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Information On Platys2007-11-24 23:37:10

Size of the female is indicitive of a drop growing closer. One trait that is often a tell for many species is the squaring off of the ventral area of the fish. Many claim that they can tell by the darkening of the gravid spot (which may not be visable on all poecilids especially mollies). The gravid spot is somewhat valid as the darkening is often the eyes of the developing fry, a dark gravid spot is not an absolute indicator however. Some fish don't get dark gravid spots due to their natural coloration. Other fish may have a dark gravid spot all the time.

Livebearers are generally very easy to breed. Like most other fish, the hard part is raising the fry. Generally the parents and other fish in the tank become predators to newly hatched fry but there are several solutions to this problem. The easiest solution is to provide good cover and hiding places for the fry in the form of plant cover like anacharis and hornwort. This will help but some will still get eaten. Another solution is to buy a breeding net, which provides a separate compartment in the aquarium for the mother before she drops the fry. After dropping the fry the mother can be removed so the fry are separated from the rest of the tank by the breeding net. Along the same lines the mother and fry can be placed in a separate aquarium so the mother can be separated from the fry when they are born. Breeding traps are also utilized which keep the mother confined with a grating that the fry can pass through.