Sexing platies?

[beautifulguppy21]

Hello!

So, this could apply to all livebearers, I'm sure, but when should I sex them to separate the platy fry I have right now? Or, more appropriately, when should I be able to distinguish, without a doubt, male from female?

The fry are a little over 3 weeks old, so I think I'm jumping the gun a bit, but I'll probably need to move them within the next 3 or so weeks because my lovely platy is pregnant again. Gotta love this accidental lesson in livebearer breeding, lol.

Also, I had to get a new filter (Tetra Whisper 10i) for the tank that my pregnant platy is in, and I can't adjust the flow like I could on my old 10i that I got with the tank originally. I'm going to be cycling and moving the adult fish into a 10G (so I can use the 2.5 for the fry), BUT, A) I need to cycle the larger tank still, and B) I would prefer to keep the platy in the smaller tank until she gives birth.

I swear that I just read tonight that I could put a piece of cloth over the intake so that the fry wouldn't get sucked in, but now I can't find the article at all. Is there any truth to this? Or, what are your recommendations?

Thank you, guys, for reading and answering if you have expertise to pass my way. :)

[Sasquatch]

Sexing can be done at around 2-3 months of age. You look for the gonopodium on the males (that projection on the anal fin) and as soon as you spot it, move him to another tank to keep him separate from the females.

You know how to spot the gonopodium? If not, I'll try to get some pics.

For the transfer, maybe do a fishless cycle on the 10g while the platy is pregnant and once she gives birth move her to the 10g? Assuming of course that it's cycled, but fishless is usually pretty quick.

As for the filter intake, what we've done is cover the intake with a block of filter sponge material. We run an Aquaclear 20 and we just cut a few slices in one end and push it over the intake. It works great, and even add some bio-filtration to the aquarium.

Good luck with the fry and keep us posted.

[mitcore]

i agree with sas
speared for male and round for female, the under body fin,

[NickFish]

There's picture and description on sexing in my post on Care of Livebearer Fry (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?p=176852#post176852)

[beautifulguppy21]

Thanks for the information, guys. :)

The new fry may not be an issue now, I just got home from work and I think that my platy aborted the fry. No more gravid spot. Should there be evidence around the tank somewhere? What would cause her to do that? I'll stop back through later, have to run out again. :/