Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is my tiger platy pregnant? If so, I'm very worried about the birth. My last pregnant platy died after giving birth. I don't want any babies, so do i just let nature take its course? is there any way i can make birth easier on the mother? the only other fish in the tank are two calm and older female platies and they all get along very well. when should i expect the birth to occur?
i attached a link to a bunch of my pictures and a video of tiger. i would appreciate any and all advice.

Tiger Platy Link

oh, i forgot to add that i just bought the tiger platy over the weekend so she if she's pregnant, it's from the males in the tank at the pet store.

boy oh boy. things just keep happening. Tiger is now hanging out at the bottom of the tank. She doesn't look weak at all, just breathing a little fast. She's swimming a little slower than normal too. She comes up during feeding, but doesn't eat much. She'll get excited and go for the food, take a bite and most of the time will spit it out. Also, her top fin is pulled in very close to her body. I just had my water tested and everything is normal. Is this normal behavior? When should I get concerned?

Goodness. It sure does look like your new female is pregnant. I think I made out her gravid spot from the picture (it's a little blurry). I would say this is normal behavior, but since I was wrong last time... I'm promoting your post to a hot topic to get a (hopefully) speedy response from other platy owners and hopefully with some breeding experience.
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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

thanks. i think she is pregnant, but i don't see a gravid spot. i think that's one of her 'stripes.' but she's so lightly colored you can practically see through her and i see a bunch of tiny black dots... possibly the eyes of the babies? my other white (also see through) platy doesn't have those dots.
my main question is how can i make the birth process easy and successful for her?

I don't think it's a stripe because it is only on her abdomen (like I said the picture(s) is/are kind of blurry). I definitely see redness like the gravid spot. Black dots would be the eyes of all the little ones in her. She is possibly going to give birth soon. Unfortunately, I don't know of any ways you can aid this process. It's just nature, but I did promote your post so hopefully someone with experience in breeding platies can help you out. You may find out that it was just your one platy that had difficulties (a possibility). Hopefully this mother has more success. Best wishes.
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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

i do believe that my platy gave birth when i wasn't home because she's much smaller, quicker, eating a lot and swimming around (although no signs of kids). i read some of the other forum posts and i guess i'll be expecting more babies every 30 days or so. thanks again for all of your help.