10 Gallon Tank Platy with a huge gravid spot & released eggs

Hey so this is about my gorgeous platy who produced i believe 1-2 batches of fry already probably 1.
ok soooo, she has a huge gravid spot and i had thought she is close to giving birth since a couple of days now, say about 4-6 days, and well, surprisingly she didn't give birth quite yet and im sure she will in a few days, hopefully 2-3 days, well im kind of hoping that she will today or tomorrow as im very excited.
she produced a fry which i called panda because she literally looked like a panda with 2 huge splotches on one side and barely anything on the other.
Heres the catch, shes in a quarantine tank because she lifted 2 of her own scales up, and on her 3rd day of being quarantined she released a few of her own eggs out, surprisingly i couldn't see any fry in those eggs, were those eggs infertile?
Will she still have fry? If so when do you think she is due to give birth? Does it mean shes close to giving birth? When i woke up today i had no sight of those eggs

I'll attach a photo of her in the 40g as the 5-10g tank has a medicine in it which makes the water green therefore my camera can't see anything plus she bolts away if i even come close to her quarantine tank

 

Platys dont lay eggs. They give birth to live fry.

 

Platys dont lay eggs. They give birth to live fry.

Yea thats why i came here as i thought its weird as there were fish eggs floating around in her tank, is it possible that she released them because they were bad because she never did that before, last time she gave birth to live fry and didn't drop any eggs

 

Hi AquaRain,

It is said a female live bear has some control over giving birth. Apparently when she is very stressed she can miss a months worth of fry. I myself have seen this when moving pregnant females. As they are often pregnant all their life’s it’s hard not to do .

Dropping eggs may be what happens when the fry are to developed not to reabsorb back as nutrients.

I see your floating plants.
I find I have to look very closely several times each day to catch fry and move them before they are eaten.

 

Hi AquaRain,

It is said a female live bear has some control over giving birth. Apparently when she is very stressed she can miss a months worth of fry. I myself have seen this when moving pregnant females. As they are often pregnant all their life’s it’s hard not to do .

Dropping eggs may be what happens when the fry are to developed not to reabsorb back as nutrients.

I see your floating plants.
I find I have to look very closely several times each day to catch fry and move them before they are eaten.

Ah ok, that would make sense as to why she did, thank for letting me know! And omg those fry are super cute!!! Haha yep, i find it very frustrating when i can't find them, lol, the plants that are floating actually somehow got out right before my molly gave birth and i just left them there to provide protection!

 

Unfertilized eggs can be dropped by a female. This doesn't mean that an egg is infertile. It just wasn't fertilized. Dropping unfertilized eggs is quite normal.
Give it time and you'll see fry soon enough. But yes, if a female is not feeling comfortable enough, she can postpone the due day. And in certain cases they're even able to absorb those embryos. This won't hurt the female, btw.

 

Unfertilized eggs can be dropped by a female. This doesn't mean that an egg is infertile. It just wasn't fertilized. Dropping unfertilized eggs is quite normal.
Give it time and you'll see fry soon enough. But yes, if a female is not feeling comfortable enough, she can postpone the due day. And in certain cases they're even able to absorb those embryos. This won't hurt the female, btw.

Ok, wow i never knew this, thanks for sharing!

 

Ok, so we decided to put her in this breeder net the only problem is that she forces herself into the lower part where the frys will, there is currently 1 molly fry in the lower half and she i finally managed to get back up into the part where she's supposed to be, she's very naughty, she won't eat in the bigger part where shes supposed to be, she only goes down into the lower part for the food and i also think she feels a bit more secure, unfortunately i fear for the fry if i just left her down there so i try to make sure she stays in the part where she's supposed to stay in

 

Let the adult swim free in the main tank. Each morning or as often as you like check the surface of the water for fry swimming in a large amount of floating plants. Net out fry and place them in breeding box.

That is the recommended safe way to use a breeding box.

Having an adult in a breeding box is stressful and can lead to her aborting the fry.

 

Let the adult swim free in the main tank. Each morning or as often as you like check the surface of the water for fry swimming in a large amount of floating plants. Net out fry and place them in breeding box.

That is the recommended safe way to use a breeding box.

