First fish in the tank. Is she already pregnant?

[7bubbles]

Hello everybody. Yesterday we bought the first fish for our 40g tank. We got 4 Platys (3 females and one male). I read in a book that Platys will have a dark spot under the belly if they are expecting. Below is a picture of "Lola" (my children named her). Please let me know if she is expecting little Lola's. Obviously the male I got had nothing to do with this, but who knows what was going on in the tank at the shop 

[Cleggat]

Looks like it to me but I'm no expert. She has her gravid spot (the dark spot that you mentioned) and is round, you might want to separate her from the others or else they'll eat the fry, I've read that you should move her when she squares off although you shouldn't be shocked if you move her and she keeps a hold of the fry she'll only drop if she feels safe.

[7bubbles]

Well, she is not expecting anymore... Toady I was showing the tank to a friend and she said "I like the fish, especially the babies" and my immediate reply was "what babies?". There they were a few pair of little eyes with tiny orange bodies swimming in the tank. My children were all excited pointing at the little babies when in front us our eyes another platy passed by an had the baby for diner 

We managed to catch three of them, which we put in a separate bowl and later we put back in the tank in the fish net until I get one of those floating breeding tanks

What should I feed them? Keep in mind this is my second day with fish so I am completely new to all this. Here are a couple of pictures of the little guys.

[EndlersEatGuppies]

Originally Posted by 7bubbles

Well, she is not expecting anymore... Toady I was showing the tank to a friend and she said "I like the fish, especially the babies" and my immediate reply was "what babies?". There they were a few pair of little eyes with tiny orange bodies swimming in the tank. My children were all excited pointing at the little babies when in front us our eyes another platy passed by an had the baby for diner 

We managed to catch three of them, which we put in a separate bowl and later we put back in the tank in the fish net until I get one of those floating breeding tanks

What should I feed them? Keep in mind this is my second day with fish so I am completely new to all this. Here are a couple of pictures of the little guys.

There's a powdered fish food named ( fish bites) it's made by hikari. All fish stores have it.

[Homedog98]

Or just crush up flakes. That's what most people do if they're caught off guard. Congrats!

[EndlersEatGuppies]

Originally Posted by Homedog98

Or just crush up flakes. That's what most people do if they're caught off guard. Congrats!

True but that's a good way to kill the fry/babies. They will overeat and die.

[Homedog98]

Not necessarily, just feed one big crushed up flake, that can't be overfeeding. And you can overfeed with the powder too. It's just a risk you take with feeding any fish.

[EndlersEatGuppies]

Originally Posted by Homedog98

Not necessarily, just feed one big crushed up flake, that can't be overfeeding. And you can overfeed with the powder too. It's just a risk you take with feeding any fish.

Ok what ever let the guy decide on what he thinks. I prefer the powder. D)

[Homedog98]

Ok. I prefer flakes. Cool beans.

[EndlersEatGuppies]

Also the powder is easier for the fry to eat

[Homedog98]

Ya, that's true. But for short notice stuff when they may not have time to run to the LFS, flakes are a good alternative.

[7bubbles]

Thanks for the comments both of you. Yesterday I had no food or idea of what to do so I went the crushed flake way. I will check today at the LFS for the food you recommended and for one of those floating breeding tanks. How long would it take the fry to be big enough so they don't become somebodyelse'a breakfast?

[Homedog98]

A good 3 to 4 months I believe.

[EndlersEatGuppies]

Originally Posted by Homedog98

A good 3 to 4 months I believe.

That's true but another way to tell is that if the other fish can't fit the fry into their mouth they can go into the tank

[Vircomore]

I would also recommend feeding the fry more often than you feed the adults. Baby fish have much higher metabolisms and much smaller digestive tracts than adult fish - so they usually end up completely processing the food they were given in about 2 hours.

When I raised baby Mollies (same type of fish as Platys) I would feed them Crushed flake or First Bites 3-4 times a day.

A fry with a plump belly is a happy fry.

[Homedog98]

I've just done two, so as not to risk overfeeding.

[Cleggat]

Congratulations!