A platy fish is two species, and probably a cross of them
The word names a fish by what it does not have. A platy is a Xiphophorus without the sword, and one of our sources says most of the ones in shops are a hybrid of the two species the other three write about.
Wikipedia gives the definition: platy is a common name of freshwater fish in the genus Xiphophorus that lack a sword at the bottom of their tails. The two species are the southern platyfish, Xiphophorus maculatus, and the variatus platy, Xiphophorus variatus, and both are native to the east coast of Central America and southern Mexico.
Aquarium Co-Op names the same pair as the two species most commonly available in fish stores. Fishkeeping World names both. aqua-fish writes its care sheet for X. maculatus alone.
Then the sentence station 04 prints as the dispute: Wikipedia says most platies now sold in aquariums are hybrids of both species.
The consequence is not academic and it lands on one row in particular. Aquarium Co-Op separates the two species on temperature, saying variatus platies do not require extra heating when kept at room temperature while giving the group 70 to 82 °F. A hybrid inherits from both parents, and not one of our four sources publishes a figure for the hybrid.
This is the third record here whose name row cannot name one animal, after our flowerhorn record, a hybrid with no scientific name at all, and our siamese algae eater record, where the sources cannot agree which species the trade sells.
Why this record was written now
- The gap
- Five thousand nine hundred searches a month for one of the two fish sold to every beginner, and the other one is already written.
- What it changes
- It is the second livebearer here, after our guppy record, and the two disagree about lifespan while being sold from adjacent tanks.
- What it costs
- Three cautions, and all three are the same problem: a hardness floor of 214 ppm that three of our records cannot reach.
Platy water parameters, and the row nobody tests
| Source | Temperature | pH | Hardness | Tank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquarium Co-Op | 70 to 82 °F | 6.8 to 8.5 | Harder water, no figure | 10 to 20 gal or larger |
| Fishkeeping World | 70 to 77 °F | 6.8 to 8.0 | 10 to 28 dGH | 10 gal for five or six, plus 2 gal per fish |
| aqua-fish | 68 to 78.8 °F | 7 to 8.3 | 12 to 18 dGH, 214 to 321 ppm | 60 liters, about 16 gal, for five or six |
| Wikipedia | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated |
The three bands share 70 to 77 °F and the three pH ranges share 7.0 to 8.0. Both are printed as the rows because both are what every source contains.
The hardness row is the one that decides who this fish can live with. The two sources publishing general hardness overlap from 12 to 18 dGH, which aqua-fish converts itself to 214 to 321 ppm, and Aquarium Co-Op agrees in words rather than numbers by saying they enjoy harder water. That floor of 214 ppm is the third highest on this site, behind our nerite snail and oscar records at 215.
Station 09 is what follows. Three records here top out below 214 ppm, so three pairings this fish is sold into are cautions on our grid rather than clear cells, and one of them is a pairing a source we cite recommends.
On the tank, two sources say ten gallons for five or six fish and the third says sixteen for the same group. The group figure and the tank figure cannot be read apart on this fish, which is why station 03 prints them together.
Platy temperature, and the ratio every source publishes
Two things on this fish are usually printed as one figure and should be printed as two: the temperature it tolerates and the temperature its keeper actually needs a heater for, and the number of fish against the ratio between them.
The temperature, and the fish that may not need a heater
Aquarium Co-Op gives the group 70 to 82 °F and then separates the species: variatus platies do not require extra heating when kept at room temperature. Fishkeeping World gives 70 to 77 and aqua-fish 68 to 78.8, so two of the three sources will not take this fish above 78.
The row prints 70 to 77 °F, which every band contains, and it makes the platy one of the cooler fish written here. Only our goldfish record at 68 to 74, our axolotl record at 61 to 64 and our otocinclus record at 70 to 79 sit as low.
The tank itself, and the figure nobody publishes
Two of our sources describe a planted tank without asking for one. aqua-fish asks for hiding places like java moss or dense plant cover, and it asks for it for the fry rather than for the adults. Fishkeeping World feeds them plants, naming spinach, cucumber and lettuce among the foods.
