It’s a worrying feeling to see your Platy fish getting fat. Are they fat because of dropsy? Or is it because you overfed your Platy out of love? Is your Platy fish fat or pregnant? Such questions are never-ending and really worrisome.
Platy fish become fat mostly when they are pregnant, associated with a gravid spot and change in behavior like aggression, and nesting. However, Platy fish also become fat due to dropsy infection, tumor, bad water conditions, constipation, and overfeeding.
But, worrying alone doesn’t do anything. You should try to diagnose why your Platy fish appears fat. Pregnancy is the most common cause followed by dropsy, infections, overfeeding, etc.
I hope this article will teach you how to distinguish a pregnant Platy fish from a fat one. I’ll also give you suggestions on the treatment of dropsy, infections, and how you can solve overfeeding. Now, shall we start?
What Makes Your Platy Fish Appear Fat And Bloated?
Just remember that when your Platy fish appears fat or bloated, it isn’t a normal condition for their body. And, there are many reasons as to why your Platy fish appears fat like:
Dropsy
Dropsy is when your Platy fish retains fluid inside the body. This causes a swollen belly. The swollen belly drops down. Hence the name dropsy.
When you have bad water conditions in your tank, your Platy fish has lowered immune system. As a result, many bacteria will cause infections resulting in dropsy.
To diagnose dropsy, you have to check whether they have bulging eyes, pale gills, and their scales stick out along with a swollen belly. Moreover, your Platy fish will be lethargic and weak when it has dropsy.
Indigestion/Constipation
When you feed your pet with dry, protein-rich food, the food may be stuck inside their intestines. And since the poop can’t come out, it accumulates inside their body which swells their belly. It is quite common for your Platy fish to be constipated because Platy fish eat a lot.
A Platy fish with constipation has long, stringy wastes floating from its back.
Weight Gain Due To Overfeeding
Out of love, you may end up overfeeding your Platy fish. And, since Platy fish are food-lovers, they end up consuming everything you feed them.
An overfed Platy fish is not at risk for ill health, dropsy, infections, etc. Their color is normal, their appetite is good, and they’re quite active too. It’s just that they’re fat just because you overfed them.
Too much overfeeding is bad because it may constipate your pet which is bad for their health.
Tumor
Tumor of the abdomen will make your Platy fish’s belly appear fat and bloated.
Only a particular portion of the abdomen or whole abdomen appears fat. While the rest part of the body or some parts of the abdomen is normal. Platy fish suffer from benign and harmless tumors. But, most of the time, Platy fish die from malignant tumors which spreads throughout their body.
The cause of the tumor might be retrovirus or due to poor water conditions in your tank.
Pregnant Platy Fish
Even if your Platy fish has recently given birth to cute fry, don’t ever think that your Platy may not be pregnant once again. For Platy fish are voracious breeders who can get pregnant every month.
In addition, a female Platy can store semen in her sperm for many months. And, the females can get impregnated multiple times even without the presence of a male Platy fish. So, your female Platy fish gets pregnant every 28 days even without a male Platy fish’s help.
I’m saying this because if your female Platy fish is bloated, chances are, she is most probably pregnant.
The pregnant female Platy fish will be fat because she stores the fertilized eggs inside her belly. All the fry develops inside her. And no, Platy fish don’t lay eggs. Platy fish grow the fry inside their belly and give birth to live fry once the fry is fully matured. This is a typical characteristic of a livebearer fish.
How Will You Differentiate Whether Your Platy Is Fat Or Pregnant? [Signs Of Pregnancy]
When you see your Platy fish bloat, it is not quite obvious, as a fish owner, to find out whether it is because of dropsy, infections, overfeeding, or just because she is pregnant.
But, worry not for I am here for the rescue. I’ve listed signs of pregnancy below so you can easily know if your Platy is pregnant.
Check Gender
Firstly, you need to check the gender of your Platy fish. And to differentiate the gender, you need to check their anal fins. This is necessary because only female Platy fish can get pregnant. Once you have realized that your Platy fish is a female, there is a high probability that her fatness is due to pregnancy!
If you have a fat male Platy fish, chances are it is just fat due to overfeeding, or some infections like dropsy.
You See Your Platy Fish Mating
When you see the deed being done, chances are, your Platy fish is pregnant.
The male Platy will chase the female Platy. And then, he will erect his pointed anal fin and inseminate the female Platy fish. Of course, this deed is quick. But, sometimes, you may be lucky enough to see this deed. You can guarantee that your Platy is fat due to pregnancy then.
There Are Males In Tank
If you have kept a mixed Platy tank, the males will fertilize the female Platy fish in no time. So, there is a high chance that your fish is pregnant rather than just fat.
Belly Shape
Now, this one is important. Generally, dropsy happens all at once and you’ll suddenly see your Platy become fat. But, in pregnancy, the belly bulges out slowly day after day.
