Platy Not Dropping After 6 Weeks!

[nikkifro8994]

How long can platys stay pregnant? My mickey mouse platy has been pregnant for 6 weeks now. Her gravid spot is dark and her belly is round, but it hasn't squared off yet. She is in a 5 gallon tank with 11 2-month old fry.

The water parameters are:
Ph- 6.8
Ammonia- 0 ppm
Nitrite- 0 ppm
Nitrate- 40-80 ppm
I will do a water change tomorrow to lower the nitrates.

Why hasn't she dropped yet? Could she feel too cramped in a 5 gallon with 11 fry? I am trying to keep the fry in this tank until I can determine gender. The males will go in with my 3 male guppies and 3 male platys. I will sell the females.

I can move the fry to a 1.5 gallon tank but this seems awfully tiny. They can go in my 10 gallon male tank with 3 guppies and 3 platys or in my 10 gallon tetra tank with 6 neons and 3 rasboras.
I could move my betta up to this tank and the fry to his 5 gallon, but he flares at the fry in the tank next to his so I think he might get a little territorial if he were all of a sudden placed with 9 other fish.

 

[KrystaK]

It could be that she's not pregnant and just really fat, Gravid spots aren't always accurate because some light colored fish have them anyways. When was the last time she was in with a male?
I had a female platy I thought was pregnant and for almost two months I waited until I realized it was because I was feeding them too much lol.
It could also be that she's stressed out in such a small tank, Platy's should be kept in at least a 10g tank if you can help it, maybe she's aborted the pregnancy and her body has started up another one right after (Improbably, but just a suggestion )

Hope I helped

 

[nikkifro8994]

She was with a male 4 weeks ago. She is definitely pregnant. He belly is a lot bigger than it was after she dropped the 11 fry. But it's not low like it is when I accidentally overfeed them. My sister overfed them 2 weeks ago and the Mom and the fry were huge. She has the white ball by her anal fin too. She is looking a little bigger today than she was last night. I want to move the fry or the Mom or tonight so she can be less stressed. I have a cycled 1.5 gallon tank with nothing in it, a 10 gallon with 3 male guppies and 3 male platys, and another 10 gallon with 6 neons and 3 rasboras. If I move Mom, she would go to the 1.5. I don't want to risk the tetras eating the fry. The older Fri can go to any of the tanks. They all have the same Ph, ammonia, and nitrite. The mortars may be a little off from tall to tank. Woo should I move and where to?

 

[nikkifro8994]

I can get a breeder box or a tank divider to separate the mom from the fry. That could help lower her stress. I would put the fry in the breeder box.

 

[Cazgar]

She would be ok in the small tank for a short while, however just moving her can cause stress.
A 5 gallon isn't really big enough to grow out the fry, you'll have to do regular water changes as they secrete a hormone that slows their growth.
Are you really sure you want to save all the fry from every drop, as they are hard to rehome as most Lfs won't take them, & you will end up really overstocked

 

[nikkifro8994]

This is the last drop that I will have with her. She is going to a friend of mine along with the female fry. I do 25% water changes twice a week.

 

[Cazgar]

That's good, good luck with the new fry, hope she doesn't have too many

 

[nikkifro8994]

So I moved my 11 platy fry to my 1.5 gallon tank (after trying to catch them for 20 minutes) and the mom is alone in the 5 gallon. Once she gives birth, she will move back to the 10 gallon with the neons away from the male platys. I did a 50% water change in the 5 gallon birthing tank this morning. I will test soon and post the results. I am going to keep a close eye on the stats in the 1.5 gallon. I will probably do water changes every couple of days to keep the toxic levels down. The filter in the 1.5 gallon is a tetra 3i. It is run by an air pump. A few of them are trying to get the bubbles that are inside a plastic tube. It's pretty cute!