What no source we hold publishes is a filter or a flow requirement, which is unusual: our honey gourami, siamese algae eater and clown loach records all carry one. For a hardy community fish our sources treat the filter as a given and say nothing about it, and this record will not invent a figure to fill the row.
Three to six fish, and two or three females for each male
- Aquarium Co-Op: a group of three to six platies is a good starting point, with at least two females for every one male.
- Fishkeeping World: platy fish do best in groups of six, and keep one male for every three female platy fish.
- aqua-fish: two females for every male, to reduce breeding stress.
Every source publishes a ratio rather than a count of males, and Fishkeeping World says what the ratio is for: males often pester females and can show aggression to other males during breeding. It calls the species rarely aggressive in the same breath, which is the same shape our honey gourami record found: a peaceful fish with a problem between its own males.
Put the ratio and the tank together and the arithmetic is tight. Six fish in ten gallons is Fishkeeping World’s recommendation, at two gallons per additional fish, and aqua-fish asks for sixteen gallons for the same six. Our stocking calculator works from the ten gallon figure, and our stocking page explains why we do not average two sources that far apart.
The full record
| Field | Recorded | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum tank | 10 gal | Three sources publish a figure and two of them agree. Aquarium Co-Op: platies can live in a 10 to 20-gallon aquarium or larger. Fishkeeping World: 10 gallons for a group of five to six platy fish, and increase by 2 gallons per additional fish, which is the only scaling rule anybody publishes. aqua-fish asks for 60 liters, approximately 16 gallons, for the same five or six fish. So the same group is a ten gallon tank in two sources and a sixteen gallon tank in the third. The row prints 10 gallons and station 03 prints the group figure beside it, because on this fish the two numbers cannot be read apart: a group of six in ten gallons is the whole recommendation. |
| Temperature | 70 to 77 °F | Three bands, and 70 to 77 °F is the span all three contain. Aquarium Co-Op is the widest: most platies do well with temperatures from 70 to 82 °F, and it adds that variatus platies do not require extra heating when kept at room temperature. Fishkeeping World is the narrowest at 70 to 77 °F, 21 to 25 C. aqua-fish gives 20 to 26 C, 68 to 78.8 °F. The floor is agreed by two sources at 70 and the ceiling is set by Fishkeeping World at 77. That ceiling is the useful half: two of the three sources will not take this fish above 78, which puts it in cooler water than most of the fish on this site. |
| pH | 7.0 to 8.0 | Three bands and the overlap is a full point. Aquarium Co-Op: platies can tolerate a very wide range from 6.8 to 8.5. Fishkeeping World: 6.8 to 8.0. aqua-fish: 7 to 8.3. So the two that start below neutral both do so by two tenths, and the row prints 7.0 to 8.0, which every source contains. Like our guppy record, this is a fish our sources keep on the alkaline side of neutral, and it is the reason two pairings in station 09 are cautions rather than clear cells. |
| Hardness | 214 to 321 ppm | Two sources publish general hardness and they overlap from 12 to 18 dGH. aqua-fish gives 12 to 18 dGH and converts it itself to 214.29 to 321.43 ppm. Fishkeeping World is wider at 10 to 28 dGH. Aquarium Co-Op says only that they also enjoy harder water, with no measurement. That floor of 214 ppm is the third highest on this site, behind the nerite snail and oscar records at 215, and it is what makes three of the pairings in station 09 fail: our otocinclus, ember tetra and bristlenose pleco records all top out below it. |
| Adult size | 2 to 2.8 in (5 to 7 cm) | Four sources and they agree closely for once. Wikipedia gives both species a maximum overall length of 7.0 cm, 2.8 in. Aquarium Co-Op: platies grow to around 2 to 3 inches, 5 to 7 cm, and adds that dwarf platies usually stay around 1 inch, 2.5 cm. aqua-fish: 5 to 8 cm, 1.97 to 3.15 inch. Fishkeeping World splits it by sex, which no other source does: male platy fish have an average size of two inches, while female platy fish reach up to three inches in length. The row prints 2 to 2.8 in, the span all four support, and the dwarf figure is a variety rather than a species. |
