Platy Pregnant?

[Michelle4474]

Hello,
Wow everything seems to be happenin to me and this new not even cycled tank.... but anyways, It looks like one of my red wag platys is pregnant. Her belly is a lot bigger than all the other platy's that I have. Is there any way to tell forsure that she is pregnant? And what should I do? Just let her have birth in the tank and try to find the babies? And also, can someone explain the process to me, is it eggs that they lay in the rocks and then the babies hatch? lol..... i'm kinda new to the fish world and like I said everything seems to be happin all at once. Thanks again for all your help!!!

 

[Morquinn]

Im having the same thoughts about one of my platies, she has turned big too, unlike the other females, im in the same boat on whether she is pregnant or not. But to answer one of your questions, no they do not lay eggs, she gives birth live, and all the babies hide I believe? I'll be looking for other peoples replies as well!

 

[Annastasia]

The easiest way to tell for sure she is pregnant is by her gravid spot. That's the spot near where her body meets her tail, on the stomach. The gravid spot will always have some coloring, but it will get darker and you may even see small eyes or fry in there. They will also be fatter then usual. Females are almost always pregnant though, especially if you have a male in the tank. Right now, there's a 99% chance she's pregnant.

What you do is up to you. If you don't want to deal with that many fry, just leave her in the tank and let her give birth. If you want to raise some, let her give birth in the tank and move them to a breeder net. If you are serious about this, move the mother to a seperate breeding tank and let her give birth there. You can also raise the babies in there. This will require another cycled tank though. You can read more about these three options in the pinned topics and FAQs.

The babies actually develop in the mother, and are born free-swimming, hence the name "livebearers". The common Livebearers are actually ovoviviparous, which means the young develop inside the mother, but don't get much nourishment from her. They are nourished principally by the yolk sak. The mother is basically there for protection. Other, less common Livebearers, such as some Goodeids are viviparous, which means the young develop inside the mother and recieve nourishment from her too.

 

[blitztidus]

Pictures are always loved here

 

[Spader]

this is a pic of a pregnant livebearer

although its a molly u can get the idea

 

[blitztidus]

Yep, she is slightly pregnant, she's got a long way to go though

 

[Spader]

lol she had babies an hour later after this pic

 

[blitztidus]

Really ... She looks like she could have had a ways to go, unless she was a skinny bugger when she wasn't pregnant, or didn't have much in her

 

[Spader]

well it was premature im pretty sure cause i freaked her out and i put her in the breeding net which was dumb. she had 8, 2 were dead, and now i have 2 left that are 3 weeks old in a 5.5 gallon tank.

 

[Michelle4474]

Can someone please go to my photo's and look at the pregnant platy pic and see if you can tell if she is pregnant or not. Thanks

http/www.imagestation.com/album/pictures...108020918&idx=5

 

[Spader]

yes she does look pretty pregnant! good luck!

 

[Morquinn]

Ooo I bet mines pregnant too cuz mine is fatter than that! Although her gravid spot is red, will this turn black in time?

 

[Annastasia]

I don't know if it's just me, but that fish appears to be male. If it's a she, and she is pregnant, she's definitely not very far along.

Morquinn - Seeing as you know your fish is female (I assume) then yes, she should be fatter then that. What color fish do you have? Some colored fish have red or orangish gravid spots. It's nothing to worry about. Sometimes the fry turn around too, which makes the spots appear lighter. Don't worry about it, as long as it doesn't appear to be bleeding or bloody.

 

[Morquinn]

Yeah, I wasnt gonna say anything and make myself look stupid, but I thought that one looked male too. Anyways, yes I know mines a female, and she is a sunset platy, so she is pretty much yellow, but since she got huge, her stomach turned really white and I noticed the red gravid spot, it isnt black yet, I was figuring it was just internal organs, so I dont know, I hope shes pregnant, it happened in like a matter of 2-3 days she just enormous.

 

[Spader]

Morquinn how about showing us a pic? if u dont know how pm me and ill tell ya