Expert: Nick - 6/26/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have 4 platys two are a male and female of blue Mickey mouse platy and the other two are male and female i think sunrise but I'm not sure. They are bright orange with black fins. I want them to breed. What should I watch out for? how do they breed and when do they do it? when the light is on or off? at night or day? Would you recommend a plastic or net breeder? i have a chubby female platy. she's small but her tummy is round. she sometimes eats a lot but sometimes doesn't eat much. She also sometimes lays on the bottom of the tank and hides. Is she pregnant, or is something wrong? (I'm pretty new with fish)

ANSWER: Hello!

You should have 1 male for every 2 or 3 females, they should still breed but the females may die shortly after if not in the proper male to female ratio.

They will breed under any conditions. Sometimes at night, sometimes at day they aren't particular.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: the day after i asked he question my female sun platy had fry. but right before she had the fry i got anther female of the same kind.could she still die? but of the blue Mickey mouse platy, i have one male and one female. i think my blue platy is pregnant now. what will she look like. how will her belly be shaped? when should i put her in the breeder?

ANSWER: She will likely not die.

It also depends on the males in the tank. But if she does survive she will certainly be very stressed for awhile, and may not give birth for a little.

When she is very pregnant the belly will be roughly square shaped.

-Nick

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: when should i put her in the breeder? and is there a way to relieve some of the stress? what conditions should i change for the fry in the breeder? how do i tell how long my blue platy has been pregnant and how long is the gestation period?

Answer
Gestation period is about a month. It differs greatly from fish to fish, there is no way to tell for sure.

If you put her in the breeder too early, she will abort the pregnancy. The best thing is to put her in about a day before. There is no way to tell when a day before is until your fish has babies one or two times. Then you will know exactly what that fish looks like at all the stages.

What do you mean by conditions you should change?

-Nick