Pregnant Platys ??

[DazUK]

hi guys.

as some of you may know from my recent introduction that i am new here. i am also quite a newb when it comes to fish and aquariums and will be after a lot of advice in the near future. my first post here is to ask for some of the experts opinions on 2 platys that i have recently added to my community tank which i am pretty confident are pregnant. please could you look at the attached photo and give me your opinions. the botttom platy in the photo is showing signs of being further into pregnancy than the top one. i have removed the bottom one into a seperate tank on her own for now as im not sure when and if she is likely to produce fry. i have read that pregnant platys show a black area around the anal fin whilst pregnant but this is not visible. however this evening she is showing signs of squaring off. she was giving all the signs of pregnancy by trying to find quiet areas of the tank and even hiding in my tank ornaments. this behaviour has only been happening over the last 4 or 5 days. i'm sure there is no constipation as i have been monitoring her and she is freely depositing lol. any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

many thanks

Darren

 

[DazUK]

any help and advice would be much appreciated as i think she is getting very close and would like to be prepared. this is my first pregnancy and am very new to this.

please help.

thanks

Darren

 

[maddybrat]

Looks prego to me. It is very likely they were pregnant when you bought them. And when they get close to giving birth their stomach will look like this \_/ square looking.

 

[DazUK]

Thanks for the reply. She def looks like she is starting to square off. Are there any special requirements she will need or is peace and quiet the main thing. Will I need to provide anything apart from food for the fry and mother?

 

[maddybrat]

Uhm I think the main thug is to keep her calm. And if you want the fry to live than have hiding places.

 

[DazUK]

Thanks again for the advice. I have provided alot of cover and hiding places for when the fry arrive. Fingers crossed everything goes ok. What food would be advisable for the fry. And is it right not to feed the fry for the first day? Sorry, forgot to ask if she will have the fry all in one go or will it be over a period of time.

Thanks again

Darren

 

[maddybrat]

I think over a short time period and grind the food into really fine food

 

[hippy guy]

Just beware, plattys can store semen for up to 3 or 4 months, and will continue to get pregnant. Powdered flake food will work, but I just let my fish eat all the babies lol

 

[DazUK]

Many thanks for all the advice. I'll post back when she finally has them. Fingers crossed it all goes ok

Thanks again

Darren

 

[DazUK]

just to let you know we had some babies this morning. 9 in total which i didnt think was bad for her first time. expecting more anyday from my other platy who is now showing signs of squaring off.
many thanks for the info you gave and helping me towards this great achievement.

regards

Darren

 

[hippy guy]

Just be sure to separate the ones you want to keep lol