# Dwarf Platy



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Ok so I got some new fish, 3 neon tetras, 3 zebra danios and a dwarf platy.

The concern I have is with the platy. He seems active enough and fine, but he has a rather large bulge in his tummy. I think he may be eating too much (at least I hope so) he seems to eat all the other fishs' food before they can get to it if he has the opportunity, and the tetras really don't want to eat with him taking everything. 

so 2 questions. 1) Is the bulge probably from overeating? and 2) How do I make him stop?


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Here is a low quality photo of it's stomach. Will add an enhanced one next to show the bulge better


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Ok I know the quality of these are horrible. I'm taking them with my webcam...lol. Here's a color enhanced one that shows how bad the bulge really looks. Even though you can't see the fish very well in either, the bulge is pretty apparent,.


----------



## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

If hes not swimming funny he probably over ate


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

I'm hoping that's it. The bad thing is, that even if I don't feed him, he still is eating stuff out of the plants. I'm not quite sure what do do about that. But like I said...he seems fine...I guess I'll ask more if he gets any worse.


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Uhm...

Are you sure that he is a HE? It's hard to tell for sure in these pics, but it looks like a pregant female to me.

By the way, could someone tell me what a "dwarf" platy is? I guess I somehow missed that one.

Anyway, as for your problem, try feeding on opposite ends of the tank. get the platy interested on one end, and then feed the others on the other end. It might work, but I'm not saying it'll be easy.


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

http://www.fishpalace.org/X_maculatus.html

that's the normal variety. This breed though, isn't supposed to grow much past 1 1/2 inches so it is better for a smaller (10 gal) community tank. I suppose the he could be a she...I hope it just overate though, I can't see fry in with 3 tetras and 3 zebra danios. When I bought the fish, it was alone in the tank at the pet store, although it could be possible for it to be expecting. I'll keep everyone posted on what ends up happening.


----------



## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

that doesnt look like a dwarf to me... i have a few...


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Oh, dear; they've gone and made Balloon Platies.
What a shame.


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

That's the thing about this fish though. It looked very normal and streamlined, then just started developing this buldge. I'm not sure what it is. I'll keep an eye out, and ask more if any other oddities crop up.


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Oh, well that pretty much cinches it. Your fish is pregnant.


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Well if "she" is...do you have any clue of how long it takes them to lay eggs, and also, if there isn't another fish of that variety in the tank, will the eggs just remain unfertilized? I'd hate to think of her going though all that effort for nothing, but my luck the fish store would sell me another female...lol. Also, if they do hatch, etc, what is the best way to take care of the fry? I have a feeling the others would probably think they were lunch.

I guess it would make sense if she is a she and is pregnant...she's ravenous...hardly will let the other poor fiddies eat.

whoops, and another edit...she's going to the bathroom almost constantly...like every time I look in the tank...is that normal?


----------



## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

A Platy is a livebearer, so her babies will be free swimming when she has them... 
It usually takes a few weeks for her babies to develop before she has them. 
You usually notice a bulge and a black spot called a gravid spot. 
A livebearer can store sperm for awhile so dont be surprised if she has more than one batch.


----------



## Ownager2004 (Apr 4, 2005)

On another note you can tell if its female by the anal fin. It will look like a normal fin if its female and if its a male it will look like a pointy thing that they just keep tucked up against their bodies most of the time.


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Well it definately looks like a normal fin, so it probably is a female. I can't see any other markings that would give the tell - all signs of being a female like a betta. The one thing that does concern me a bit is the thing won't quit going to the bathroom...like every time I go take a look to make sure he/she/it is ok all it does is relieve itself. Is that normal in the least? Also I've noticed some scales turning white over its left back from its head toward its posterior in one straight line...should I get antibiotic? I don't know if it's an infection or not.


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

On top of that, I'm wondering if something wasn't living in the plants I bought at the fish store. All the fish are eating these weird looking organisms that I KNOW I didn't put in the tank...any suggestions?

Lol another edit...this fish is running me nuts...now he/she/it is also sucking in air from the top of the tank and spitting out bubbles...is it distressed?


----------



## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

What are these organisms like, worms? crustations? Gasping at the surface could ironically be a sign of over feeding. :lol:


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Looked like some sort of itty bitty worm thing. There weren't very many...geesh the fish probably ate most of them before I noticed them. I'm going to try not to feed them anything for a day or so and see if I can figure out what's going on with this fish. As of this afternoon, the tummy is still HUGE, so it very well could be pregnant. Or extremely overfed.


----------



## fishboy (Feb 26, 2005)

might be dropsy if the scales start popping like a pinecone outward thats what you got if not the platy is pregnant. Also the things in your tank, if the were small worm like and twitched to move and fish loved them i'm leaning towards a mosquito larva. I found a dead mosquito in my 2.5 and the tank was full of them. With an eyedropper i removed every single one, put them in a bottle, and then drenched the bottle with chemicals till they were all poisoned and died (I hate pests in my tanks).


----------



## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

you mean a mosquito?


----------



## Ownager2004 (Apr 4, 2005)

if you say it looks like a normal fin i would say you can be 99% sure its female. and from the pictures it appears to be a sunset platy. So if it is pregnant you should be able to very clearly see a dark "gravid spot" right behind the bulge of its belly. 

My platys dart to the surface and gasp for food(getting air, lol) everytime i get within 5 feet of my tank. So i wouldn't be worried about that behavior unless its happening a lot. Which could be a sign of ammonia poisoning i think? or sickness of some sort?

im not familiar with dwarf platys and the bulging of its belly could simply be genetics...


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

That's what's concerning me. How long does a person have to figure out if it'is dropsy before the fish dies? I only bought them a week ago, so if it is a disease I'll have second thoughts about going back to the store. I also don't want my other guys getting sick if this one is. It doesn't so much look like the scales are sticking out as much as roughed up on one patch like he got scraped up...is that dropsy too?

I know that adding chemicals randomly to the tank is stressful on all the fish, but not doing something if it's a disease could very well be fatal for all of them.

I could possibly take him back to the pet store and see what they have to say about it.

Any suggestions?


----------



## fishboy (Feb 26, 2005)

thanks for the spelling lexus i fixed it


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

I don't see any particularly dark spot. The whole buldge looks darker just because of the lighting/shadows etc. I looked at some pictures here and there, and I do think it's a female. I'm just not 100 sure if she's really pregnant, or getting sick with something weird.


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

You guys probably are right about the mosquito. I killed one in here the other day. I'm keeping an eye on the water, and don't see anything else in there so far.


----------



## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Good luck with your platy. And let us know if you see anymore worms around.


----------



## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Thanks. I got some weird herbal water additive that the lady suggested called PimaFix. It seems to be clearing up the problem on her scales, and I'm about 99% sure she is pregnant, although I'm not sure how long she has been. I bought her a couple of weeks ago now, and she didn't look like it then, so I would guess it hasn't been very long.


----------



## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

If your tank is well planted then you don't need to seperate her from the main tank or buy a breeding trap. (Unless you have a nocternal predatory catfish that gobbles up sleeping fish.)


----------

