How to Know If a Fish Is Pregnant?

Trying to determine if your pet fish is pregnant is a rather easy process. If you have just gotten the fish and don't know what it looked like before pregnancy, you should try and look up a photo to see what that particular species looks like normally. This will help you determine if the fish should normally look this rounded in the stomach, or if your fish is pregnant.

Things You'll Need

  • Photo of "normal" fish in your species (non-pregnant fish)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Determine what type of fish you have, if you don't know already. You can do this by looking through various fish books or online catalogs, or you can go into a pet fish store/department and ask an expert with a photograph of your fish.

    • 2

      Determine what this particular species of fish looks like normally. If they normally have a very bloated stomach area, then your fish may very well not be pregnant. In addition, some fish lay eggs instead of actually going through a pregnancy.

    • 3

      Determine how much different your fish's belly area looks compared to a "normal" fish of the same species. If the belly is very bloated and/or there is a large bulge just below the gills on the underbelly of the fish, then your fish could very well be pregnant.

    • 4

      Watch your fish closely for several days to be sure that she is doing well. Depending on the type of fish you have, they can be pregnant for a total of 21 to 40 days. The larger they are, the further along in the pregnancy they are.

    • 5

      Keep track. They may refuse to eat and/or try and hide as delivery nears. Watching for these signs will help you determine when your fish should be separated from the other fish. The mother and her fish should be separated so that other fish do not harm them when they are born.

    • 6

      After delivery, feed the fish immediately. Keep the mother separated from the tank for 24 to 48 hours total so that she can rest. In addition, you may choose to move the baby fish to a separate tank so that they can develop at their own pace before they are ready to go into the "big" tank with the other fish (usually within two weeks or so depending on the breed of fish you have).