# New to owning fish -- Is my platy fat or pregnant?



## JessicaAK (Oct 28, 2012)

Hi all. Just as a forewarning, I am very new to owning fish. I have no idea what to look for, and have tried googling the hell out of pregnant platy's... I'm lost! Hopefully you all can help. 

About 2 weeks ago, we bought 3 platys (1 male and 2 female). I knew they got pregnant quickly, but my goodness! One of the females looks like she's going to explode. I believe she's pregnant. I can see the dark spot back toward her fin. She's been hiding up toward the heater more. Also the male has been tagging alongside her, is that normal? What I'm wondering is, is she in fact pregnant (in your opinion), and when do you think she may have her babies? I want to be able to move her into another tank, but she seems to get stressed when not with her buddies. When do they need moved? 

I've included two pictures, the top one is a close up of her (the lighting is/was horrible, so it's tough to see the dark spot. And it's blurry. Goodness, I need a new camera). The second is a picture of the one I suspect to be pregnant and the one that I don't think it pregnant, just so you can see the size comparison.

Seriously, thank you all times a million. Hopefully you can help me!!


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## Fishgazer (Oct 29, 2012)

I can't tell from the pics, but I believe this question was addressed here: http://www.fishforums.com/forum/livebearers/22749-pregnant-platy-timeframe.html 

Hopefully she is pregnant and not swelling due to an infection or disease.

I think your male is demonstrating typical behavior. Mine constantly chase the females around no matter what stage of pregnancy they are in. If you are wanting the fry to survive, add some java moss to your tank. It works very well for concealing the fry from the adults. But be forewarned--once they grow into adults, the process continues, ad infinitum. However, once you have the desired number of fish you could always take out some or all of the moss and let nature choose who survives.


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## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

It looks pregnant to me.


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