Yemminie

So I was cleaning out my tank tonight when, to my enormous surprise, I discovered a bunch of tiny fry hiding in the gravel. How, HOW is this possible, I thought to myself, since I had given away my only male platy a few months ago, and kept only young females. And HOW did I not notice a pregnancy? As I continued vacuuming the gravel, I decided that I had obviously been mistaken about the gender of at least one of the young fish, and it HAD seemed rather odd at the time that ALL the surviving fry seemed to be female. When I finished cleaning the tank, I grabbed my flashlight and discovered that yes, indeed, the largest of the young ones is definitely male. And now I'm wondering if any of the others will turn out the same once they catch up in size. The past month or so has been absolutely crazy, and I was SURE that there were no males in the tank, which I guess is why I didn't notice...

At what age is it possible to tell males and females apart? Obviously, I was incorrect in my assumptions on that issue. I love my fish, but I do NOT need another fry explosion - I simply do not have the room! (Anyone in the Atlanta, Georgia area want a male gold twin bar platy?) It keeps things interesting, anyway! Maybe I'll pass some of the babies on to my siblings for Christmas...

Chief_waterchanger

You may not have had any males in the tank for several months, but female platies can, and do usually hold sperm from males for up to 6 months to automatically reinpregnate themselves.

2 months under proper conditions will show gender on most livebearers.

catersun

I'm sorry for giggling at your misfortune.. I just wanted to let you know that I had to smile when I saw your thread's title. It was a much needed smile and giggle after a very long trying week. Thanks :winkgrin:

COBettaCouple

That's how we ended up with platy fry, even though we only bought females at the store. Later we found out about them being able to store sperm so long and have multiple batches from a single pregnancy.

catersun

I laughed at your situation.. and now I have come to believe my new platy is preggo... Gotta love Murphy.

guppiemaster892

Well some females can keep fry in them for a long time. My female dwarf platy hasnt given birth yet and she is a big thing. Its been like 3 months since she been big but we dont know when she is going to be giving birth. You can even see the little eyes in the belly.