Pregnant Dwarf Platy?

[FishAddict99]

Hey, I just need an opinion here. Here are a few pictures of my female dwarf platy. I've had her for almost 4 weeks now and she's got a big belly compared to my male of the same species. I'm 100% certain that she is a female. Is she pregnant or is that just from petsmart feeding her too much food? And if she is pregnant, how much longer until she gives birth?

Here she is.

In this picture, she's the one on the right.

 

[kribensis12]

Maybe 1 week top's

 

[omega59]

i don't listen to anyone with weeks,days left before a fish can drop, especially on this forum. others have told me before 2 weeks then my fish, she droped in a few days, give me a break with these predictions. there is no set time, date for them to drop they will when they are feeling secure and ready.

you will know that she will drop if she hides, scoots around the tank fast, sits in the bottum alot.

NOW

yes the platy is pregnant, i would place her in a breeder now to reduce stress later on closer to her droping of the fry. you can buy breeders that seperate your tank, or larger ones that the fry will drop down, they are the size of one of the normal plastic breeder but 2x! and good luck!

 

[kribensis12]

i don't listen to anyone with weeks,days left before a fish can drop, especially on this forum. others have told me before 2 weeks then my fish, she droped in a few days, give me a break with these predictions. there is no set time, date for them to drop they will when they are feeling secure and ready.

you will know that she will drop if she hides, scoots around the tank fast, sits in the bottum alot.

NOW

yes the platy is pregnant, i would place her in a breeder now to reduce stress later on closer to her droping of the fry. you can buy breeders that seperate your tank, or larger ones that the fry will drop down, they are the size of one of the normal plastic breeder but 2x! and good luck!

Maybe not listening could be a problem long term for you. We do our best, and it is very difficult at point's, and you can blame us for trying can you? You can also tell is she is about to give birth if she seperate's from the group of other fish, or the other fish are chasing her but trying to eat the fry. Breeder's arent the best option for livebearer's, unless you get one of those net breeder's, as the plastic one's have no ventalation, and i have had fish die over night from lack of oxygen, and they are too tiny. Net breeder's have great water flow, and they are 3x's the size. Or you could use a breeder tnak. What ever you chose. That is assuming that you want to keep the fry. if not, let the mom birth in the tank, as not all will make it. I am pretty good about telling when livebearer's are going to drop, as i have had them for a very long time. And yes, livebearer's can hold there fry for day's if the water isnt right, or not warm enough, or too stresse or something of the like. Feeding high protein food can result in bigger fry. Best of luck!

 

[LauraFrog]

Also, it isn't always easy to tell because the only indicators we have to go on are the female's behavior and the size of her abdomen, and that will depend on how many fry are in there anyway. I've had platies that I would have sworn had two weeks to go drop overnight, but only ten or twenty fry.
As Krib said we do our best. We don't pretend to be foolproof.

 

[omega59]

plastic breeder boxes are fine, they have holes in the bottum and you don't need to put the lid on at all, you can also buy larger ones as i said above. i just find it funny how you just posted "Maybe 1 week top's" so quickly like that and no other comment.

 

[kribensis12]

Plastic breeder boxe's arent always recommended. If you have a spare tank, use that instead. Such a small box stresses the fish out and may cause still birth. I use double breeder's wen i dont have a spare tank or if i loose my net bbreeder. I take out everytihng and then i added shredder Japanese moss, adn thing's of the like.

 

[FishAddict99]

Thanks for all the help! Well I'm a little stocked on fish so I guess I'll just leave her in the tank she's in now. She seems happy anyway, so I'll let nature decide on how many of her fry will survive. Plus, I have a large ball of java moss in there, so if the babies are smart enough, they have a good place to hide. I've never had pregnant fish before, I'm so excited to be a grandmother!

 

[LauraFrog]

By the look of her it might happen soon!

Nice cory by the way - what species is it?

 

[kribensis12]

Look's like a spotted corydoras

 

[FishAddict99]

Actually, its a leopard cory. I have two of them, and absolutely love them! They are such curious little things. I'm hoping to get more of them once my ten gallon is all cycled and set up. I know this is a livebearer forum, but are are a few pictures of my corys.

 

[MHunt]

Good luck with the platy's, my nephew just had his first arrival on christmas day, they're really good fun.

If you want a real challenge later on you could try breeding your cory's. By eye I think you have a male and female cory there and that's all you need. I had a male and female bronze cory to start with, I now have 8 in the tank and could have had more if i'd managed to raise the fry better. All that triggers them off is a cool water change and within a couple of days they are spawning.