new to platy

[syltaylor]

I have a platy who I thought was female wide fin on her under side I also have a male. I have had them a week. the last two days her fin has been held to her body making her look like a male. I do not know if she is pregnant she may be. If she is pregnant is this normal. Is it normal at all. I am new to fish altogether

[mousey]

if she is holding more than her bottom fin close to her body she could be showing stress. it is better to have COUPLE OF FEMALES TO ONE MALE AS THE MALES CONSTANTLY HARASS FEMALES.

[syltaylor]

It was just the lower fin. She seems to have stopped for now. I do have one other female who I am almost sure is pregnant. Same length as my other female but twice as fat. Today I finally noticed the dark spot. How do I know it is time to move her.
I lost the male, not sure why. I called my mother in law she says that happens when she buys from wal- mart. The others seem ok. No marks good apatite swimming around. The male had been hiding. She says the others should probably be fine. I now know better . Next time I will go some place that only carries fish.
So right now I have two females in a 5 gal do I need a five gal for the babies? What size will be ok for a month or so. I am planning to have a large one made soon. I had no idea when I started I might be a grandma, I'm only 23!!, I plan to keep a few of the babies.

[LilD]

Originally Posted by syltaylor

So right now I have two females in a 5 gal do I need a five gal for the babies? What size will be ok for a month or so.

it should be about an inch of fish per gallon. My platy just gave birth to 12 babies in one go, so you definately will not have enough room for them all. I lost 4 of them but I have all 8 in a small nursery tank inside my 10 gal and they seem to be okay until they're ready to be on their own. When they are born, you will need to seperate them. If you don't you will lose them, as I lost some of mine. It might be okay if you have big plants they can hide in, but I lost 4 within a day, so I don't recomend that method. I used my old 1 gal betta tank but they make breeding nets for about $15 CDN.

congrats and good luck

[mousey]

out of the 23 platy fry I had last november, I have 5 that made it to maturity.
Mouse