Having an adult in a breeding box is stressful and can lead to her aborting the fry.

Alright, she does have a few wounds, and right now she's under the plastic barrier again, everytime i try and do get her out she just bolts back under, what should i do?

 

Take your time. Continue persevering.
Lower the tank water level a few inches if that helps stop any jumping.

It’s always ok to do a water change at any time day or night.

 

Take your time. Continue persevering.
Lower the tank water level a few inches if that helps stop any jumping.

It’s always ok to do a water change at any time day or night.

Alright, thanks for your help
Attachment below of her

 

She went down there again yesterday but i just left her there as she doesn't eat the little one thats in there with her, she ate a huge amount of food till there was barely anything left except a few pieces for the little fry and pooped clear poop today and stopped eating so loss of appetite which i think is her being closer to birth so i put the led lights on the lowest setting thats possible, sadly my little miracle (molly) who was sadly only 5-6 months old passed away due to a severe bleed at his gill area, i revived him more than 6x, tho at the end i let him go as i didn't want him to suffer any longer as he kept dying and needed to be resuscitated, i did try my best but sadly my best wasn't good enough, my sweet angel (platy) is very close to giving birth so she wouldn't be able to re-adsorb them, if anything she would give birth early and if she does im prepared, photo below

 

Hey, so i think she gives birth tomorrow, im unsure tho, this is her second day of rejecting food and not eating, does this mean that she possibly gives birth tomorrow or am i just crazy
Attachments of her below
I'll keep you all updated on how things go and take a picture of all the little ones once they arrive, eeek, im soooo excited, this is my first time i actually get to do this!!!!!!!
Also snow has started to trust me again and will now let me drop food into her mouth again.

 

If the females are in the main tank and feel comfortable they will drop fry when they are ready.

The breeding box is most useful just for fry that have been caught in the morning swimming at the surface .

 

If the females are in the main tank and feel comfortable they will drop fry when they are ready.

The breeding box is most useful just for fry that have been caught in the morning swimming at the surface .

Ok, yes, she is in the main tank which is the 40g in the breeder net as she is injured with a split fin and a few scales lifted off, otherwise she wouldn't be in there, its just for her health issues right now but thats all, i also do expect her (if im being honest) to give birth in there as well as it won't be too long now before she gives birth and then after she did we'll put her back out of the net and put her in the 40 or 10g depending on how wrecked up she is by then, do you think her not eating is possibly the cause of her going to give birth soonish? I hope so as i do want to get her out of there as soon as possible

 

Most aquarium fish can go more than a week without eating. I don’t think a female in a breeder net not eating has anything to do with dropping fry tomorrow. I think it’s a sign of stress refusing to eat. It was only yesterday she ate a pile of old food from the floor.


The name “breeder net “ in my opinion means a net used by a human to breed fish/ to raise fry.
If it was a place to drop fry or give birth it would be called a dropping net or birthing net.
If it was a place for injured fish it would be called a hospital net in my opinion.

 

Most aquarium fish can go more than a week without eating. I don’t think a female in a breeder net not eating has anything to do with dropping fry tomorrow. I think it’s a sign of stress refusing to eat. It was only yesterday she ate a pile of old food from the floor.


The name “breeder net “ in my opinion means a net used by a human to breed fish/ to raise fry.
If it was a place to drop fry or give birth it would be called a dropping net or birthing net.
If it was a place for injured fish it would be called a hospital net in my opinion.

Yea, idk why they just have 1 name for it, i do hope that its not because of stress as at some points she does eat in the net and will eat in it, they get brand new food everyday and don't eat old food.

 

If she doesn't give birth in say atleast 2 days or 3 then im putting her out of the net
She's eating!

 

Any advice for the fry?
Im a bit unsure how to plan their daily routine if that makes sense
Also i had pushed up floating plants against the net so she would essentially feel a bit more safe/secure and comfortable, i also tried to make it as dark as possible for a little while each day, say 1-2 hours maybe 3
Attachments below
Updated reno, i made a custom breeder net cave, made it so it is very dark and also have a custom lid made for the breeder net so it stays at the maximum darkest lighting
Attachments below
Would like to hear your thoughts on it and how i did
Im trying my best sigh
It looks way brighter on camera than it is, its very dark
omg, she's eating! Like not just a little, a lot!!!!

