lilsoccakid

hey guys. im almost positive that my platy has been pregnant, and its been almost 3 weeks. i feel bad because ive had her in a breeding net for most of the week, except for whem ill let him out for a little each day. How can i tell when shes going to give birth, so i dont have to stick her in the net the whole time?

swords3711

actually there are many signs
1. not eating
2. hiding at the bottom of the tank
3. chasing others away
4. her size compared with the male
most importantly, platys are known to stop having babies by 9am
you shouldnt move her back and forth
this will cause stress
what type of platy is it

COBettaCouple

platy's usually take 25-28 days between batches when dropping fry. if this is her first batch, she could take as long as 45 days. watch for black spots in her belly to know she's getting closer and for her back end to square off when she's really close. not eating is supposed to happen, but with our platy, she never lost her appetite. but she did try to find a quiet corner of the tank to hide in.

we did several things so that we didn't have to use a breeders net. we switched their gravel out for smooth marbles (easier for the fry to hide in without getting trapped), we put a whole bunch of plants real close together in a corner of the tank away from the filter and we secured netting around the filter intake with a rubber band. you could also float guppy grass decor or live floating plants like java moss for them to hide in.

with enough hiding spots, if you keep an eye on the tank you can get most or all of the fry out to safety by moving the adults to a temp. tank (with a cover to keep them from jumping out but still let some air in) while you remove the decor and then the marbles from the tank. then you can round up the fry to put in a cup or container that you float in a fry tank until they're acclimated to the water.