My platies are not breeding

Question
My platies are not breeding! I have plenty of hiding spots plus I have plants
floating on the top of my tank. I also have one female beta, one small angle
fish gender unknown, and four Platies one female three males. Last night my
Platies looked like they were breeding, but why is my female at the top?

Answer
Hi Nori:  Your female is at the top of???  It is pretty cruel to put one female platy in with three male platy's... as they will bully her to mate...either until she is dead or very sick.  I am not sure how big your tank is but the humane ratio for platy's and swordtails, guppies and molly's is one male to three females.

Live bearers such as platy's and guppies, etc... need to feel safe to breed... They need a warm tank about 82 degrees and plants to hide in...such as java fern, java moss, etc. Live bearers can store sperm up to six months and not give birth until they feel the conditions are correct.  I would hazard a guess and say that your female is too stressed to mate... or she may have mated and is still waiting... it takes about six weeks for her to deliver her babies... unlike other fish platy's molly's, guppies and swordtails do not lay eggs.. they give birth to live babies.  Thus she may have mated and is just barely pregnant... I hope this helps... dave