Submitted by Derail
Common Name of Fish: Xiphophorus maculatus
Synonyms: Xiphophorus variatus
Common Names: Southern Platyfish, Variatus Platy, Sunset Platy, Tuxedo Platy, Blue Coral Platy, Mickey Mouse Platy, Red Platy, Wag-Tail Platy, Sunset Platy
Category: Live-Bearer, Most common appears to be Xiphophorus maculatus
Genus: Xiphophorus
Family: Poeciliidae
Origin: Central America-Around the Atlantic slope of Mexico, Veracruz and around Belize
Main Ecosystem: Streams, Canals, Springs
Salinity: Freshwater, does appreciate some Aquarium Salt in its habitat though
Temperment: Docile/Sociable, Males can be somewhat quarrelsome
Diet: Omnivore
Care: Will love to have tall or floating plants to swim around and weave through, very easygoing and carefree, great Beginner's Fish
pH: Slightly alkaline, 7.0-8.0
Temperature: 70-80, prefers to be in the 76 area
Hardness: Prefers to be in slightly hard water, 10-20 dH
Potential size: 2", maybe 3" (larger in the case of X. maculatus and
X. helleri hybrids, more on that later)
Water Region: Top and Middle levels of the tank, but will not hesitate to go all around the place
Activity: Daytime, sleeps near the bottom at night
Lifespan: 2-3 years, perhaps longer with exceptional care
Color: So ridiculously colorful! Blue, Red, White (usually mixed w/ another color), Black, Gold, Yellow, Orange
Mouth: Upturned, no teeth
Tank Size: Can be kept in a 5g-if you're willing to put in the work to keep the parameters stable, but you will be better off in 10g or larger, preferrably 20g-30g for a group of 5-9 and some others for a beautiful community tank!
Stocking: When you stock Platy fish, bear in mind that you will want to hold a solid ratio of 2-3 females per Male, to keep the harassment to a minimum, since Platy fish are such prolific breeders! They are easily the most peaceful of the Live-bearing fish IMO, and will only quarrel with each other if there are more males than females, since they all want to do what their instincts call for, ya? Like Guppy's, they are exceptional at breeding, so a group of four Platy fish can easily turn into 30 within a few months, more on that later!
Sexing: Easy, as with all Live-Bearers, but don't rely on the idea that females aren't as colorful as males, as unlike Guppy's, Females are just as splendidly colored as the males. Females will generally be larger and rounder--more accurately, pot-bellied--than Males, but your "Trump Card," for identification will the the Anal fin of the fish. In Females, the Anal Fin is fanned out, whereas the Male's Anal fin is more of a tube like shape and called a Gonopodium, used to inseminate a female for breeding.
Acclimation: Acclimation is easy, just don't go dropping them straight from the store into your tank! You can use drip acclimation (this site has some great info on it), but personally, you can just float the bag in your tank water until the temps equalize, then every 10-15 min add a few scoops of tank water to the bag for 30min to an hour, then net them into the tank.
Breeding: Provide a male and several females, then sit back and watch
, as these fish are just like Guppies, Mollies, and Endlers in that they will breed without any help from you. It would be a great idea to keep the parameters near their preferred range, and you will know the breeding when you see it. The Gonopodium (remember that modified anal fin we talked about earlier? rather I typed about?) of the Male will be turned forward by him and he will then press it to the vent of the female, allowing for the transfer of sperm for fertilization. The eggs are then allowed to develop in her belly, which will in turn begin to swell as she nears time to give birth. Pregnancy typically lasts about a month, and momma will give birth to live fry over a period of a few hours. Just before she gives birth, you may either move her to a Breeder Trap (I personally have had limited success with this method), Breeder Net (more success), or even better a separate fry tank in which she can give birth (personal favorite.) Momma can give birth to as many as 40-60 fry, but first time mothers tend to have much smaller broods, about 10 at the most, with subsequent broods being larger as she gets older, more mature and has more experience. To help encourage breeding, feed these fish a varied diet high in proteins, such as high quality flake foods, brine shrimp, blood worms, etc.