| Diet | Omnivore, and it grazes algae | All three care sources call it an omnivore and one of them adds the detail the others leave out. Fishkeeping World: they eat algae, plant matter, small crustaceans and insects, they graze on algae within the tank, and they accept flake food and vegetables like spinach, cucumber and lettuce plus frozen and live foods. Aquarium Co-Op: omnivores that will eat virtually anything, including high-quality flakes, pellets, freeze-dried foods and frozen foods, once a day for adults and two to three small meals a day for growing juveniles. aqua-fish: flake or granulated food as the staple with live or frozen daphnia, bloodworms and brine shrimp, fed 1 to 2 times daily in small portions. Only Fishkeeping World says they graze algae, which is the answer to a question our water and health topic will eventually need. |
| Water column | Mid water | No source states a layer in the words our records use. All three care sources describe a mid water community fish, and the tank mate lists they publish are of mid water and bottom fish rather than surface animals. Our guppy record carries the same value for the same reason, and the two records are the only livebearers written here. |
| Lifespan | 1 to 5 years | Three sources and the widest lifespan disagreement on this site. Aquarium Co-Op: healthy platies can live up to 3 to 4 years when kept in optimal environments. Fishkeeping World: 2 to 3 years in captivity. aqua-fish: between 1 and 3 years, although some can live up to 5 years. Three years is the only figure all three ranges contain, and the row prints the whole span because two of the three publish a ceiling the others do not reach. Read it against our guppy record at 2 to 3 years, the other livebearer here: the two fish are sold together and no source gives them the same lifespan. |
| Growth rate | Not recorded yet | No source publishes a growth rate or a size at an age. What two of them publish instead is a feeding schedule for juveniles, two to three small meals a day per Aquarium Co-Op, which is a growth instruction without a growth figure. |
The same nine fields for every animal on this site are in the A to Z index.
Where our sources disagree
Every record here names a disagreement. On this one it is about what is actually in the bag a shop sells.
Wikipedia
Most platies now sold in aquariums are hybrids of both species.
Aquarium Co-Op
The two species most commonly available in fish stores are Xiphophorus maculatus (southern platyfish) and Xiphophorus variatus (variable or variatus platy).
What we record: we print both, and the two are not quite contradicting each other so much as describing the same shelf from opposite ends. One says a buyer chooses between two species; the other says most of what is on the shelf is a cross of them.
Both can be true at once and the consequence is the same either way: every figure on this record was published for a species, and the animal it describes may be a hybrid of two. That matters most on the temperature row, because Aquarium Co-Op separates the two species there, saying variatus platies do not require extra heating when kept at room temperature while giving the group 70 to 82 °F.
A hybrid inherits from both parents and no source we hold publishes a figure for the hybrid. This is the third record on this site whose scientific name row cannot name one animal, after our flowerhorn record, which is a hybrid with no species at all, and our siamese algae eater record, where four sources cannot agree which Crossocheilus is in the tank.
Platy fish lifespan: one year, or five
This is the widest lifespan disagreement on the site and the three figures barely touch.
- Aquarium Co-Op: healthy platies can live up to 3 to 4 years when kept in optimal environments.
- Fishkeeping World: 2 to 3 years in captivity.
- aqua-fish: between 1 and 3 years, although some can live up to 5 years.
Three years is the only figure all three ranges contain. The row prints 1 to 5 years because that is the whole of what our sources publish, and because a reader deciding whether this fish is a two year or a five year commitment deserves to see that our sources cannot tell them.
How long do platy fish live is therefore a question with a one word honest answer: unclear. What every source agrees on is the condition attached, which is water quality and stress rather than anything about the fish.
Against the other livebearer here
Our guppy record carries 2 to 3 years, and it carries something no source on this record offers: a figure that changes with the temperature. Aquarium Co-Op states on that record that 82 °F increases growth and breeding and drops the lifespan to eighteen months, while 72 °F slows development and pushes it past three and a half years.