Perhaps the most important thing you should notice is that the pregnant belly is squared shape from the front rather than rounded like dropsy. Dropsy is a more balloon-like belly. It’s like god made their round dropsy belly with a compass!
Gravid Spot
The gravid spot is the surest sign that your Platy fish is pregnant. This is a dark hue spot below the abdomen which is the growing fry pressing against the uterus. The darker the hue, the further the pregnancy.
Behavior Of A Pregnant Platy Fish
One of the signs your Platy fish is pregnant is it doesn’t like to eat much.
Due to hormonal changes and fry growing in her belly, she lashes out on her tank mates and other Platy fish. So, Your Platy will behave aggressively during pregnancy.
Moreover, a pregnant Platy fish hides behind plants, decorations, and foliage in your aquarium. Nesting happens when your Platy fish is near their due date.
Platy fish also breathe rapidly when they’re near their due date. This is because the pregnant Platy fish is holding the baby fry in her belly. It’s really tiring to have internal fertilization after all!
How To Treat Bloating And Fat In Your Platy Fish?
After you’ve diagnosed the cause of your Platy fish’s fat belly, you should get into their treatment immediately. Especially if they’re fat due to tumors, dropsy, constipation, and overfeeding.
You should care for pregnant Platy fish too. Because pregnancy is the time when a Platy fish is the most vulnerable.
Maintain Tank Condition
A bad tank is your Platy fish’s biggest nightmare. Ammonia and nitrogen spikes, extreme pH, too cold or hot water, and so on will compromise your Platy fish’s immune system.
Always change the water (around 25%) every week even when you have a filter on. Platy fish need a filter but they can live without one. However, without a filter, you need to change water almost every day or every alternate day.
Moreover, try to balance the water pH and temperature. The temperature can be maintained with a heater and checked with a thermometer.
Remember one thing. Prevention is better than cure. And to have a tank with optimum conditions is better than having a tank with bad water conditions and diseased Platy fish.
Treat Dropsy And Infections
You neglected your Platy fish and didn’t balance your water parameters. And, your Platy fish are already infected. Now, what should you do?
Well, firstly, manage a quarantine tank. This is where you keep all your diseased fish so that these diseased ones don’t spread the infection to others. Yes, dropsy is an infectious disease. And you should separate the fish with dropsy from those not yet infected.
You should add one teaspoon of aquarium salt/gallon of water to the tank in the quarantine tank. This salt is used as anti-parasitic and kills all microbes in your Platy’s body.
Moreover, you can use antibiotics to treat dropsy too. You may want to consult with your vet about the antibiotic you should use!
Provide your Platy fish with a high-quality diet. And monitor your Platy fish regularly. Sometimes, dropsy can go away if you treat the underlying condition like a parasitic infection.
But, most fish owners prefer euthanizing their Platy fish. And that’s because dropsy is infectious and hard to treat!
Treat Constipation
To treat constipation in your Platy fish, provide them with boiled and peeled pea. Peas have fiber so they’ll help your Platy for easy excretion of poop.
Moreover, some people treat their constipated Platy fish with Epsom salt. Epsom salt is believed to have a relaxing effect on intestinal muscles.
Avoid Overfeeding Your Fat Platy
When you overfeed your Platy fish out of love, your food-loving Platy fish will become fat in no time. That’s why to feed your Platy only twice a day and that too in, little amount.
See, you might think it’ll be cruel to underfeed your pet. But, actually, research has proven that fasting is beneficial for a Platy fish. And, underfeeding is actually better than overfeeding.
Try giving your Platy fish only what they can eat under 2 minutes during each feeding session. If any food remains at the end of two minutes, scoop out the food with a net. Too much food can go wasted too which might foul your tank.
You should feed your Platy twice a day.
I recommend that you provide a fibrous and varied diet for your Platy fish. A meaty diet like meat, daphnia, brine shrimp one day and veggies like carrots, zucchini, peas and such diet the next. I’m sure your Platy fish will be excited to try varieties of food full of nutrients.
FAQ
How Long Are Platy Fish Pregnant For?
The gestation of Platy fish is for an average of 28 days. But, the delivery of fry may be as early as 25 days to as late as 35 days or more. The delay in pregnancy happens due to bad water conditions, stress, immature fry, and poor health of the pregnant Platy fish.
Do Pregnant Platy Fish Die After Giving Birth?
If you constantly breed your Platy fish, their health will be compromised. Especially if the Platy fish is really young. But, no, Platy fish don’t die after birth as they are quite hardy fish.
Conclusion
So, I hope you got the answer to your question of whether your Platy fish is fat or pregnant. Once you rule out the signs of pregnancy, you can easily understand that your pet is fat due to other causes like dropsy, infections, tumor, constipation, or overfeeding. And once you control their diet and they shrink back to their normal size, you can understand that your Platy was fat because you overfed them.