 

Platy fry don’t need any special attention. If the adults were not in that tank they would have plenty of “ stuff “ to eat in that main tank.

They will eat dry food that is crushed to very fine dust.
They would also find Infusorea and algae in that main tank .

I see you have one of the smaller breeding nets . You could add moss, leaf litter, old established ornaments that are small enough. Just something that has algae on it . Some floating plants will have food on them .

I am not sure why the main tank water level is so low? You must have your reasons.
You really don’t have to do much with platy fry. But a few water changes never hurts when using temperature matched conditioned water.

A quick snapshot of my platies. I scooped a couple of fry from the surface a few minutes ago.
My fry get a small tank to themselves, second picture.
I feed a tiny tiny pinch of dry food a couple of times each day.

 

Platy fry don’t need any special attention. If the adults were not in that tank they would have plenty of “ stuff “ to eat in that main tank.

They will eat dry food that is crushed to very fine dust.
They would also find Infusorea and algae in that main tank .

I see you have one of the smaller breeding nets . You could add moss, leaf litter, old established ornaments that are small enough. Just something that has algae on it . Some floating plants will have food on them .

I am not sure why the main tank water level is so low? You must have your reasons.
You really don’t have to do much with platy fry. But a few water changes never hurts when using temperature matched conditioned water.

A quick snapshot of my platies. I scooped a couple of fry from the surface a few minutes ago.View attachment 848015 My fry get a small tank to themselves, second picture. View attachment 848016I feed a tiny tiny pinch of dry food a couple of times each day.

Ok, thanks so much for your help, my parents decided on the water level.... I don't have any control over that but i will consider adding a few of those in there, I'll have a talk about the water level with my parents, tho im unsure if it would change a few things cause usually i just get into trouble, I'll make sure to follow what you said about the food and everything else tho, and in the future I'll leave the adults in the main part of the tank and not in the breeder net, we are only beginners that have experience for about a year now so we are still learning, my dad tho always thunk he's right and does not like to be proven wrong so thats why i get in trouble 99.99% of the time sigh, i promise I'll have a talk with him when its a good time as we have been through a lot lately with family problems/issues, i do still focus a lot on my fishes, spending hours daily just to check up on them so i will add a few things in there, would you suggest i add some very soft algae in the little breeder net, i was not such a big fan on how small it was but everything else was out of stock and very expensive, this breeder net alone was around $20
And congratulations on your fry!

 

Ok . Do whatever your parents decide in regards to the water level. That’s ok at that level. At least the fish are less likely to jump out ?

They don’t need more than a tiny tiny pinch of food.

Who does not enjoy looking at fish?


Some juveniles in their own small tank from the rubbish dump.

 

Ok . Do whatever your parents decide in regards to the water level. That’s ok at that level. At least the fish are less likely to jump out ?

They don’t need more than a tiny tiny pinch of food.

Who does not enjoy looking at fish?
View attachment 848024
Some juveniles in their own small tank from the rubbish dump.

Awww, omg they are sooo cute, thanks so much for helping me, good news she started to eat a lot and is still eating, heres a picture of her, i truely love seeing the little ones, they are so adorable and i also love taking care of them, i feel that its sooo enjoyable raising your own fry and even others

 

Tried to fix the water level
Update: she's eating much more 24/7 and has been getting much more food to maintain her weight after pregnancy as they appear very thin after pregnancy
Attachment below

 

Update: her belly has been getting bigger overnight and has been looking much bigger this morning, say quarter more to half more of its original size, think we're getting closer!?! She's still eating and eats all of her food each day no matter how much is given to her so I'm making it less as i do think that she is close, not squared but starting to look like she is squaring up! She does not eat her food all at once, and by a lot i mean a lot, she eats most of it at night, my secret well lets just say i did a few good sentences of baby talk and encouragement

 

You may be feeding to much food?
I know it’s hard not to keep adding food because it’s something I do myself. But all the food should be eaten in a couple of minutes.
To much food will kill fish .