Rearing the Fry: If you wish to keep the fry, move Momma-Platy to a separate birthing or fry tank (more on that later) so she can give birth in peace. After she finishes, which again can take several hours, carefully net her and move her back to the main tank, preferably in a breeder net so she can recover from the birthing process and not be immediately harassed by the males to breed again. The fry will be quite small, and appropriately should be fed small foods as well (how would you like to be given a car sized cupcake...wait don't answer that), such as powered flakes, bloodworms, liquid fry food, or their personal favorite, newly hatched baby brine shrimp The fry will grow quite quickly, going from a pair of eyeballs with fins to a fish with big eyeballs, and eventually a normal looking fish. Goofiness aside, once the fish reach appropriate, you may then move them back to the community tank-appropriate size being too large to fit in the adults mouths. Now, you can also decide to keep momma in the main tank for birth, say if you don't want to keep every small fish, but don't count on the adults to cull the entire brood, especially if you keep them well fed anyway!
Fry Tank: I feel that the fry tank is something to be mentioned if you wish to keep the fry and raise them well. A separate 10g tank works superbly for this purpose. The fry tank will need plants for cover and gentle filtration from either a sponge filter, internal filter or even a HOB filter with the flow adjusted and a sponge-like cover over the intake to avoid the small babies getting sucked in! I had success using pantyhose on the filter to keep the fry from getting pulled in, and only slightly upset my wife over it! The substrate of the tank should be absent in some aquarists opinions, and I certainly can concur that the fry can panic and get themselves stuck in gravel. You'll want to make sure that the parameters of the tank are superb, as the young developing fry are susceptible to poor conditions. When kept in a smaller fry tank, you will want to feed them several times daily, as this will encourage vigorous growth.
Comments: I absolutely enjoy keeping these fish, as they are remarkably peaceful, yet at times can be assertive in their own rights. They are easily kept with community fish, and I have them with a three spot gourami, molly's and guppies in my community tank. They do not easily fall ill, and as hardy as they are, can be kept during a fish-in cycle without much trouble provided you keep up with the water changes. When I mentioned earlier that these fish are incredibly peaceful, there are always exceptions to all rules, and my boy Platy Jig is an exception to this rule. This guy fancies himself the king of my community tank, and while not aggressive, isn't afraid to show that he is the first to eat. In fact, when I added my three spot gourami to the tank, he swam up to him and treated him like the others, not caring that he was about half the size of the gourami! They will add an awesome amount of splendor to the tank with their carefree attitudes, and with the exception of my Blue Mickey Mouse platy, Jig, do not care one bit about setting up a pecking order like some slightly aggressive fish such as Mollies.
I mentioned earlier about X. maculatus and X. helleri fish, and will divulge a bit more information now. Most platyfish we run across now in the aquarium hobby are most likely not from a pure line of X. maculatus or X. variatus, as they are incredibly closely related to Swordtails (X. helleri) that in both the wild and aquarium settings the two species can readily interbreed and produce fertile offspring. These are most commonly referred to as SwordPlaty's because of the sword-like extension present on the lower part of the caudal fin of the fish, much like that of the sword tail. There are sure to be specialist breeders out there with pure strains of Platy fish, but in most LFS, esp larger ones such as Petco, Platy Fish will most likely have a pappy, grandpappy, great grandpappy, great, great...well you get it...that was Swordtail. This isn't a bad thing as Swordtails are similarly beautiful in color, but worth mentioning in its own right.
Sources: Kept Platy fish for several years, hours upon hours of research online and a few books.