Nothing our platy sources publish does that, and the two fish are sold from adjacent tanks at the same price to the same beginner. If the guppy mechanism applies to a platy, the ceiling of the range in this record is a cool tank and the floor is a warm one, and that reading is ours rather than any source’s.
It is worth reading beside the temperature row: two of three sources cap this fish at 77 or 78 °F, which is the cool end of what a community tank is usually kept at.
Do platys lay eggs? No, and that is the whole problem
Wikipedia, Aquarium Co-Op, Fishkeeping World and aqua-fish all describe a livebearer, so the answer to the question people type is no: a platy gives birth to free-swimming young rather than laying eggs. aqua-fish uses the term pseudo-livebearers, and no other source we hold qualifies it.
A pregnant platy fish, and the gravid spot
Fishkeeping World gives the two signs a keeper can see: a gravid female is plump and sometimes develops a visible black spot on her body. That spot is what the searches call a gravid spot, and the same source is the only one of ours to name it at all.
On the sexes, three sources describe the same anatomy. Aquarium Co-Op: the male has a skinny, stick-like anal fin called a gonopodium, whereas the female has a fan-shaped anal fin. aqua-fish: males are smaller with a pointed anal fin, females larger with a rounded one. Fishkeeping World: males are smaller and have a gonopodium, and it is the only source to give a size difference by sex, two inches for males against up to three for females.
The gonopodium is the reliable sign and the size is not, because a two inch fish and a three inch fish in the same tank may be a male and a female or a juvenile and an adult.
Gestation, and the figure that is missing
Fishkeeping World: gestation can take between four and six weeks. aqua-fish gives the interval rather than the gestation, saying females can give birth to up to 60 fry every 5 weeks. Wikipedia gives the frequency: as often as once a month. Aquarium Co-Op publishes no gestation at all and gives the monthly output instead.
What no source we hold publishes is when to separate a pregnant female, which is one of the searches this page exists to answer. Station 07 is what our sources say instead.
Platy fry, and how many of them there are
The count, which our sources cannot settle
- Aquarium Co-Op: female platies can give birth to 20 to 50 babies per month.
- Wikipedia: platies can have from 20 to 50 fry at once, as often as once a month.
- aqua-fish: up to 60 fry every 5 weeks.
- Fishkeeping World: female platy fish produce up to 80 fry.
Two sources say 20 to 50 and the other two say up to 60 and up to 80, which is a difference of thirty fish per brood on an animal that broods monthly. Nobody explains the gap.
The arithmetic is the point rather than the exact number. Twenty fry a month from one female, in the ten gallon tank two sources recommend for six adults, is the reason every source on this record publishes a female-heavy ratio and none of them publishes a count of males.
What happens to them
Three sources answer and none of them softens it. Aquarium Co-Op: adults display no parental care toward their young and will happily eat them. Fishkeeping World: platy fish are likely to eat their own fry. Wikipedia: they may also eat their own young.
aqua-fish gives the only instruction anybody offers, and it is a plant rather than a procedure: provide hiding places like java moss or dense plant cover for the fry to hide from adult fish.
So the honest summary of platy breeding is that it needs no help and no permission. Our breeding page holds the records where breeding is difficult; this is the opposite case, and the useful question is not how to breed them but how many of the fry a keeper intends to keep.
Our guppy record carries the same problem from the same shelf, which is worth knowing before buying both.
What do platy fish eat? Nearly anything, and some algae
All three care sources call it an omnivore and the lists are close enough to read as one.
- Aquarium Co-Op: omnivores and will eat virtually anything, including high-quality flakes, pellets, freeze-dried foods and frozen foods. Once a day is fine for adults, whereas two to three small meals a day is preferred for growing juveniles.
- Fishkeeping World: algae, plant matter, small crustaceans and insects, plus flake food and vegetables such as spinach, cucumber and lettuce, with frozen and live foods.
- aqua-fish: flake or granulated food as the staple, supplemented with live or frozen daphnia, bloodworms and brine shrimp, fed 1 to 2 times daily in small portions.
Do platys eat algae?
