When will my fish give birth?

[iwanttostayanonymous 92074]

I’m 99.99% sure my Platy is pregnant but I’m very worried about when she will give birth. I’m not going to be at my house all next week and I’m afraid that’s when she’ll give birth when I’m not around. Does anyone have an idea of when she will give birth? 

On 11/7/2022 at 9:23 PM, iwanttostayanonymous 92074 said:

I’m 99.99% sure my Platy is pregnant but I’m very worried about when she will give birth. I’m not going to be at my house all next week and I’m afraid that’s when she’ll give birth when I’m not around. Does anyone have an idea of when she will give birth? 

 

[Fish Folk]

I think we've all been there in one way or another, hoping to not miss out on some fish babies showing up.

My son bred Platys years ago. What we learned is that if you provide their tank with lots of hiding spots, and extra java moss, guppy grass, etc -- plants that they can hide in -- they'll just show up eventually once they're strong enough, fast enough, and brave enough to out maneuver the adults.

It is a bit tricky to say exactly when a livebearer is going to give birth. I'm impatiently waiting on two guppies to drop fry . . . but they keep just looking huge.

[lefty o]

probably wont be in the next week. the lower abdomen will typically square off a bit the last week or so.

[Theplatymaster]

id say it depends on how long she's been pregnant for. Platies are usually pregnant for around a month, and if you have well-fed fish, and good cover some fry should make it.

[Comradovich]

Here is an amazon link to a kit for a "moss wall". I use something like this for my susswassertang. Luffy Moss Wall kit

When I had Red Wag Platies breeding in my tank, I used plastic coated garden mesh with java moss. This was one of the best ways to keep the fry alive, because once they made it to the mesh the adults were too fat to fit between the grid. I would usually see some little orange puffs darting around behind the mesh. It's not quite "set and forget", because you do occasionally have to watch for someone hunting on the outside of the mesh. But when you see that, you just have to sprinkle a little flake in another part of the tank. Looks good once the moss or susswassertang grows in, preserves your fry while they grow out, and requires very little of your attention.

 

[Rxhart]

I was gone on vacation when my guppy had her babes.  Came home   To 8 newbies that were doing great in their omen in the hornworm guppy grass I keep floating for her.  I had an auto feeder in for the tank.  Babies take tiny food off the leaves of the hornwort and did just fine.  I was gone for a week.  Other fish in tank didn’t even find them!  I left them there an watched daily.  Because they had a lot of hiding spots, they grew well.  When I got home I gave them love baby brine and the re a ll thriving.  So cute.  Livebearers are so much fun.

[Adam Swarbrick]

I would agree with the others above. Probably won’t give birth in the next week. Their belly tends to turn square like this when they are ready to drop fry.

The good news is if the fry don’t make it this time you only have to wait a month and there will be another batch ready to go.

Do you have many places for the babies to hide or were you planning to catch them out to raise?