Swordtail fish

Question
My sister has two female swordtails and one male, recently she noticed that
her two females have gotten very fat, one fatter than the other, and she
assumed that they might be pregnant. But i was reading different things
online and they said that they should have black spots on them when they are
pregnant and that. Also her one really fat swordtail is pooping an awful lot, is
she sick or is it because she is pregnant. If she is pregnant when can we
expect the babies and what should we do when she has them?.. Thank you..
Victoria

Answer
Hello Victoria,
It is most likely that they are pregnant, they should only have one black blotch near her rear and that is a gravid spot, but is rarely visible in platy's.
You can expect them in 28 days but as you dont know when they got pregnant and they are already fat look out for these signs:
- Not eating
- Hiding
- Constant attention from male
- Near heater

The not eatong is the best sign, meaning she will drop in 1-2 days, they usually give birth at night as this is the safest time, but you should buy a seperate tank or a breeding trap, and put in the female when the above signs are showing, or in the new tank that is heavily planted, beware they will eat the fry (babies) so do not keep her in the tank if you want them to survive, but if you want to let her give birth in the tank, but LOTS of plants them remove the hiding remaining fry into the breeding trap/net or new tank

Good Luck