One source says yes and the others do not raise it. Fishkeeping World: they graze on algae within the tank, and it lists algae first among the wild foods. Aquarium Co-Op’s virtually anything covers it without naming it, and aqua-fish names no vegetable matter beyond flake.
Nothing our sources publish suggests a platy is an algae solution, and this record will not imply otherwise. Our siamese algae eater, otocinclus and bristlenose pleco records are the three written here with algae in the diet row, and two of the three come with a source warning that algae alone will not feed the fish.
The feeding schedules are worth putting side by side, because they are the only place our sources give a frequency: once a day for adults per Aquarium Co-Op, one to two times daily per aqua-fish, and two to three small meals a day for juveniles per Aquarium Co-Op. That last figure is a growth instruction on a record with no growth rate.
Platy tank mates, and the row that refuses three of them
Three sources publish a tank mate list. Put those lists against our own records and one row does most of the work: hardness.
| Named | By | Our record, and what the rows say against 214 to 321 ppm |
|---|---|---|
| Cory catfish | All three | Corydoras, 18 to 268 ppm. Meets from 214 to 268, and the pH from 7.0 to 7.8 |
| Snails | Aquarium Co-Op | Nerite snail, 215 to 322 ppm. The only record here whose hardness matches this one closely |
| Guppies | Fishkeeping World | Guppy, 143 to 536 ppm. Meets from 214 to 321, and both records are livebearers that eat their own fry |
| Bristlenose plecos | Aquarium Co-Op | Bristlenose pleco, 71 to 200 ppm. No shared hardness at all. Marked a caution |
| Small tetras | Aquarium Co-Op and aqua-fish | Ember tetra, 18 to 179 ppm and pH 5.5 to 7.0. No shared hardness and one shared pH point. Marked a caution |
| Rasboras and danios | Aquarium Co-Op, Fishkeeping World, aqua-fish | Chili rasbora, 54 to 179 ppm. The same failure, and no source names the pairing |
| Gouramis | Fishkeeping World | Honey gourami, 71 to 214 ppm. The two meet at a single figure, 214 |
| Shrimp and mollies | Fishkeeping World | Cherry shrimp, 71 to 179 ppm. Mollies are not written here |
Five of the eight named pairings fail or nearly fail on hardness, and not one of the three sources publishing those lists publishes a hardness figure alongside them. Aquarium Co-Op names bristlenose plecos and gives no hardness at all; the two sources that do give hardness are the ones that put this fish in water three of our records cannot live in.
That is the most useful thing on this page and it is nobody’s error. A soft water fish and a hard water fish can share a temperature and a pH and still not share a tank, and hardness is the row most keepers never test. Our water and health page collects the same problem across every record here.
Our tank mates grid marks the bristlenose pleco, ember tetra and otocinclus cells as cautions with the figures printed, and the only refusal on this record is the oscar, whose own record says everything smaller is food.
The varieties, and which of them our sources define
What each source names
Aquarium Co-Op: Mickey Mouse, sunburst, red wag, blue, bumblebee and green lantern platies, plus tuxedo and tricolored.
Fishkeeping World: comet, gold red, hifin, Mickey Mouse, pintail, rainbow, red coral, salt and pepper, and tuxedo.
Wikipedia keeps it to colors rather than trade names: several different color variations have been developed, such as red, yellow, orange, blue, rainbow, which it defines as a combination of colors, and white.
Two names appear on both trade lists, Mickey Mouse and tuxedo, and everything else appears once. A green lantern platy is named by Aquarium Co-Op alone, and no source we hold defines it, prices it, or attaches a care figure to it.
The names our sources do not use
Four trade names in the searches around this fish appear in none of our four sources. A dalmation platy and a red wagtail platy are named by nobody we cite, though Aquarium Co-Op does name a red wag. A white platy fish is a color Wikipedia lists among the variations developed, alongside red, yellow, orange, blue and rainbow, and nothing more is published about it. A wild platy fish is the one with a source behind it: Wikipedia gives the native range as the east coast of Central America and southern Mexico, and says most platies now sold in aquariums are hybrids of both species, which makes a wild-type fish the thing a shop is least likely to have.
