my mickey (or mickey mouse) fish

Question
I got a mickey fish 6 days ago from a pet store, where it was in a big tank with many other fish of its kind. I think it is pregnant because it eats alot, its belly is kinda on the round side, and there is a black dot in its stomach, and somewhere on the internet, it said that that is a sign of pregnancy. Well, I was just wondering if you could help me by telling me how to care for babies (if it is pregnant) and other info. Thanks!

Answer
Hi Sarah
I'm guessing that's a Mickey Mouse platy you got?  Not sure what you know about them, so here goes :)  They're considered livebearers(so are swordtails, mollies, & guppies), meaning when they have babies-they come live, not in eggs.  It's really kinda weird to see them born, they come out bent/folded in half.  They grow to about 2 1/2 inches, can handle a wide variation in temperature and ph.  They're a very peaceful fish that go well with other peaceful community/tropical fish.  Needs a minimum 10 gallon tank.  They love to eat flake food, algae, spirulina, bloodworms, brine shrimp.  

To tell the sex of livebearers, the fin on their belly, closest to their tail is called the anal fin.  If it's traingle shaped, it's a female.  If it's kind of a long straight tube shape called a gonopodium, that's a male.  They're pretty easy to sex.

So assuming yours is indeed a female, and she sounds like she probably is pregnant :)  So, how big is your tank, and what all do you have in it?  Livebearers breed a lot.  If your tank is too small to handle all those fish, you should consider giving them away.  Once they're a certain size, you could probably get a mom and pop type pet store to take them for store credit.  Won't be much credit, but better then nothing.  Livebeareres are known for some reason or other, to eat the babies at times.  You could either have a lot of plants and hiding places in the tank, and just let nature take it's course with the babies.  They'll hide out, and they'll find food to eat on their own.  Basically the strongest will survive.  

Or, you could buy a breeder net.  It's fairly cheap, if you're in the US, Walmart sells them for about 4.00.  It's just a net that hangs on the side into the tank, and it allows the water to pass through, but the babies are protected inside the net. To feed them, what I did with mine, I just used flake food, and crushed it and smashed it real fine in my hand, almost to a powder, so it was small enough for them to eat.  I ended up having 9 of my mollies survive(out of 21).  Gave them away to a friend. They do sell a special fry food at most pet stores as well.

My next question, it sounds like your tank is new.  Do you know about cycling a fish tank?  I'm posting a link to give you info about it.  It's basically the process a new tank goes through to establish the beneficial bacteria needed in a fish tank.

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/startupcycle/Step_5_The_Cycle.htm

Let me know if you have any more questions!!  Good luck with the platy!!

Christy