Fatso Platy

[chester82006]

I've had a male and female sunset platy in my 10 gallon for over 6 months. The girl is huge, and I can see a dark area towards her behind, but it's been there for months. Could she not be releasing because of stress? Or is this just food? The male is also quite plump but I see no dark area... and they're both about the same color. Does she need to be isolated in a net breeder?

[OscarFan]

could be constipation or bloating. if you feed flakes take a brake from them and feed krill or blood worms.

[angelcakes]

and a couple of peas.....:19:

[Sasquatch]

How often are you feeding and with what? Platies are real pigs, especially the females and will tend to eat to much, which leads to constipation.

That beind said, females get really huge when pregnant. The dark area is likely the "gravid spot", which indicates she's producing fry. This is pretty much a constant process in females, so it's normal that the dark area doesn't go away.

[chester82006]

How often are you feeding and with what? Platies are real pigs, especially the females and will tend to eat to much, which leads to constipation.

That beind said, females get really huge when pregnant. The dark area is likely the "gravid spot", which indicates she's producing fry. This is pretty much a constant process in females, so it's normal that the dark area doesn't go away.


I feed them twice a day, in the morning and night. Usually flakes, but occasionally brine shrimp and crushed up shrimp pellets. Yeah the spot is always there...can she be releasing fry and me not even know it because the other fish get to the babies right away? That's why I was wondering if I should place her in a net breeder :\ because I'd love some platy fry. I will feed them some peas later on in the day, hopefully that will help them be at the right size and weight.

[Sasquatch]

Only put her in a breeder net a few days before pregnancy. They tend to rub against the netting which takes away their slime coat and over the long term, even open sores.

Depending on what other fish you have, it's very possible that they eat the fry before you get to see them. Having a lot of fine cover (Java moss, small holes etc ...) for the fry to hide in will give them better chances of survival.

As for feeding, what you're doing sounds good. High protein stuff like freeze dried blood worms and tubifex every couple of days is also good for pregnant females.