Pregnant Platy Possibly Over Due

[CoralieJade]

Hello

I'm new to the forum and new to keeping platies. The shop where I got my platies from did not tell me that platies were easy to breed so you can imagine how surprised I was when I saw a baby swim across the tank one day a few weeks after having them. I know which fish it was because she's been fat since I bought her. Ideally I would like to keep some of the fry, so I put her in a breeding box. However the next morning there were no more fry, so I took her out of the box to prevent her getting stressed. She still looked pregnant though so I've been keeping an eye on her. However it's been four weeks now and she's not had any more fry. So now I'm worrying if there is something wrong or if she is even pregnant. I'll attach some photos so if someone could tell me if she definitely is pregnant and how far along she might be that would be really helpful.

 

[lrhodes]

I don't keep platies. I keep guppies. But I think they are a lot alike when it comes to babies... Someone correct me if I am wrong. Female guppies pretty much stay pregnant their whole lives... And they can carry babies for quite a while... I don't separate my fry and still end up with more guppies! Shenay be having them and they are getting eaten or are really good hiders!

 

[Darthaus12]

She may be aborting her babies. This sometimes happens with livebearers when female get too stressed. I'm not 100% confident that this is the reasoning though...

 

[DiddleBug]

With colder water (like in the mid 70's) they can take a long time to drop.  I got a female molly from a petshop with cold tank water and when i moved her to my tank (around 80 F) she dropped the next day.  The fry were huge!  I guess she'd had them in there for a long time!

 

[Skal]

She is very close maybe a week away or sooner.  It can be very hard to tell sometimes, though it might take her all the way up to three weeks.  however, I would guess some where around a week till there born.  Good Luck!

 

[Malex530]

She does look pregnant. Try warming the water up a little to help her release. Also add some plants to hide the Fry so if they do come out they can be safe.

 

[CoralieJade]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the replies.

She still looks pregnant, but now she's even bigger.

I'll try warming up the tank a little.

Also, is she had aborted the fry, what will happen, will she just give birth to dead ones?

And if there were any more fry I'd definitely be able to see them. I do have 2 plants and an ornament they can hide in when/if they arrive

 

[RockabillyGuy]

Be patient. Sometimes it takes up to 40-50 days. Giving birth to dead ones. Yes it happens. And there is very wide range of causes. Most actual are bacterial infections ,heavy disturbing(even in nighttime) and too much salt added.

 

[fluttermoth]

If you want any fry to survive, you'll need a lot more than two plants; you want at least a quarter of the tank full of fine leaved plants. Ornaments are of no real use, as livebearer fry spend most of their time up near the water surface.
 
You should consider really carefully whether this is a good idea though. I know it sounds harsh, but can you really accommodate an extra 30 or 40 fish, from each female, every month?

 

[DiddleBug]

My female mollies had 60 some fry per month.  I'm, not sure how many fry platies have though.  As long as you are quick at catching fry and have a good method, you won't have many deaths (if any).  The problem is finding homes for all of them.

 

[msebar]

Did she pop yet