Pregnant Platy?!

Question
Hi April.  One of my female platy's has had a large belly for the past few weeks. I've heard about the pea technique, but if that doesn't work could she be pregnant? If so what do I need to do? I'm worried that if she is pregnant i wont be able to properly care for her because I am fairly new at this and most likely lack the skills and equipment. I don't want anything bad to happen to her or any babies she might have. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Eric,

Platy fry are very easy to take care of.  If she is getting increasingly large but acting and swimming and eating fine she is probably just pregnant.  She will get so large that she looks as if she is about to explode.  Finally, she will square off in appearance from the side.  When she looks square she will deliver in 1-2 days.  She can give birth to 10-80 fry at a time, every month as long as there is a male and every month for up to 6 months with no male.  Most of the fry will be eaten by the other fish in the tank or sucked up in the filter intake but you'll likely have some that survive.  Just feed the tank some finely ground flakes a couple of times a day and step up your routine maintenance due to the excess food and whoever lives will grow up quickly.

The other technique if you want to save them all is to get a separate tank.  This can be as easy as a plastic clear rubbermaid of 10 gallons with a cheapy filter with a sponge over the intake and a heater.  Using water, some gravel and some plants from the main tank, lace the rubbermaid with these items, place the mother in the tank when she squares off,let her deliver and as soon as she is done, place her back in the main tank, leaving the fry in the temp tank.

If she is not pregnant and is sick look for odd behavior like clamped fins, lingering at the top, erratic swimming and hiding.  These may be signs that you have some illness or stress going on with her and in that case your first step would be to test your tank for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.  The first two should always be 0, and nitrates should always be 5-20 ppm.

Good luck : ) April M.