Which fish gave birth?

Question

I guess I have a lot of questions and would appreciate any help. We purchased three fish for my son's aquarium on August 12th. To make sure that we would not have a problem with breeding we purchased a dalmatian mollie, a mickey mouse platy, and a black tuxedo platy. The sales person told us that they are all females. The Mollie is bigger than the other two but the mickey mouse platy has a huge stomach. This morning there were 3-4 fry in the aquarium hiding in the plants, hanging out in the corner and hiding inside a small treasure chest that he has for decoration. The fry are too small to determine which fish they came from. My question is how do you determine which fish gave birth? How many fry are normal for a birth? And is it normal for the fry to hide, and if so how long until they will join the rest of the tank and start swimming? I guess I am wondering if there were more born overnight that the fish ate or if there is a chance there will be more born today.

Answer 1

The fish was probably pregnant before you bought it and you should ask a vet or fish store owner.

Answer 2

Well u do have lots of questions and I have the answer to them all.

In a few days or weeks babies soon begin to get color and that is when you determine the mother. In a normal birth they will have between 5-100 fry depending on size, food, and age. Livebearing fish have the instinct to hide from their parents and tankmates. It takes 2-3 months till they join the rest but it is better to buy a breeding net and put the fry in their or they will get eaten by the others. And yes their is a chance that the rest of the fry were eaten owever their is also a chance the mother will give birth again in a few days so watch the tank for another 1-3 days