The Essential Freshwater Aquarium by Betsy Sikora Siino (published by Howell Book House)
Aquarium Fish by Don Harper (published by Collins discover)
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Aquarium Fish & Fish Care by Mary Bailey & Gina Sandford (published by Hermes House)
An Article titled Swordtail or Platy? written the Magazine Aquarium Fish International
Picture Comments:
1--Jig, the Blue Mickey Mouse Platy--note his anal fin is pointed and tube like
2--Tera the Tuxedo/Sunburst female Platy-note her anal fin is fanned
3--Group shot, Jig, his good friend Dumbo the Three Spot Gourami (man that gourami is so care free), and some Neon Tetras
Common Name of Fish: Xiphophorus maculatus
Synonyms: Xiphophorus variatus
Common Names: Southern Platyfish, Variatus Platy, Sunset Platy, Tuxedo Platy, Blue Coral Platy, Mickey Mouse Platy, Red Platy, Wag-Tail Platy, Sunset Platy
Category: Live-Bearer, Most common appears to be Xiphophorus maculatus
Genus: Xiphophorus
Family: Poeciliidae
Origin: Central America-Around the Atlantic slope of Mexico, Veracruz and around Belize
Main Ecosystem: Streams, Canals, Springs
Salinity: Freshwater, does appreciate some Aquarium Salt in its habitat though
Temperment: Docile/Sociable, Males can be somewhat quarrelsome
Diet: Omnivore
Care: Will love to have tall or floating plants to swim around and weave through, very easygoing and carefree, great Beginner's Fish
pH: Slightly alkaline, 7.0-8.0
Temperature: 70-80, prefers to be in the 76 area
Hardness: Prefers to be in slightly hard water, 10-20 dH
Potential size: 2", maybe 3" (larger in the case of X. maculatus and
X. helleri hybrids, more on that later)
Water Region: Top and Middle levels of the tank, but will not hesitate to go all around the place
Activity: Daytime, sleeps near the bottom at night
Lifespan: 2-3 years, perhaps longer with exceptional care
Color: So ridiculously colorful! Blue, Red, White (usually mixed w/ another color), Black, Gold, Yellow, Orange
Mouth: Upturned, no teeth
Tank Size: Can be kept in a 5g-if you're willing to put in the work to keep the parameters stable, but you will be better off in 10g or larger, preferrably 20g-30g for a group of 5-9 and some others for a beautiful community tank!
Stocking: When you stock Platy fish, bear in mind that you will want to hold a solid ratio of 2-3 females per Male, to keep the harassment to a minimum, since Platy fish are such prolific breeders!
They are easily the most peaceful of the Live-bearing fish IMO, and will only quarrel with each other if there are more males than females, since they all want to do what their instincts call for, ya? Like Guppy's, they are exceptional at breeding, so a group of four Platy fish can easily turn into 30 within a few months, more on that later!Sexing: Easy, as with all Live-Bearers, but don't rely on the idea that females aren't as colorful as males, as unlike Guppy's, Females are just as splendidly colored as the males. Females will generally be larger and rounder--more accurately, pot-bellied--than Males, but your "Trump Card," for identification will the the Anal fin of the fish. In Females, the Anal Fin is fanned out, whereas the Male's Anal fin is more of a tube like shape and called a Gonopodium, used to inseminate a female for breeding.
Acclimation: Acclimation is easy, just don't go dropping them straight from the store into your tank!
You can use drip acclimation (this site has some great info on it), but personally, you can just float the bag in your tank water until the temps equalize, then every 10-15 min add a few scoops of tank water to the bag for 30min to an hour, then net them into the tank. Breeding: Provide a male and several females, then sit back and watch
, as these fish are just like Guppies, Mollies, and Endlers in that they will breed without any help from you. It would be a great idea to keep the parameters near their preferred range, and you will know the breeding when you see it. The Gonopodium (remember that modified anal fin we talked about earlier? rather I typed about?) of the Male will be turned forward by him and he will then press it to the vent of the female, allowing for the transfer of sperm for fertilization. The eggs are then allowed to develop in her belly, which will in turn begin to swell as she nears time to give birth. Pregnancy typically lasts about a month, and momma will give birth to live fry over a period of a few hours. Just before she gives birth, you may either move her to a Breeder Trap (I personally have had limited success with this method), Breeder Net (more success), or even better a separate fry tank in which she can give birth (personal favorite.) Momma can give birth to as many as 40-60 fry, but first time mothers tend to have much smaller broods, about 10 at the most, with subsequent broods being larger as she gets older, more mature and has more experience. To help encourage breeding, feed these fish a varied diet high in proteins, such as high quality flake foods, brine shrimp, blood worms, etc. Rearing the Fry: If you wish to keep the fry, move Momma-Platy to a separate birthing or fry tank (more on that later) so she can give birth in peace. After she finishes, which again can take several hours, carefully net her and move her back to the main tank, preferably in a breeder net so she can recover from the birthing process and not be immediately harassed by the males to breed again. The fry will be quite small, and appropriately should be fed small foods as well (how would you like to be given a car sized cupcake...wait don't answer that), such as powered flakes, bloodworms, liquid fry food, or their personal favorite, newly hatched baby brine shrimp
The fry will grow quite quickly, going from a pair of eyeballs with fins to a fish with big eyeballs, and eventually a normal looking fish. Goofiness aside, once the fish reach appropriate, you may then move them back to the community tank-appropriate size being too large to fit in the adults mouths. Now, you can also decide to keep momma in the main tank for birth, say if you don't want to keep every small fish, but don't count on the adults to cull the entire brood, especially if you keep them well fed anyway!Fry Tank: I feel that the fry tank is something to be mentioned if you wish to keep the fry and raise them well. A separate 10g tank works superbly for this purpose. The fry tank will need plants for cover and gentle filtration from either a sponge filter, internal filter or even a HOB filter with the flow adjusted and a sponge-like cover over the intake to avoid the small babies getting sucked in!
