Pregnant Platy? Urgent!

[Macscale]

Hey Everyone! I need help quick, lately I have noticed that one of my platys is growing larger in the stomach area then the other. I have attached some pictures below of the platies so you can compare them. In the tank i also have two angelfish, two red mm platies and then these guys. If she is pregnant what do I need to do to prepare and what is going to happen? Thanks in advance!
 

 
 
 

 

[Baccus]

With males in the tank then you can almost be 100% certain that she is pregnant.
Because of the other fish in the tank any fry will most likely be eaten, which can be a good thing unless you can rehome platties on a regular basis.
 
If your wanting to save the fry then you could set up a separate tank/ container with filter and heater for the female to go in, also add plenty of plant life so the new born fry can hide from their mother who will also eat them.
The clear suspended breeding/ fry traps that many shops sell I find stress the female out too much and she will just spend most of her time going crazy trying to escape. You can however get suspended net cages that suction onto the side of the glass. These are quite good and large allowing water movement through, while obscuring the inhabitants from other tank mates. You can also add weed/ plant life to this for the fry to hide in. Once the female drops her babies be sure to remove her and just let the fry grow up in the net until they are past getting eaten size.

 

[Macscale]

Unfortunately I do not know the genders of the fish. So I am very confused.

 

[fluttermoth]

It is very easy to sex livebearers.

Look at the anal fin; that's the one on the bottom of the fish, directly in front of the tail. A female will have a normal fan shaped fin, while males will have a rod like structure called a gonopodium.

Female livebearers can also store sperm from previous matings so, even with no males in the tank, they can produce fry for up to six months.

It's a bit of a guess, but I reckon she has at least a week to go before she gives birth ( it is hard to be 100% sure)

 

[Macscale]

It is very easy to sex livebearers.

Look at the anal fin; that's the one on the bottom of the fish, directly in front of the tail. A female will have a normal fan shaped fin, while males will have a rod like structure called a gonopodium.

Female livebearers can also store sperm from previous matings so, even with no males in the tank, they can produce fry for up to six months.

It's a bit of a guess, but I reckon she has at least a week to go before she gives birth ( it is hard to be 100% sure)
 

Are you saying that the fish is pregnant though?

 

[Baccus]

From your pictures it is very hard to tell with 100% certainty that she is pregnant, but if she has been in the same tank as a male at any time since she was mature ( which she would have been when purchased from a shop) then she is most likely pregnant.
 
If she is pregnant the other fish in the tank including the mother will eat any fry.
 
Fry numbers can vary greatly but I would expect at least 15 fry.

 

[the_lock_man]

First thing you need to do is stop panicking. Fish have been reproducing successfully for several million years, far longer than humans and other mammals. This is not an emergency situation.
 
Second thing you need to do is to realise that you are human, and to stop projecting your mammalian instincts onto a non-mammal species. The platies don't care if the fry live or die. They produce loads of fry, (the 15 mentioned above is a minimum) every 4-6 weeks, on the premise of quantity, not quality. We mammals produce relatively small numbers, and take care of our offspring to ensure they survive. Platies DON'T. They assume that some will survive, and that is what has worked for them, and their forebears for millions of years. You should not care either.
 
It is possible to save large numbers of platy fry, by using the breeder boxes. However, unless you have room for dozens of tanks, or an outlet which will regularly take 3-4 dozen fish from you, you will soon have more fish in your tank than your filter can cope with, and your fish will then poison themselves with their own ammonia.
 
The photos that you have posted aren't particularly good quality, and it is impossible to say with 100% certainty that the fish is gravid. As has already been pointed out to you, a female platies are basically fry-factories, and will spend the majority of their lives being gravid. So I would say it is 98-99% certain the your fish is.
 
What should you do to prepare? Nothing. Let nature take its course, the chances are that some fry will survive on their own, but in small enough numbers that you and your tank/filter can cope.

 

[Macscale]

First thing you need to do is stop panicking. Fish have been reproducing successfully for several million years, far longer than humans and other mammals. This is not an emergency situation.
 
Second thing you need to do is to realise that you are human, and to stop projecting your mammalian instincts onto a non-mammal species. The platies don't care if the fry live or die. They produce loads of fry, (the 15 mentioned above is a minimum) every 4-6 weeks, on the premise of quantity, not quality. We mammals produce relatively small numbers, and take care of our offspring to ensure they survive. Platies DON'T. They assume that some will survive, and that is what has worked for them, and their forebears for millions of years. You should not care either.
 
It is possible to save large numbers of platy fry, by using the breeder boxes. However, unless you have room for dozens of tanks, or an outlet which will regularly take 3-4 dozen fish from you, you will soon have more fish in your tank than your filter can cope with, and your fish will then poison themselves with their own ammonia.
 
The photos that you have posted aren't particularly good quality, and it is impossible to say with 100% certainty that the fish is gravid. As has already been pointed out to you, a female platies are basically fry-factories, and will spend the majority of their lives being gravid. So I would say it is 98-99% certain the your fish is.
 
What should you do to prepare? Nothing. Let nature take its course, the chances are that some fry will survive on their own, but in small enough numbers that you and your tank/filter can cope.

 
 
Ok thanks! Your input was different but very helpful. I attached another picture here if it helps.
 

 

[the_lock_man]

That is a much better photo - I would say she is gravid, but with a good 2 weeks to go before dropping fry.