Is my platy pregnant? w/ Pics

Question

I just got a platy from the petstore today, a few of them had dark spots in their stomach area... i didnt really think much of it until I got home for a closer look. Is it pregnant? If so, what to do? The tank has 3 platys (1 larger one, 2 dwarf) and 2 painted tetras

http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/kayteeandjeremy/fish/?action=view&current=platy1-1.jpg

http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/kayteeandjeremy/fish/?action=view&current=platy2.jpg

sorry they wouldnt sit still for a picture so its blurry. it looks alot darker when sitting still in the tank

Answer 1

so i had like the same thing going on in my tank,,, i had fancy guppies witch also are livebreededs... i think the dark spot are the eyes of the fry... near the anal fin,,,, hold on imma wiki this

ok im back

Live-bearing aquarium fish, often simply called livebearers, are fish that retain the eggs inside the body and give birth to live, free-swimming young. Because the newborn fish are relatively large compared to the fry of oviparous fish, they are easier to feed than the fry of egg-laying species such as characins and cichlids. This makes them much easier to raise, and for this reason, aquarists often recommend them for beginners to fish breeding. In addition, being much larger makes them far less vulnerable to predation, and with sufficient cover, they can sometimes mature in a community tank.

Answer 2

You don't need to do anything.  Fish have been having fry by themselves for thousands of years.  Just leave them along and they'll be fine.

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Answer 3

i cant really see if its pregnant or not, but you would know if it was! Platys get very fat when pregnant, and you would be able to see the difference, usually twice the size. the dark spots could be on the surface from stress, or the could be the babies eyes, which would be visible towards the back of the platys body.

Full size platys and probably the tetras will eat any babies if they get the chance. You have 2 choices, you can either let them birth in the tank, and hope that some will make it, (more likely in a planted aquarium) or you can get a breeding trap, and just when the females look likely to burst, then pop em in the trap, and remove them after they have given birth. this way more should survive, but its fiddly and you have to feed babies regularly.

Also, you should have a ratio of 1 male to around 2/3 females, as the males will harass females constantly. Males have modified anal fins that are pointy, and females have a fanned anal fin.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your platys! I have around 20 babies at the moment in my community tank!!

fish may have been having fry for thousands of years, but aquarium life is very different. in the confined space, the fry have to compete with adults for food, and in the process become food. however, im sure you will have many chances to get parentling right, as platys will reproduce every 3/4 weeks!