Bigger The Fish, The More Fry?

[evansimp]

So I have a Pregnant Platy currently in labor. She has produced maybe... 5 fry so far, and it has been hours. I feel like its a really slow process, almost to slow. She is huge, and I thought maybe she'd have over 20 fry, but by the looks of it, unless shes going to be in labor for 12 hours, I dont see that happening. I have her in a 10 Gallon breeder tank. Her behavior is very normal. I only noticed she was in labor when I saw 1 fry when I was cleaning the tank. If I didnt see the little thing, I would have thought she wasnt going to be in labor for a while.

So my question is, because my platy is huge, is it more likely she will produce more fry? Or does size not mean a thing? And also, how do I know my Platy is finished giving birth? She is also pooping a ton...

Thank you!

And I am new to this site and fish keeping... So hello everyone

 

[evansimp]

So Its been a few more hours, and I believe she hasnt produced many more fry, but I still see spots in her gravid spot, which I have read is the eyes of the fry. So does this mean there is more to come? She is still squared off. It has been about 4-5 hours now.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I've not had platies yet, but I can say with my guppies that size hasn't always meant lots of fry. I've had two guppies at a whopping 4 inches in length... one birthed loads of babies and one never birthed more than 15. It can also take up to a couple days for them to birth and that doesn't necessarily mean they are in distress.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

The potential for more fry is greater in a bigger fish, but not the norm..... What I'm saying is that when you look at statistical averages, a swordtail would (or is capable of) delivering more fry than a Guppy, but on average..... the average grown Sword will (at times) deliver 55 (or so) and the average Guppy 25 or so, BUT.... a guppy can deliver in excess of 100 and a sword round 230 fry....

 

[OldMan47]

When you see no progress in a fish's drop, it is time to consider the possibility that she is done. Even though a heavy female often means a large drop, it is by no means a guarantee. Once the drop slows or stops, you need to consider it over. Most poeciliids, especially the common ones, do their drops all in one event that lasts only a few hours. Only some of the rarer ones are able to perform a drop over many hours or days. Those fish are not at all the subject of this thread.