal courting while a pure endler will only mate with females that he has wooed first. Poeciliids are not shy about mating and will do it wherever they find themselves.
Some of the egg layers, not really addressed much in this section can be quite the hiders to protect the eventual fry, but not common livebearers.