Breeding Platys

[fishnewbie1202]

Hi All,
I am quite new to fish keeping, only been doing it for about a year. I have had my platys now for about 5 months and I have noticed that definitely one, maybe two are rounder in the belly. At first I thought they had just eaten more than normal, but they aren't getting smaller, so now i'm wondering if they might be pregnant. 
 
I have included some pictures, don't know if they will be of much help, but thought it was worth a shot. The one that I am more confident of being pregnant keeps being followed by one of my other platy's (maybe a male?) and he is almost guarding her from the other platys. I have also noticed that she appears to be eating but then spits out her food - don't know if this tells me anything.
 
The main questions I have are:
- Are they pregnant?
- If so, how much longer do I need to wait until the new fry are born?
 
Any help is much appreciated as this is my first fish breeding experience!
 

 

[Lillefishy]

They look like balloon platys & male to me

 

[hobby5]

Hard to tell from your pictures. If you got a male and a femal the female is gravid for sure. Most likely your females hve given birth already but it went unnoticed. Your other fish will quickly snack the fry.

 

[RSVBiffer]

Sexing platies is relatively straight forward, see the attached image.

If a female is pregnant she will develop a gravid spot (dark area) towards the rear of her abdomen.

The gestation period is usually 28-30 days.

A female Platy can also store the male's sperm and can produce multiple broods from a single coupling.

 

[fishnewbie1202]

Thanks for all your replies, guess I will just wait and see what happens!