How to tell if fish is pregnant?

[s410k]

I've just learned how to sex my red tail platies, and have discovered that I have 1 male and 3 females.

He seems to 'love' the biggest female the most, as he follows her everywhere she goes and keeps chasing the other two away, whenever they get too close.

So now I'm wondering, how will I know if any of these females are pregnant? What signs do I look for?

I will need to know as I have other fish in my tank, and I would hate for any babies to get eaten. If I can detect a pregnancy I can seperate the female in to a breeding tank.

Thanks.

[kenyth]

I've got the same thing happening and I'm fairly certain the female Mickey Mouse is pregnant. I have no fry tank, so I'm afraid most of them will pass on as snacks for the other fish. Perhaps they can hide in the Hornwort?

[muffin]

You can tell that a fish is pregnant when the female's gravid spot get's larger and darker.
Basically the female will become quite round and you should be able to see a large dark spot near her anal fin.
So far my female has had two batches of since I have gotten her almost 2 months ago. I just thought that she was getting fat. Then one day she was skinny again and there were some little guys hiding in my substate. I let them fend for themselves for a week then 'caught' the 4 that I could find and put them in a breeder net. They are only like 3.00 at walmart. Much cheaper than going out and buying a new tank/filter/heater.....
Good luck with breeding though.

[Sasquatch]

Muffin pretty much summed it up. As a matter of fact, we think that we have our second pregnant platy in our tank.

One thing I would add is to make sure you feed any pregnant females well, ideally with high protein foods. It'll reduce her stress when birthing, ensure her survival and give you healthier fry.

If you seperate her, try to do it early because the stress can cause premature births. It'll also let you feed her more, without polluting your tank by overfeeding your other fish.

[s410k]

Great, thanks, thats some good information. I have looked at the females, and although the biggest does have a large belly, I can see no real difference between any of them - no black spots.

But I notice their fin underneath, near the anus, is black, so could that interfere with looking for a black spot? Is this spot fairly big - will I know what it is if I see it?

Thanks again.

[Sasquatch]

I've attached a couple of photos of our pregnant female platy.

There a whitish area where the internal organs are and right behind that there is a dark area. That's the gravid spot and when that part is dark, she's pregnant.

The area is circled in red on the second image.

Hope it helps.

[kenyth]

My Mickey Mouse must be ready to birth then. She has a huge belly with a black spot that is about twice the size of the one in the pic.

[s410k]

Thanks, Sasquatch, those pictures were very helpful. Seems I will not be handing out cigars just yet though lol.

I will keep my eye on them.

[fishbiz]

If you seperate her, try to do it early because the stress can cause premature births. It'll also let you feed her more, without polluting your tank by overfeeding your other fish.

I was just logging in to ask about pregnant platys when I saw this post. I think mine is pregnant too. Must be something in the water (LOL). If I separate her into a tank with two week old fry, are the fry still in danger of becoming dinner?

If I am right, I will soon have mollies and platys as fry. :confused:

[*Sarah*]

I think one of my platys must have given birth and the fry all got eaten..now another one is pregnant. I can't really tell the females apart though, they all look the same.

[Sasquatch]

I was just logging in to ask about pregnant platys when I saw this post. I think mine is pregnant too. Must be something in the water (LOL). If I separate her into a tank with two week old fry, are the fry still in danger of becoming dinner?

If I am right, I will soon have mollies and platys as fry. :confused:

They should be okay, but keep her well fed, just to make sure.