Is My Mickey Mouse Platy Pregnant?

[XLITTLEXSTARSX]

Can someone please help, I bought this fish about 3 days ago, I think she looks pregnant but as I have never had Mickey Mouse Platys before I wouldn't have a clue. If she is pregnant has anyone had the experience to know how soon I need a hatcher or a breeding tank? and does she need to be separated from her own young?

Thank you in advance for any advise.

[Carylnz]

If it is a female, and a platy, then it is probably pregnant.
Platies can drop fry every 4 - 6 weeks.
Putting them in a breeding trap can cause them unnecessary stress and they may abort early.
The fish, including the mum, will all try to eat the fry. If they didn't you would soon be over-run!
Best to have a well planted tank with plenty of fine leaved plants like ambulia, cabomba, sprite, Indian fern and/or Java moss are ideal. They fry can hide in the plants until they are big enough to not fit in the mouths of the other inhabitants.

[WOOWOO]

Hi , yes we had platys about 8 weeks ago and sure enough we have 8 babies and currently two females that are very pregnant . we also have a nursery tank but dont put mum into it .....we have put floating plants in it so the young fry have somewhere to hide . We didnt know our platy was preg when we got them and still 8 survived so it maybe an idea to let nature take its course .............or you will be over run as the previous advice said . Good luck .

[XLITTLEXSTARSX]

I decided to separate my pregnant platy's into a breeding hatch as they refused to give birth, being chased around by males may have had something to do with it!
Don't know if anyone is interested how I got on.

On 5th August

One of my female platy's give birth to about 30 fish, OH MY GOD panic!
A local fish shop has agreed to take them, when they are big enough to not get eaten.

Following that only 6 survived and are now doing very well.


I have since put them into the main tank using a tank divider, which has tiny holes to allow the air to flow. The other day I noticed that I had some new babies, surprisingly on the divider side, it appears they have squeezed through the air holes.

I am now the proud owner of 10 new ones, we will see how it goes.

[Carylnz]

They can squeeze through surprisingly small gaps! Also, angelfish can suck fry through very fine mesh!!
The males chase after the females all the time but do so more when she is close to giving birth as they want to be the first to impregnate her again, ensuring their genes are passed on. It is good to separate the females for at least 2 weeks after giving birth so they have time to rest and recover. Continually having fry will shorten their lifespan dramatically.