female mickey mouse platy acting strange

Question
I have a female sunburst mickey mouse platy who is staying on the bottom of the aquarium and not swimming around much.We were wondering if she were pregnant and possibly in labor. She is not very fat though. We put he in a mesh birthing net just in case. I don't know what to do. She has been like this for three days. She is still eating good. If she is in labor, how long will it take before we see babies? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer
Hi Trish,
Its always possible for platies to have small 'litters' and in turn have a small belly but the symptoms you described also could be the beginnings of an illness. So keep a close eye on her. Watch for any sudden bloated (indicating dropsy) or other odd appearance changes.

Otherwise, keep her water clean (try a 30% water change to see if that perks her up too) and try to feed her a good quality diet.

With platies, and most livebearers. They usually have their babies in at least a day or two from showing symptoms like hiding or distancing themselves from other fish.

Best wishes!
Karen~