Got some new fish today!!!! (and a sea snail) I know they are kind of boring but I like them

Cute.

Two mickey mouse platies, a sunburst platy and a golden mystery snail. Very cute!

I think I see two female and one male platy though, and as live-bearers, you will have lots of babies in a few months.

NudistApple Wrote:Two mickey mouse platies, a sunburst platy and a golden mystery snail. Very cute!

I think I see two female and one male platy though, and as live-bearers, you will have lots of babies in a few months.

Wow! You really know your fish!
What really?!!!!! I got them from PetSmart, will they still have babies? Do I have to do anything for the babies?

Your pictures are a little blurry, but here, you can check for yourself;
http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/fishimages/1903_platy.jpg

That bottom fin, closest to the tail is what tells you the genders. Females have normal, wide open triangle fin, and males have a little tubular organ.

Just because they come from petsmart doesn't make them any different from normal fish! They will definitely breed, when they are big enough.

If you want to raise the babies you can either get them their own little tank to grow in, or provide them good hiding spots in that tank (plants work well, or ornaments with holes much too small for the adult fish to get in). Just crush some flake food up into very, very tiny bits for them. Otherwise, you can let nature happen, and the parents will end up eating most/all of the babies.

NudistApple Wrote:Your pictures are a little blurry, but here, you can check for yourself;
http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/fishimages/1903_platy.jpg

That bottom fin, closest to the tail is what tells you the genders. Females have normal, wide open triangle fin, and males have a little tubular organ.

Just because they come from petsmart doesn't make them any different from normal fish! They will definitely breed, when they are big enough.

If you want to raise the babies you can either get them their own little tank to grow in, or provide them good hiding spots in that tank (plants work well, or ornaments with holes much too small for the adult fish to get in). Just crush some flake food up into very, very tiny bits for them. Otherwise, you can let nature happen, and the parents will end up eating most/all of the babies.

Let me get some better pics. And I hope to raise them! I'll get them some plants, or more than likely a new bowl for them

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Here's more pics

The sunburst is definitely male, and one of the mickeys is definitely female, but I'm still not 100% on the other one!

NudistApple Wrote:The sunburst is definitely male, and one of the mickeys is definitely female, but I'm still not 100% on the other one!

Ok how exciting!

Cute!

Thanks :-)

Very cool. Of course, the snail is not going to be a "sea snail," because then it would die in freshwater. Those are some nice freshwater animals there.

GeoTerraTestudo Wrote:Very cool. Of course, the snail is not going to be a "sea snail," because then it would die in freshwater. Those are some nice freshwater animals there.

Yep I noticed I put "sea" snail after it was to late because it had already been half an hour. I recognized it though! I got them with my sisters and we are all very excited!

(09-10-2012 08:02 PM)TortoiseBoy1999 Wrote:  Yep I noticed I put "sea" snail after it was to late because it had already been half an hour. I recognized it though! I got them with my sisters and we are all very excited!

Should've known. Anyway, congrats on the new critters.

Does anyone know how long until they should be laying eggs? And where do they lay them???

(09-10-2012 08:15 PM)TortoiseBoy1999 Wrote:  Does anyone know how long until they should be laying eggs? And where do they lay them???

Platies are in the live-bearer family (Poeciliidae), along with swordtails, guppies, mollies, mosquitofish, Limia, and others. As the name implies, they do not lay eggs - they give birth, somewhat like we mammals do! The only difference is that, females do not have a placental structure inside, so they are not viviparous like we are. Instead, they have eggs that hatch inside, and then the mother gives birth. This is termed ovovivipary, meaning "eggs and live birth." There is a related family of fish, Goodeidae, that is viviparous.

Anyway, if you look at the anal fins of your platies, you will notice that some of them have a triangular shaped anal fin, while others have a pointy one. The ones with a triangular fin are female. The one with a pointy one are males. In males, the anal fin is modified into a gonopodium, which is used for intromission.

Once your platies get settled, you will see the male "flirting" with the females (doing a courtship dance), and then going in to mate with them - it's quick. The females then become gravid and gradually get chubby. After about 4 weeks, they will give birth.

If you want the babies to have a good chance at survival, just provide lots of real and/or plastic plants - especially floating at the surface - for the babies to hide in. Otherwise, the adults may eat them.