Having visited other peoples fish rooms one of the things I noticed was how the water boils when food is added. A group of small tetras should boil the water like piranha. No food should be on the substrate. Not for long anyway.

 

You may be feeding to much food?
I know it’s hard not to keep adding food because it’s something I do myself. But all the food should be eaten in a couple of minutes.
To much food will kill fish .

Having visited other peoples fish rooms one of the things I noticed was how the water boils when food is added. A group of small tetras should boil the water like piranha. No food should be on the substrate. Not for long anyway.

Ok, i will try to feed less, theres a little very small pregnant platy who is squared and moments away from birth that i put in not too long ago who's giving birth to her first ever batch of fry but she's so small that i think it may only be 10-20 fry, that is very small fry, she won't be in there for too long tho, she might even be put back out today around 7:30pm and if not in the morning the next day probably around 8:30 to 9:30am
Attachments below.

 

Update: i think she's going into labor but I'm unsure, i think i have been seeing contractions at her anul and she's showing all the signs that you expect to see and her body is the right shape.

 

Update: i think she's trying to hold the young in for a bit longer, possibly a few aren't ready? Idk, I'll keep watch and keep you updated, this is here right now, just took the photos of her

 

The water seems a bit cloudy? Or is that just the camera?

With floating plants on the surface I have the issue of to many fry now. A bit late but I moved the males away from the females yesterday. Currently I have 4 tanks of platy fry . These little guys from this morning will just have to take their chances in these plants in the main tank.

 

The water seems a bit cloudy? Or is that just the camera?

With floating plants on the surface I have the issue of to many fry now. A bit late but I moved the males away from the females yesterday. Currently I have 4 tanks of platy fry . These little guys from this morning will just have to take their chances in these plants in the main tank.View attachment 848507

Yes, it is just my camera, the net makes it seem cloudy sadly i can't much about, she definitely looks to me that she is in labor, which in this case its been over 23hrs but I've read that they can take up to 24hrs also this may seem a bit silly to you but ummm, you know how when we shake our heads as a no, well she does that and apparently according to her she's going to give birth, idk lets see, she is pooping clear, having contractions, rounded off + swelled up a lot, like hugely so im expecting 50+ or at minimum 35+ and squared off, and omg they are super cute, also i can see fry inside of her and even saw 1 move!!!!
Update: no fry has been spotted yet that are out of her, how long will she take? She's already taken 24hrs and is showing all the signs that you expect to see in a platy thats about to give birth, I'll try to get a somewhat clear photo of her now










Update: i think i sea a little fry tail hanging out of her butt but I'm very unsure, maybe.
I have algae in my bettas tank that loves to grow and heard that its important in maintaining the toxicity, theres a lot and idk how he'd feel if i removed it to make a little cave for the platy
This is how it looks, im so sad that i put it out, it regrows tho, right?

 

Update: i think she's giving birth!!!!!!!! Like right now, she has a bit of poop there and she also has something clear going out which i think is a fry, i think she is having a bit of difficulty as there is poop there but I'll keep you updated and try to get a photo of it but its kind of hard to see on camera, sorry the camera won't pick up anything of it but her annul hole or what ever you call has expanded so much and is completely open, and i also think she got rid of that poop, i can also see baby fry in that area!!!
Nvm false alarm, but i do see fry in that area, i was looking a bit to high and it was away from her hole, if she does give birth tho I'll make sure to include photos
How many fry do you think She'll have or has inside of her, i think close to 50+

 

I try not to guess things like fry numbers. One two or three is a good start . A dozen is more than I count .

 

I try not to guess things like fry numbers. One two or three is a good start . A dozen is more than I count .

