I need help I do not know if my platy is pregnant or fat pls help

[Jerrythatfishguy]

Pls help I need help to found out if my platy is pregnant. I have her in a separate tank if she is pregnant.

 

[Colin_T]

Mature female livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies) that have been in a tank with a male will normally be pregnant. The males impregnate the females with up to 6 sperm packets and the females use 1 sperm packet to fertilise each batch of eggs. The gestation period is about 1 month and the female can have a batch of young every month for up to 6 months without any males being present.

Have lots of plants in the tank and feed the female regularly. She will give birth when she is ready.

If the female is well fed and there are lots of plants in the tank she won't eat the young.

If you have to move the babies, use a plastic container to scoop them up in some water.

It is preferable not to move pregnant females or females that have given birth in the last week because it can injure them. If you have to move pregnant females or fish that have just given birth, carefully catch them in a net and keep them in the tank water. Put a plastic container into the tank and fill it with aquarium water. Move the plastic container under the net with the fish in and lift the fish and net out in the container of water.

Do not put females into tanks with males if the female has given birth in the last week because the males harass and pester them. Give the females time to recover before letting any males near them.

As a general rule I prefer to keep male and female livebearers in separate tanks so the males don't irritate the females. The females can breed happily for months without males being present and when they run out of sperm packets you can give them a few months without males and without being pregnant to recover. Then put them in with a male for a week before moving them back into their own tank.

If you want to keep male and female livebearers together, have at least 6 females (preferably 10 or more females) per male.

 

[Jerrythatfishguy]

Thank you so much for the info!

 

[Jerrythatfishguy]

Wait so she is pregnant?

 

[Colin_T]

if she has been in a tank with males any time during the last 6 months she will be pregnant.

 

[Jerrythatfishguy]

Ok thank you!

 

[Sam Goldblat]

Anyone know how much longer until my molly has babies. I also noticed it was pooping white.

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[Colin_T]

There is no way of telling how long it will be before your molly gives birth unless you know when she last gave birth. They carry the eggs and developing fry (baby fish) for about 1 month. If she only has a small batch (5-10 fry) in her, she could give birth tomorrow or next week. If she has a big batch (100+ fry), it could be in 3-4 weeks.

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White poop is either intestinal worms or an internal bacterial or protozoan infection.

If the fish is eating normally and doing white poop it is usually intestinal worms. Praziquantel can be used to treat tapeworm and gill flukes in fish. Levamisole is used to treat thread/ round worms in fish.

You treat the fish once a week for 3-4 weeks, and do a 75% water change 24-48 hours after treatment. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence and remove carbon from the filter when treating with any medication.

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If the fish stopped eating, bloated up (got fat) over night, and is doing a stringy white poop then it has an internal bacterial infection and will probably die.

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If the fish is not eating normally but still picking at food, and losing weight over a week, then it probably has an internal protozoan infection.

Intestinal worms are the most common cause of white poop in livebearers (mollies, guppies, platies, swordtails).

 

[Sam Goldblat]

Could low ph play a part in this because I just noticed it was really low and I have now adjusted it back to 7


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[Colin_T]

Low pH (pH below 7.0) can affect livebearers but won't cause stringy white poop.

If you are having problems with the pH dropping you should check the GH (general hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness) of the water. Mollies naturally occur in hard water with a GH above 250ppm and a pH above 7.0. If the water is too soft (lacking minerals), the pH will drop and the livebearers won't do very well.

You can normally find the GH and KH on your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and ask them to test the GH & KH for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask what the results are in (eg: ppm or dGH). then post the results here.

If your GH is less than 200ppm you will need to add some minerals to increase it.

You can add some shells, limestone, crushed coral, or dead coral skeleton to the tank to help stop the pH from dropping.

 

[Jerrythatfishguy]

Is my platy in labor?

 

[Jerrythatfishguy]

She breathing fast and moving her fin fast and she hasn’t moved from that spot.

 

[Sam Goldblat]

My tank is at the beginning of the cycling process(still no ammonia) but I have had another 20 gal tank for four years but I had to get rid of it and get a new tank. Would it be a good idea to add plants so that the fry would have a place to hid? Even though there is no nitrates for the plants to feed on at the moment, my gravel is meant for plants and I was wondering if it would be a good idea.


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[Sam Goldblat]

None of my fish are eating. I just ordered metroplex and prazipro. Is their anything I can do in the mean time.


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