pregnant fresh water fish

Question
i have three diffrent types of fresh water fish, mollies, platies, and swordtails. and all of the females are pregnant. i am not shure how to care for them. can you please help me.

Answer
Hi Tasha
I just answered a similar question to this last night :)  But it's not showing up yet, I don't believe, so you can't see it.  I'm copying and pasting most of the same info here for you, because it is a quite similar situation.  One option I've added, if you're tank is large enough to handle all those fish, you can purchase a breeders net, if you're in the US, Walmart sells them for about 5.00.  It's a small mesh net container that allows the tank water to swirl in, but separates the babies from the rest of the tank.  But, you're tank will most likely be way overcrowded.  They do make a fry food, think it comes in a gel.  You could also try feeding them frozen baby brine shrimp, or what I did with mine, was use the flake food, and mash it in my hand into almost a powder.  It was small enough for them to eat.

Livebearers like the ones you have and others are prolific breeders.  And unfortunately, most pet stores are in an abundance of them, and usually don't want them when you offer them.  

First, I'd try to find a mom and pop pet store around you that may be willing to take them off your hands.  They may or may not give you a little store credit, but if they're willing to take them, then do it!  I don't know your tank size, but it will very quickly be overrun with them. Which, isn't good, because it will quickly end up overstocked and will cause a strain on the bioload, which can/will cause fish deaths.

Buy another tank and try your best to sex them, and then separate them-males/females.  The female's anal fin, located on their belly just before their tail, will be triangular shaped.  The males will have what's called a gonopodium, kind of a tube shaped thing sticking out towards their tail-in the same area.

However, I've read on several sites that the females can store the sperm for several months, and pretty much choose when to have their babies.  So, a platy can be without a male in the tank for months, then all of a sudden you have babies swimming around the tank.  I can't say for sure at what point they become able to conceive, but it's most likely within a few weeks of being born.  

I'd recommend just leaving them in the tank when they're born.  Usually for some reason or other, the mom's will eat the babies right after they're born, or the one's that aren't smart enough to hide.  This will help a little bit in the "population control" of them, and that very well may be why she does it.  So don't separate the babies in a separate net or container, just let nature take it's course.  If there's other fish in the tank, they may eat them as well.  I remember having a molly that had babies.  I caught them and put them in a breeder net on the tank.  I believe there were 23 or so to start.  In the end, I gve them to a friend, there were 9 left.  So they do have a high mortality rate, BUT all it takes is 1 male and 1 female to start if all over again.  After a few weeks, start getting ready to separate them.  I'd immediately separate the adult males/females though.  Maybe if they were a recent purchase, take them back to the pet store and exchange for all the same sex.

I know that may sound cruel, but I just read on a forum site this lady had a few guppies & swordtails I believe.  They bred like crazy, and she had hundreds of them-literally.  She tried to separate them, and one of the tanks was just so overcrowded, the water conditions got poor, and she lost all or most of the fish.  That's more cruel to the fish.

Hope that helps!!  If you have any more questions, please let me know!

Christy