dpmpop

Hi guys, new to fishlore hoping someone could help my fish out........ sorry for the long explanation but it's necessary. I have a red platy pregnant? for at least 7 weeks now. It has been 4 weeks since I thought she was going to burst with fry. She's squared off for about 3 weeks now. she's alone in a 10 gal tank with some plastic plants and a castle on one end for cover. she hiding in there, rarely coming out for the past 3 weeks. her appetite is on and off for the past 2 weeks. she poops white/clear , but no fry. ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all 0, temp of 78-80F. she originally was in a 29 gal community tank with about 10 other fish and her boyfriend is awaiting her return! timeline: 7 weeks ago after seeing her belly start to swell, I put her in an established 10 gal tank with 1 pregnant molly, but this pregnant platy was in a plastic breeding box which she tolerated very well, no signs of stress at all. I'd let her out daily to eat and swim around and put her back in the breeder, she never minded really. at that time It looked like she swallowed a marble. about 3 weeks ago she squared off front and rear. getting desperate, I bought another 10 gal tank and used established water from my other tanks that she lived in and put her in it so she could be alone. water did jump in ammonia and nitrites to .5 a couple of days but have come down to 0. my pH is 6.6-6.8. the water is salted (I use 1tsp per 5 gallons) Ive tried 2 gal water changes every other day but nothing is happening. her tankmate pregnant molly was nowhere near as big-bellied before dropping 16 fry april 30. I don't want this one to suffer, and I don't want her to resorb either (I had another red platy that died during birth a while back). I asked LFS around and no one heard of a platy preggers this long. funny thing about this platy is that when I got her, she was no doubt female with a big anal fin, but a couple of months ago that fin looked like it started to become a male gonopodium!! it hasn't changed in months, it looks like a gonopodium attached to a decent sized fin......I'm real tempted to put her out of her misery and try to salvage fry because it doesn't look like they're gonna come out. has anyone had a 2 month pregnant platy?

dpmpop

forgot to mention, this isn't dropsy......scales are not flaring or coming out, but her belly has been stretched so much she looks crosshatched like a window screen or something.

Hwx

Why didn't you leave her in the breeder until it happened?

dpmpop

I thought she might be holding on to the fry, l figured I'd make it real easy and have her alone in her own tank. she didn't look stressed in the trap at all, but I figured maybe she was stressing silently......

Hwx

I had a similar problem. I should have seperated the pair in a breeder tank.Then the male can't chase her and cause stress,and she knows it.That way isn't guaranteed but its worth a try.

Shawnie

with all 0 readings, and fake plants, the tank isnt cycled .. so make sure you keep a close eye on the readings....alot of the platies and mollies and guppies we get now a days, are not use to salt so id stop using that...try feeding her a few pieces of frozen thawed pea the size of her eye..cut them off and see if she will eat them..give her a week of every other day of that and fasting her on the opposite days....partial water changes will help also...she must be constipated or something as no platy goes 2 months if shes truely pregnant

Hwx

So what are some reproductive signs for NeonTetras?
If this one is pregnant the eggs aren't gonna make it unless she keeps them for a few more weeks. I put her in a breeder tank tonite its so fat.
And I can't find any information on female neon tetras, like estrogen cycles etc...just the general species descriptions.

Shezzbian_42

i have the same problem with one of my female guppies, she looked like she was gonna burst 8 weeks ago. she is still quite large. she has had 2 premature births. the 2 fry are now 6 weeks old and quite healthy.

dpmpop

no, she's not constipated because she does poop, not solid thick lines, but regular flexible strings (ewww). still big btw.

dpmpop

I found her floating this morning. I felt bad but I know there wasn't anything I could do except try to shed light on others who might have this same problem. I took the liberty of doing some experiment on an already dead fish and carefully cut her open. I found a huuuge sack of what I believe to be eggs, clear/yellow, probably about 100 or so with nothing in them at all. they're about 4mm diameter spheres. I now know that she wasn't pregnant after all, but why all the eggs? she's been alone for 2 months. maybe it was some kind of cancer............

Tony G.

eggbound maybe??