# Is My Platy Pregnant or Bloated?



## Bigfoot

I'm new here and I hope that this is in the appropriate section! I tried researching this online myself but I wanted a "professional" opinion. Is my Platy pregnant or is she just bloated? I have had Platy fish for at least three months now and I think I have two boys and three girls but I've never had any babies.


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## mousey

it is hard to tell if the red one is a male or female as the anal fin is folded upward. It looks like a male by the fin but the nicely rounded tummy indicates it is a female.
Who can tell if it is pregnant or not? Likely if there are males in the tank it will be pregnant but again I see no gravid spot.
My female platies have never been in with any males and they all have big tummies-- they have healthy appetites and eat constantly- so big bellies are not necessarily an indication of pregnancy.


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## Bigfoot

Thanks for your reply mousey! I am pretty sure it is a female, and she is just as fat today. I have had them since February and I think now that only one of them is male and four are female, but I've never had any babies before. I'm just worried if she's not pregnant that is she bloated or constipated and I'm not sure what to do if that is the case!


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## Revolution1221

Bigfoot said:


> Thanks for your reply mousey! I am pretty sure it is a female, and she is just as fat today. I have had them since February and I think now that only one of them is male and four are female, but I've never had any babies before. I'm just worried if she's not pregnant that is she bloated or constipated and I'm not sure what to do if that is the case!


it looks like a female to me if you look closely you can see the anal fin is rounded. And idk the other guy said there is no gravid. And from what ive heard most platy's dont get gravid spots and they are super hard to notice when they do because of their dark coloration. It looks pregnant to me. From what ive seen with bloat is a fish will be more rounded up towards the front of their body almost under their neck and when they are pregnant it will be down by their anal fin in the middle of their body. Watch for it to produce waste and you will know its not constipated that shouldn't be to hard. Chances are its pregnant not uncommon with livebearers they produce babies and lots of them.


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## Bigfoot

Thanks Revolution1221! I did notice her pooing today so I know now that she is not constipated. At this size, about how far along do you think she may be if she is pregnant? I have no idea how long it'll be before I should be looking for babies!


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## Revolution1221

Bigfoot said:


> Thanks Revolution1221! I did notice her pooing today so I know now that she is not constipated. At this size, about how far along do you think she may be if she is pregnant? I have no idea how long it'll be before I should be looking for babies!


really you can never quit tell for sure it all depends on how many times it has had babies before because each time they will get bigger and have more babies. i know with guppies they will start off with around 5 and after having them so many times they can have about 200 per batch. Platy's are similar but i dont think they can have that many at one time but im sure they can end up having a lot at once. One way they say you can tell is by looking at them head on and their belly will be square shaped apperently. This i have found can cause more confusing than help unless you have spent lots of time watching their progression and seeing what they look like right before they give birth. With guppies its a lot easier to tell because of the gravid spot! Now that actually becomes squared as they get more pregnant and becomes darker and larger.


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## Bigfoot

Thanks again Revolution1221! Her stomach doesn't appear to be square when looking at her head on but she does look bigger today. I guess I will have to wait and see!


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## Revolution1221

yeah definetly looks pregnant to me. I did have a molly once when i first started up that i swore was pregnant then my tank got sick and she died i tried to cut her open and try to save the fry but it was completely hallow. Weird thing was it wasn't even her stomach that was bloated it was just right under the skin.


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