I have a pregnant platy already.

[germanyt]

So what do I do? I can't imagine the fry will make it in the tank with the filter and 5 other platies. I'm not terribly interested in having more. Maybe a couple three. I know that I could wind up with 20+ fry. If I just leave it be what is going to happen?

 

[Coyne]

If you just leave them then theres a good chance they wont survive. The food you feed your other fish will be too big for them so they wont get much to eat. If they venture out in the open theres a good chance they themselves will become food.

One of my Mollys ended up being pregnant when I bought her and I wasnt prepared or willing to raise the fry, so I just left them the tank to fend for themselves. I havent seen them in quite a while, so I assume they were either eaten or died in some other fashion.

 

[germanyt]

So I woke up early this morning and came in the living room. I turned on my light and noticed my platy was pretty isolated from every other fish. I began to wonder if I should get a breeder soon in case she gave birth. I sat on the chair next to my tank, pulled out the laptop, and started searching for whether or not I should get a net or floating plastic tank. Just as I was reading some comments on it I looked up and noticed a tiny little thing swimming around. I looked closer and realized it was a little fish. I grabbed a container and took the mother out of the tank, put it in a dimly lit spot near the tank and was able to scoop out the fry and put it with the mother. I'm not sure what to do from here. There haven't been any new fry in 30 minutes or so. For all I know she had them all last night and the others have been eaten.

If this is the only one left I think I'll call it Nemo.

 

[fishfan88]

Does she still look pregnant? She will be a lot skinnier when she'd done giving birth. Make sure you don't keep the female with the fry if you want to save it. If you have a fry tank set up, put him in there. If not, most pet stores have a plastic breeder or a net you could put him in. If you have a plastic container to make a temporary 'nursery' that's good too. Just find a way to separate him from the other fish. For the female, if you think she is still pregnant, you can get a net or a breeder box and put her there, or move her to a tank by herself. Pretty much the same as for the fry. Just keep her separated from the other fish

 

[germanyt]

Does she still look pregnant? She will be a lot skinnier when she'd done giving birth. Make sure you don't keep the female with the fry if you want to save it. If you have a fry tank set up, put him in there. If not, most pet stores have a plastic breeder or a net you could put him in. If you have a plastic container to make a temporary 'nursery' that's good too. Just find a way to separate him from the other fish. For the female, if you think she is still pregnant, you can get a net or a breeder box and put her there, or move her to a tank by herself. Pretty much the same as for the fry. Just keep her separated from the other fish

This is the best picture I could get.

I'd say she def still has some in there. She doesn't really look any smaller than yesterday. For all I know the fry I found could have been the first. It's been about an hour though and no more. I didn't know what to do so I took her out of the tank and put her in this tupperware container. I didn't want the fry to get eaten so I took it out and put in in the container with the mother. I don't have any other tank but I do have the 3 gallon bucket I do my water changes with. I thought I may have stressed her out taking her out of the tank during birth but I dropped a few bloodworms in the container with her and she gobbled em up so I guess she is cool.

 

[fishfan88]

This is the best picture I could get.

I'd say she def still has some in there. She doesn't really look any smaller than yesterday. For all I know the fry I found could have been the first. It's been about an hour though and no more. I didn't know what to do so I took her out of the tank and put her in this tupperware container. I didn't want the fry to get eaten so I took it out and put in in the container with the mother. I don't have any other tank but I do have the 3 gallon bucket I do my water changes with. I thought I may have stressed her out taking her out of the tank during birth but I dropped a few bloodworms in the container with her and she gobbled em up so I guess she is cool.