Ok, im just excited, she's huge, like really huge, i hope she gives birth soon, right now she went back to eating

 

Update: my molly snow gave birth to her 4th batch last night theres about 18 which are alive that i caught not to long ago
Attachments below

 

Update: they're doing well all 18 are still alive, the one that is 2-3x bigger then them is scary for them idk why, lol, they are not small enough to eaten by them and snows bigger fry wants to make friends, she/he is trying so hard even going slow mo for them
Attachments below of them, snow and the pregnant platy, also, is snow still pregnant, btw i won't be saving more then that as my tank is slowly becoming over crowed

 

One of Snow's fry seem to have a pink tint or coat, she/he is a partial dalmatian with only a few dots which i adore, this little one is from her 3rd batch of fry and the only survivor sadly
Hey so the bigger white fry from snow who is a partial dalmatian which i think is going to have a pink coat, wants to go out, she is a bit bigger than the largest mollies mouths and platies but idk if she is able to go out quite yet, she got up to the bigger part which is the upper part of the breeder net, what do you think i should do? I want to hold her back for a little longer like say a week or 2 or just a few days when ever she grows a bit more

 

If you think the fry is to small to move into the main tank then follow your instincts.?

 

If you think the fry is to small to move into the main tank then follow your instincts.?

Yea, I'll leave her in there for 1-2 more weeks for until she's at least double her size, she's made friends with the bigger one and the smaller ones, i find that cute, if i got her to go down again she would bolt back and forth but when she's up there she just chills out not bolting back and forth, yesterday i found 1 more fry which i then put in but i didn't find anymore after that one so theres 19 molly fry which are living

 

Update: the platy still hasn't given birth and she is well over 1 month probably 2 months, she looks as if she going to give birth and shows all the signs and she simply refuses, i can even see the fry in her

 

Update: i decided to put her out and keep the 20 molly fry in there

 

Update on the fry, they are doing well and eating, i believe snow still has at least one batch to go and moonstone which is snows fry who is a partial dalmatian is also pregnant, if any mollys or platys give birth not too long after I'll catch a couple of fry
Attachments below

 

The platies belly keeps getting bigger to the fact that its scales have started to lift off since a couple or days/weeks now


, attachments below

 

Oh dear AquaRain that’s not a good sign.

It could be bloated from eating to much ?
Or it could be some kind of internal infection/ a bacterial infection?

I have no experience with medication. They are not sold over the counter in Australia.
If it was my fish I would be doing lots of small water changes and stop feeding for a week.

 

Oh dear AquaRain that’s not a good sign.

It could be bloated from eating to much ?
Or it could be some kind of internal infection/ a bacterial infection?

I have no experience with medication. They are not sold over the counter in Australia.
If it was my fish I would be doing lots of small water changes and stop feeding for a week.

Oh no, ok, I'll stop feeding, it doesn't get a lot of food either so it mostly poops out clear, i really hope that its just preg, tho i am very worried, i will ask my dad to do small water changes as well, i can also see fry in her belly but i am very worried and hope that she will be okay
I readed that on average a platy can have up to 20-40 fry and sometimes as high as 80+, tho idk if its true or not, my platy has been hiding and not been getting a lot of food although it does comes out to eat, it hasn't had a huge amount of food ever since i released it so im unsure if thats the case but I'll try to make sure it still doesn't get too much but i don't think its food related

 

Do you think she is having trouble giving birth, i don't want to help her hands on, and if she does die from what ever is making her avoid birth then i will free the fry but if she refuses to give birth and the fry are alive in her and she's just getting bigger what type of choices do i have?

 

I do not know if she has dropped any fry or if she has not.
I would definitely not try any attempt at hands on.

In my opinion something like this is better left to nature . A familiar quite tank would be my suggestion.

 

I do not know if she has dropped any fry or if she has not.
I would definitely not try any attempt at hands on.

In my opinion something like this is better left to nature . A familiar quite tank would be my suggestion.

Ok, my parents won't let me move her just for her birth as they are against that so i can't move her, if things don't go as planned and she doesn't give birth, what do i do, as i can't move her, and if it was something internal or fatal and she didn't make it for what ever reason and the fry are still in there what should i do? What im trying to ask is, if she were to die from somthing potentially fatal how do i get them out safely? As i want them to experience life even if its just for a while
Also, if a platy were to have over 60 fry would the abdomen be much bigger than usual cause i think it might be possible because i don't see a way she could have been bloated as she doesn't get a lot of food and i don't know how she would get something without something triggering it, you know what i mean?

 

I am also saying don’t move her . The same familiar tank as she is in now is best.

I do not suggest any attempt at any hands on attempt at removing fry.
Sometimes we just can’t have what we want AquaRain. If the fry don’t drop it was not meant to be.