When the Platy female gives birth does the male have to be in the tank?
Both the male and the female will eat the fry, so keep him in a separate tank. I’ve seen my female platies literally pop out a baby and turn and devour it. If you want the fry to survive their mother then you’ll need to add a lot of cover and places for them to hide. I would recommend buying a clump of hornwort (live plant) or two and anchoring it down for them to take refuge in. Java moss is also a good option if you can find it for sale and don’t mind anchoring it to something as well. You could also try getting some of those tiny flowerpots with the little hole in the bottom and sticking them upside down so that the babies can get in and hide but the mother cannot. If you want most of them to survive you could put the female in a breeding trap or net breeder, but these tend to stress out the fish even more and cause problems. As for size, it tends to vary a bit with platies. Females are larger than the males, and most of mine got about 2 1/2 inches long. You can get some strains of