Yes I don't think she's done yet! are you sure the fry is hers? You need to move them out of that container. They need heat and especially for the fry, unless you have a room temp in the mid 70s to 80, they could die... Even the three gallon bucket with a heater is better then a Tupperware. And the mother will eat her own fry, just so you don't have any surprises... see if you can get a breeder until you have something better. If you want to save the fry, a breeder is a good idea. I highly recommend setting up a fry tank. But until you can do that, get them some heat in the bucket or get a breeder

 

[germanyt]

Yes I don't think she's done yet! are you sure the fry is hers? You need to move them out of that container. They need heat and especially for the fry, unless you have a room temp in the mid 70s to 80, they could die... Even the three gallon bucket with a heater is better then a Tupperware. And the mother will eat her own fry, just so you don't have any surprises... see if you can get a breeder until you have something better. If you want to save the fry, a breeder is a good idea. I highly recommend setting up a fry tank. But until you can do that, get them some heat in the bucket or get a breeder

I put the mom back in the tank. I don't have another heater so best I can do for now is to let the container float in the tank. The mom seems okay but it's being harassed a bit and trying to hide wherever she can. I have to assume it's her fry since she's the only one that looks even close to pregnant

 

[germanyt]

I isolated the mother too so she doesn't get bothered so much. I'll do my best to watch for her to give birth and move the fry to the container with the other fry. That takes care of my water temp issue. I'll have to aerate by hand every half hour or so.

 

[fishfan88]

Sounds good try to get another tank going for the fry to grow up in if you can. Good luck!

 

[germanyt]

3 hours and still no new fry. I don't know what to do. I need to do a water change. I guess I can put mom back in the tank until I spot another fry.

 

[fishfan88]

Can you get a better picture of her from the side?

 

[germanyt]

There is also that white spot near the anal fin that I've read is indicative of labor.

Is it possible to have a pre-me?

 

[germanyt]

Here is the fry. I tried a dozen different pics to get a good one but it's so small and darts around pretty quickly.

Also, in the far corner of the tank is where she is trying to chill but all the other fish keep surrounding her and one of my red wag even looks like it's trying to mate with it.

 

[fishfan88]

There is also that white spot near the anal fin that I've read is indicative of labor.

Is it possible to have a pre-me?

Ive read that too but I see it in all my females, pregnant or not. So I don't think it's very reliable she does look pretty ready to me though.

 

[fishfan88]

Here is the fry. I tried a dozen different pics to get a good one but it's so small and darts around pretty quickly.

Also, in the far corner of the tank is where she is trying to chill but all the other fish keep surrounding her and one of my red wag even looks like it's trying to mate with it.

Lol yeah it's hard to take pics of them you might want to keep her isolated do the other fish don't stress her out as much.

 

[germanyt]

I got the plastic breeding container that floats on top of the water. Still no new fry but she looks like she's about to pop. Did a water change today, mowed the lawn, remixed some sugar and yeast, and adjusted my filter so it spills into the tank from higher up so I get a bit more O2.

 

[germanyt]

More than 24 hours since I spotted the first fry and no new one. I left her in the breeder all night. Fry is still doing okay in the bottom of it. She is starting to have a white stringy discharge from her anus. I don't know if it's thin white poop or something labor related. The first piece I noticed was like a white thread with small white beads spaced evenly down it.

I don't know what to do. I'm tempted to stop caring and just let her back in the tank and whatever will be will be.

 

[Mcor]

She does appear very square doesn't she? It's up to you. It might be stress that has stalled her. Maybe release her, turn your lights off and see how she goes. Or keep her in the box but turn the lights off and give her a chance to calm down. They can take a few days (up to 3 or so) to drop their fry. Especially if something interrupts them. Fingers crossed for you whatever you decide to do.

 

[germanyt]

I had the lights off for most of the day. I came home and saw her drop a fry that immediately got eaten. I turned the light on and placed her in the breeder. She has since had 3 fry and I can't tell for sure but I think they are all being born dead. The original is still there and has figured out how to swim around. It's also gotten it's color. Lights back off and we'll see again in the morning.

 

[fishfan88]

Sorry. I had no Internet for the weekend... Yeah just leave her in the breeder as long as she doesn't seem too stressed out. Mine usually drop in the night, but I've had a few drop in the day. Sometimes it can take a few days for all the fry to be out. I would imagine she will have more. She looked big enough. Keep us posted