when will she have babys!

[kkme2]

for another I have 5 platies 4 girls and a boy, also a male and female swoardtail fish, so one of my platies is very pregnet, I can see all the baby's eyes in her belly, and her stomach is squared off, I believe. I leave on vacation in one day, and I really don't want the babys eaten while I'm gone. I have a breeding net to put the baby's in after the are born, but I really need help finding out when that will be, I would consider her the most active fish I have though, I just vacuumed the bottom of the tank, all of them hide in the corner and she was the first one to come back out and swim around while it took the other's another 5 minutes to fell save in there tank again. I've had these fish for about a month, and they had baby's once before, about a week after I got them, none of them looked extremely present like she does and they all got eaten but one, that I found, I hadn't had a place to put it so I put it in a net and left the net at the side of the tank, I lost him somehow and still don't know what happened to him and have no idea who was the mommy, bad to the point, my mother doesn't leave for our vacation for another few days so I'm having her check on them, and if they don't have them by the time she leaves, I'll tell her to turn off the lightad cover the tank with a towel, so if she does have them they won't be eaten or seen, I also think I'll go get better hiding plants sometime tommorow for them, but is there anyway to get her to hurt up and have them, or get her to hold off for a week and a half! Sorry for the long letter!
Over and out!

 

[MdngtRain]

I never could quite figure out when my platys would drop their babies. It depends a lot on stress as well as it does on the natural cycle. I think the best thing you can do right now it to get enough hiding spots for the fry when for when they are born. A plastic grass mat, or some dense plantings can help with that. you run the risk of the female and/or the fry dying if you move her to a breeding net too soon (or leave her there too long). Good luck.
Another thing to keep in mind - platys are VERY prolific and you will likely have too many to house pretty soon. I know it's not what you want to hear, but unless you have definite plans for housing all the fish throughout their lives, I wouldn't worry too much about them being eaten... Pet stores don't pay for them (and most won't take them unless they know you very well) and people just don't seem to want to buy them from a private person.

 

[kkme2]

Thanks, my platy gave birth over night, I woke up to leave for my vacation and found them, I got 15 or so into a breeding net, all I could find, I plan to get a 36 gallon tank in a few months, I hope they won't over populate before then

 

[OrangeCones]

How will they be fed while you are gone?

The adults in the tank may try to eat the fry from the bottom of the 'breeding net.' If you want to try to save the fry, put some plants (real or fake) and/or some gravel, to give them a place to rest in peace.

 

[kkme2]

I'm back from vacation now, I had put in a gel week feeder, that they ate from I watch them cone up to it and nibble so I know they where we'll fed all week, all 14,15,or 16 of them are alive and well( I keep counting and getting different numbers) I have decided to leave the feeder in the net and by the time they eat the whole thing they should be big enough to live in the tank. Though I still have questions, the mother still looks "boxy" and pregent and I await I still see a few little eyes in her belly. Is there anyway she gave birth to 15 of them and keep a few still in her belly, like if I scared her while trying to retrieve the other babys? Or am I just crazy? I just want to know if that possible because know that they normally have between 20-40 fry and I'm pretty sure I collected everyone of them, before any fish could eat them, and I only got 15 or so.