When will my platy give birth?

Question

Three days ago I noticed a triangular shaped gravid spot on my wagtail platy and moved her to another tank and gave her of my two small neon tetras to keep her company (I also think they are too small to eat her fry). She is a rather long platy, so her stomach isn't looking huge, but the gravid spot is very significant. The temperature in the tank is about 79. What kind of time frame can I expect for her to be giving birth, and also should I be feeding her more/less food, or doing anything differently?

Answer 1

The next sign to watch for is the development of the eyes of the fry in the gravid spot,when you can see fully developed eyes the time will be very near. If you can find some inexpensive "bunch" plants(like Anacharis or Water Wisteria) add them before the fry are born to provide some hiding places,(the female will eat some of her fry).
While you are waiting,just try to keep the water conditions at their best(the tank is cycled I assume),and be careful not to over-feed. Two very small feedings a day is plenty.
To guess at the time frame, I'd say in about three weeks.
You are to be commended for moving her at this early time,most people wait too long and the mother or the fry are damaged or killed by the move.
Good luck.

Answer 2

Platies give birth every 28-32 days. They store sperm for several months, so even if there are no males present she will keep on giving birth about once a month for several months. I don't know how far along she is right now, so I can't answer as to when she'll drop these fry. Make sure there are plenty of hiding spots for the fry. A lot of them will be eaten by the tetras and the mother, but if there are hiding spots some of the babies can get away. The best things to use for fry to hide are rocks stacked on top of each other (the fry can get in between them but the adults can't) and live plants like java moss and hornwort. You do not need to feed the female any differently than you are now. When the babies are born if you want to scoop them out and put them into a breeding net or seperate tank then you can feed them crushed up flake food, Hikari "first bites" food, and you can also hatch baby brine shrimp for them to eat (or use frozen or freeze dried brine shrimp).