New Fish!!!!

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feline8

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I'm no expert but it sure looks like it. Any changes in behavior? I know that when my fish was pregnant, she was very agitated and swam around a lot. Just in case, keep your female fish in a separate part of the tank, inaccessible to the rest of the fish.

This might help: http://www.ehow.com/how_5687169_tell-fish-pregnant.html
 

BowandWalter

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She doesn't appear to be, she could however be in very early stages. I mostly breed guppies, mollies, and sword tails. Platys are not something I've ever gotten into, with the other live bearers you can tell there preggers because the area around the vent goes a darker color, I imagine it would be the same for your girl. She'd also get fat, like wholly-cow-this-fish-is-gonna-blow fat.
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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Tortoise Boy,

You could put the gravid female in another container. I would avoid fishbowl-type containers, because they lack filtration and aeration. However, if you had another small, established tank, that would be okay. You could also buy a small plastic container that goes in your existing aquarium, which serves to separate the mother from the other fish. Also, depending on the container you buy, it can also separate the mother from her own babies once they're born (so she doesn't eat 'em).

However, unless you're trying to get as many babies to survive as possible, it's a good idea to just make sure there's plenty of cover in the aquarium all the time. That could include rocks, caves, fake plants, real plants, and/or floating plants. This allows the mother to hide when she's giving birth, and it allows the babies to hide after they've been born. As Movie Actor mentioned above, this method is nice because it selects for those babies that are fit enough to avoid predators.

Oh, and yes, I would say that female does appear to be gravid. The giveaway is if you see a dark patch at the back of the abdomen, between the anal fin and the spine. That dark spot would actually be the womb with the babies in it. :cool:
 

TortoiseBoy1999

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GeoTerraTestudo said:
Tortoise Boy,

You could put the gravid female in another container. I would avoid fishbowl-type containers, because they lack filtration and aeration. However, if you had another small, established tank, that would be okay. You could also buy a small plastic container that goes in your existing aquarium, which serves to separate the mother from the other fish. Also, depending on the container you buy, it can also separate the mother from her own babies once they're born (so she doesn't eat 'em).

However, unless you're trying to get as many babies to survive as possible, it's a good idea to just make sure there's plenty of cover in the aquarium all the time. That could include rocks, caves, fake plants, real plants, and/or floating plants. This allows the mother to hide when she's giving birth, and it allows the babies to hide after they've been born. As Movie Actor mentioned above, this method is nice because it selects for those babies that are fit enough to avoid predators.

Oh, and yes, I would say that female does appear to be gravid. The giveaway is if you see a dark patch at the back of the abdomen, between the anal fin and the spine. That dark spot would actually be the womb with the babies in it. :cool:

Ok! I'll get more plants and a cave :) (those dummies at PetSmart! They said that the plant would be fine for the babies to hide in :rolleyes: lesson learned! Don't listen to PetSmart! :p)
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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TortoiseBoy1999 said:
Ok! I'll get more plants and a cave :) (those dummies at PetSmart! They said that the plant would be fine for the babies to hide in :rolleyes: lesson learned! Don't listen to PetSmart! :p)

Well, they're not totally wrong - the plant does help. But let me put it this way: you can't build a house with a single plank. Or to put it another way, it takes a lot of trees to make a forest.

In nature, baby fish hide in a very complex environment, full of weeds, algae, rocks, and crevices. That's how they can hide from all those hungry mouths.

Now, don't overdo it, but they will need some kind of neighborhood to stay in full-time so they can avoid the bigger fish. :)
 

TortoiseBoy1999

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GeoTerraTestudo said:
Well, they're not totally wrong - the plant does help. But let me put it this way: you can't build a house with a single plank. Or to put it another way, it takes a lot of trees to make a forest.

In nature, baby fish hide in a very complex environment, full of weeds, algae, rocks, and crevices. That's how they can hide from all those hungry mouths.

Now, don't overdo it, but they will need some kind of neighborhood to stay in full-time so they can avoid the bigger fish. :)

Ok so another plant and a cave :)
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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TortoiseBoy1999

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Got another plant today! And am going to get another soon! :D
 

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TortoiseBoy1999

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Ok, so today I noticed that a certain orange one looked fatter! And I can see that little black dot at the bottom towards the back! She is for sure pregnant! I'm so excited! I caint wait! :D
 

ShadowRancher

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Have fun with your platys, they are great fish! And yeah you shouldn't have much problem with babies...I have three females and a male in my turtle tank and even with all the adults plus my turtle snacking on them a few still manage to make it.
 
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