I had success using pantyhose on the filter to keep the fry from getting pulled in, and only slightly upset my wife over it! The substrate of the tank should be absent in some aquarists opinions, and I certainly can concur that the fry can panic and get themselves stuck in gravel. You'll want to make sure that the parameters of the tank are superb, as the young developing fry are susceptible to poor conditions. When kept in a smaller fry tank, you will want to feed them several times daily, as this will encourage vigorous growth.Comments: I absolutely enjoy keeping these fish, as they are remarkably peaceful, yet at times can be assertive in their own rights. They are easily kept with community fish, and I have them with a three spot gourami, molly's and guppies in my community tank. They do not easily fall ill, and as hardy as they are, can be kept during a fish-in cycle without much trouble provided you keep up with the water changes. When I mentioned earlier that these fish are incredibly peaceful, there are always exceptions to all rules, and my boy Platy Jig is an exception to this rule. This guy fancies himself the king of my community tank, and while not aggressive, isn't afraid to show that he is the first to eat. In fact, when I added my three spot gourami to the tank, he swam up to him and treated him like the others, not caring that he was about half the size of the gourami! They will add an awesome amount of splendor to the tank with their carefree attitudes, and with the exception of my Blue Mickey Mouse platy, Jig, do not care one bit about setting up a pecking order like some slightly aggressive fish such as Mollies.
I mentioned earlier about X. maculatus and X. helleri fish, and will divulge a bit more information now. Most platyfish we run across now in the aquarium hobby are most likely not from a pure line of X. maculatus or X. variatus, as they are incredibly closely related to Swordtails (X. helleri) that in both the wild and aquarium settings the two species can readily interbreed and produce fertile offspring. These are most commonly referred to as SwordPlaty's because of the sword-like extension present on the lower part of the caudal fin of the fish, much like that of the sword tail. There are sure to be specialist breeders out there with pure strains of Platy fish, but in most LFS, esp larger ones such as Petco, Platy Fish will most likely have a pappy, grandpappy, great grandpappy, great, great...well you get it...that was Swordtail. This isn't a bad thing as Swordtails are similarly beautiful in color, but worth mentioning in its own right.
Sources: Kept Platy fish for several years, hours upon hours of research online and a few books.
The Essential Freshwater Aquarium by Betsy Sikora Siino (published by Howell Book House)
Aquarium Fish by Don Harper (published by Collins discover)
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Aquarium Fish & Fish Care by Mary Bailey & Gina Sandford (published by Hermes House)
An Article titled Swordtail or Platy? written the Magazine Aquarium Fish International
Picture Comments:
1--Jig, the Blue Mickey Mouse Platy--note his anal fin is pointed and tube like
2--Tera the Tuxedo/Sunburst female Platy-note her anal fin is fanned
3--Group shot, Jig, his good friend Dumbo the Three Spot Gourami (man that gourami is so care free), and some Neon Tetras
