What are the chances?

[foxgirl158]

I’ve posted about my platy fry before. I just lost one Tuesday, so now I have 26. All of them seem to be female!? What are the chances of that? They are 2 1/2 months old, and are big enough that I can see the telltale fan shape of their anal fins. As far as I can tell, there’s not a male among them! I’ll try to get some pics and a video when I can so y’all can double check, but I’ve see both male and female platies before and as far as I can tell all mine are female.
*edited to fix typo

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Had a massive female to male ratio when I had fry. Maybe 3:1? Had around 40 altogether, only ten or so male.

 

[Colin_T]

Young males look like females until they become sexually mature, then their anal fin changes shape to form the normal gonopodium.

 

[foxgirl158]

Young males look like females until they become sexually mature, then their anal fin changes shape to form the normal gonopodium.

At what age do they become mature? I was going to put 4 males in tank once it’s done cycling, but if they won’t be mature for several more months then I’m not sure what I’ll do because the tank is at my high school library.

 

[Colin_T]

If they are fed well and grow rapidly, they can be sexually mature at 3 months of age. But if they aren't fed and grown well, it can take a lot longer (6 months plus).

 

[foxgirl158]

If they are fed well and grow rapidly, they can be sexually mature at 3 months of age. But if they aren't fed and grown well, it can take a lot longer (6 months plus).

They get bug bites, crushed tropical flakes, and bbs throughout the day. Occasionally they go a day without bbs while I hatch more, but that’s their usual feeding schedule. Most of them are pretty big, around half the size of an average adult.

 

[emeraldking]

I would really wait in order to tell the right sex of those platies. Not all will mature at the same time. Which is a normal thing.

 

[foxgirl158]

I would really wait in order to tell the right sex of those platies. Not all will mature at the same time. Which is a normal thing.

How long do you think it’ll be on this diet on average?

 

[emeraldking]

How long do you think it’ll be on this diet on average?

In a tank with such platies where a variety of food is been given, the average age that males will develop a gonopodium is 2-3 months. But as already has been stated by Colin, a number of those males will develop the male characteristics even later. But also by increasing the water temperature, males can develop their male characteristics sooner. But if you'll choose to do that, males tend to stop growing sooner. Which results in smaller males.

 

[foxgirl158]

They are currently at 74 degrees F. Let me get some pictures real quick.