Female Platy suddenly hiding. Pregnant?

[RightTurnClyde]

I have a Female Blue Platy that was acting perfectly fine yesterday, and today when I came home, she is hiding in the back of the tank in between some Jungle Val and the glass. She's low, but not resting on anything. I've seen her move occasionally, so she's not dead. She just swam out for a brief moment when another Platy prodded her. She appears to be swimming fine. Nothing visibly wrong. No spots or red gills. No heavy breathing. But then she went right back to her hiding spot. I've had her for almost 3 months and there are no Male livebearers in the tank. Is it possible that she's been holding onto fry and/or sperm this whole time and is about to give birth?

There has been a major change recently. On Sunday I took out a school of Zebra danios that were always very crazy and constantly chasing and playfully nipping at other fish. I also added 3 more peppered cories to bring my total up to 5. So the overall mood in the tank has become a lot more peaceful.

29 Gallon
Moderate/Heavy planting
3 female Platys
5 White Clouds
5 Peppered Cories
5 Amano Shrimp
3 Nerite Snails
~100 MTS

I post my water parameters in a minute. Please let me know what you think.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Parameters are as they always are.

PH: 7.8
Amm: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10

 

[BBradbury]

Your Platy

Hello Right...

What's your water change routine? Livebearer females can hold off dropping the fry indefinitely, until they feel water conditions are right for the fry. I keep several larger tanks of Red Wag and Sunset Platys and change out a lot of tank water every week, half the tank's volume. I make sure the new, treated tap water is a bit warmer than what's already in the tank. If the female is close to dropping the fry, a rush of new, clean water and a little warmth will encourage her. I typically have a few new fry in the tank after every water change.

B

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Thanks for the info. I change 50% every week without fail and the new water I add is always the same temp or a little warmer.


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[RightTurnClyde]

But what about the hiding behavior? Is that normal? I think I might do another water change tonight just to make sure everything is good.


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[RightTurnClyde]

She's still hiding tonight, but she would poke her head out occasionally. Her belly does look a little big, but I couldn't see a gravid spot. She had a long, solid, brown poop hanging from her. Is it possible she's constipated? She doesn't come up to eat with the rest of the tank. Should I try a little epsom salt?

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Well... For anyone that cares... Good news this morning. She came out of hiding and was swimming around normally. It was still early and the lights were not on yet, so I couldn't get a really clear look at her, but she looked good with no clamped fins or anything. So I guess she just had to work out a few things on her own. All the same, I'm going to make it a point to start feeding my fish some peas at least once a week to help with bloating and constipation. Even my white clouds are super fat right now. I might also cut back to feeding every other day.


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