Is my Platy pregnant?

Hi,
Only recently I've realised that of my 3 MM Platys, one is hiding right in the middle of a fake plant thingy. I thought it was hiding before I discovered it in there, as whenever I put food in the tank, it would emerge suddenly and then disappear. I soon found it in the plant, and thought it was ill. I told my mum, and she said it could either be ill or pregnant. I am really excited, because apart from a near-pregnancy with an angel fish and breeding sea monkeys, I'm a complete breeding beginner! Could you tell me if my Platy sounds pregnant, how to check the gender of my MM Platys and what to do if she is pregnant? Thanks!!
Also, the other two of my fish are staying well away from the plant which the mystic fish is in. They are just hovering near the filter which is on the other side of my tank (I think my tank is a FRF-555). What's going on?!
I really want to ensure that my little fish are okay, especially any babies that could be on the way!
My Questions:
What's going on with the mystic Platy?
How to check the gender of my MM Platys?
What could be going on with the other 2 MM Platys?
How to look after the fry if they do come (preferably on a small or low costing price- I only have a students budget!!)
Thank you so much, whoever helps me with this!! I will be truly grateful!!
alice

 

I'm not sure how big your tank is, it'd be helpful for you to fill in your tank info.

I'm not sure what's going on but it sounds like the fish is stressed usually they don't hide like that when they're preg unless they're about to give birth (like within the day). If the others are staying far away I'm guessing it's sick. But like I said before it'd be really helpful to know how big your tank is and the water conditions because it could be more than just a small illness.

But the way you tell male and female is the anal fin. Males have a pointed fin and the females have a round fin.

Female:


Male:

The fin I am talking about is circled in this photo.

If the fish really is preg the fry are relatively easy to take care of. Basically the cheapest way is a breeder net they're about $6.00 and they fit into your tank. But from the sounds of it you have a small tank and if you do then I doubt one would fit in. It takes quite a bit of my 10 gallon tank. But basically you just feed them either baby brine shrimp (which you can buy in the fishfood isle there is usually a few brands you can choose between) or you can feed them finely crushed flakes. Its up to you really just don't over feed them as they can be sensitive.

 

e_watson09,
Thank you so much for your help!
From what I can see, I think I have 1 male (dark orange) and a female (light orange) (it looks like she has one pointy fin, but there is something else there too- she 'un-flaps' it sometimes and it looks like another fin). As with the hiding fish (who is light yellow, with a white patch on one side :s ), I'm not sure as I haven't had a chance to check, but when it reappears, I will check and post it later.
Maybe, if my tank is too small, I could buy a bigger one and sell this one (my mum has a few friends, whose children are all wanting fish). What's roughly a good size for fish like mine, especially as I do sometimes buy more fish? (I've had 2 angel fish, both of which who grew 3 times their estimated size. Not making that mistake again!)
Last night, after posting on here, I called my dad just to check if the fish had died. He put his hand in, and immediately, the fish darted out of the plant. It went over to the other two, and both of them came over and started to swim next to it. The dark orange fish, whom I think is male, swam next to it, and didn't let it out of his sight. The light orange fish kind of shuffled away from them after that. Does this sound normal?
Thanks,
alice

 

i have several platy fry, it would be good to test your water parameters to make sure that everything is allright, especially if one is either sick or about to give birth. You want to keep pristine water conditions for the fry if/when they do come. They are easy to take care of , however they can and will get eaten by the other fish in the tank (including the parents!) Best thing to do is separate them ASAP, or some people just keep plants for them to hide in.

I've used a tank divider to keep the adults separate from the fry, but I greatly prefer just to keep them in separate tanks completely. Remember if you do end up with several fry (they often have 20-40 at a time) that it is going to greatly increase your bioload and possibly throw your water parameters all out of wack. Best of luck!

P.S. all of my platy fry are MM and red wags (and a mix between the two)

 

I have a platy and a sword tail that have just had fry. the platy had them only this morning!
i have a seperate tank to put the pregnant fish in so that the fry are never in the main tank. also a breeder net is good but there isnt really much space for the fry.
if you have lots of plants in the main tank then there is no need to seperate the fry. But if they are always hiding then they might not get as much food.
The way to tell if the are pregnant is by looking near their back fin and there will be a black spot, its called a gravid spot i think.

the picture is of a guppy but its the same for platies, guppies, swordtails and maybe mollies

 

You never mentioned exactly what size your tank currently is so I don't know what you should move up to. If you're wanting to breed and have more fish and don't want to go too big I'd personally go with a 20 tall or a 29 gallon only because they don't take up too terribly much space. The regular 20s can be really long and I just don't like them, but that's just a personal preference of coarse. You could get away with a 10 but not for long. I tried to keep balloon mollys in a 10 and now I have 3 females about to have fry and nothing to do with the fry and I need a bigger tank for the parents. It's just stressful I wish I would have just bought a 20 to begin with.

Do all fish get a gravid spot? I know for instance silver mollys I really don't think you can see it since you can't see their insides at all.

 

you roughly have a 5.5 gallon tank, I googled it

So yes unfortunatly I'd get a larger tank as that is a bit small for these guys, yes you could "get away" with it being that small but your fish will just be happier overall if you do get them a larger tank.

 

i think all livebearers maybe you will have to ask someone else though because i dont know really.
i just know that platies guppies and swordtails do.

 

The only reason I ask is because like for instance silver mollys, you can't see through them at all. I'm almost 100% sure one of my silver balloon mollys is preg but you can't see through her at all. But she is quite massive.

 

Hi Guys,
Havent been on for a while, but nothing has really happened.
The fish is STILL hiding in the plant- it came out the other day for some food and didn't really look any bigger or different, apart from a white patch that has appeared on its side
(?).
All 3 fish are at separate places of the tank- the dark orange one is now by the heater, and the other two are in the same places ( one in the plant, one by the filter. What the heck is going on?!
I've checked the temp of the water- its normal and they don't seem uncomfortable. Is it anything to worry about? I have a lot of stress on at the mo (exams, my recent diagnosis with Raunauds Syndrome as well as anaemia blood tests) and the fish aren't helping! Oh well. Is it normal for fish to be, in a way, avoiding one another?
Thanks, alice
PS-By the way, thanks for the tank help- I will either buy another tank, give/sell the fry (once they grow bigger) to my mums friends or brother-as he has a tank- or maybe give/sell them to my local aquarium shop and see if they will take them.
PSS- Congrats on your fish having babies!

 

Fish WAS pregnant, 3 survived and gave them to my brother
I suppose its just how my life works that weird and out of the ordinary things happen to me- I s'pose fish are one of them
Thanks to everyone who helped- couldn't have been reassured without ya
alice x