What none of them publishes
Not one source gives a care difference between any two varieties, which is the same finding our honey gourami, flowerhorn and ramshorn snail records reached about their own strain names.
Two exceptions are worth naming because they are not colors. A dwarf platy is a size rather than a shade: Aquarium Co-Op says dwarf platies usually stay around 1 inch, 2.5 cm, against 2 to 3 inches for the rest. And the long-finned varieties carry a compatibility note from Fishkeeping World: long-finned platy varieties should not be kept with renowned fin-nippers such as tiger barbs and tetras.
What a reader will not find here is a sailfin platy. No source we hold names one, and the sailfin most shops sell is a molly rather than a platy, which is a claim about our sources rather than about the fish.
What this record will not answer
Which species you bought
Two are sold, one source says most shop fish are hybrids of both, and no source publishes a figure for the hybrid.
How long it lives
One to five years across three sources, with three years the only figure all of them contain.
How many fry to expect
20 to 50 on two sources, up to 60 on a third and up to 80 on a fourth, per brood, monthly.
When to separate a pregnant female
A search this page cannot answer: no source we hold gives a point at which to move her, only cover for the fry once they arrive.
A growth rate
Nobody publishes one. The nearest is a juvenile feeding schedule.
Platy diseases
Not one of our four sources carries a disease section for this fish, so this record carries none either. Our water and health page is where the sourced health material on this site lives.
What a green lantern platy is
Named by one source, defined by none. Same for the rest of the trade names except Mickey Mouse and tuxedo, which two sources at least both list.
Platy questions, answered from the record
What is the right platy temperature?
70 to 77 °F, which every published band contains. Aquarium Co-Op gives the widest range at 70 to 82 and adds that variatus platies do not require extra heating at room temperature. Fishkeeping World gives 70 to 77 and aqua-fish 68 to 78.8, so two of the three sources will not take this fish above 78.
What are the right platy water parameters?
70 to 77 °F, pH 7.0 to 8.0, and 214 to 321 ppm hardness, which is 12 to 18 dGH. The hardness is the row that matters most: it is the third highest floor on this site and it is why three of the tank mates our sources recommend are marked cautions on our own grid.
How long do platy fish live?
Our sources cannot agree. Aquarium Co-Op says up to 3 to 4 years in optimal environments, Fishkeeping World says 2 to 3 years, and aqua-fish says between 1 and 3 with some living up to 5. Three years is the only figure all three ranges contain, so the row prints the whole span, 1 to 5 years, rather than picking one.
What is the platy fish lifespan compared with a guppy?
Our guppy record carries 2 to 3 years and something no platy source publishes: a lifespan that moves with the temperature, eighteen months at 82 °F and over three and a half years at 72, from Aquarium Co-Op. Whether the same mechanism applies to a platy is our question rather than any source’s answer, and it is worth asking because two of three sources cap this fish at 77 or 78 °F.
Do platys lay eggs?
No. All four sources describe a livebearer that gives birth to free-swimming young, and aqua-fish uses the term pseudo-livebearers. A pregnant female is plump and sometimes shows a visible black spot, per Fishkeeping World, which is the gravid spot the searches ask about.
How many fry does a platy have?
Between 20 and 80, depending which source you read. Aquarium Co-Op and Wikipedia both say 20 to 50, monthly. aqua-fish says up to 60 every 5 weeks. Fishkeeping World says up to 80. What all of them agree on is what happens next: adults display no parental care and will happily eat them, per Aquarium Co-Op, so aqua-fish asks for cover such as java moss.
What do platy fry need?
Cover, and that is the only instruction any of our sources gives. aqua-fish asks for hiding places like java moss or dense plant cover for the fry to hide from adult fish, because the adults eat them: Aquarium Co-Op says they display no parental care toward their young and will happily eat them. Nothing our sources publish gives a platy fry a separate food, a tank size, or a point at which to move the mother.
How many platies should be kept together?
Three to six, and every source publishes a ratio rather than a count of males. Aquarium Co-Op: a group of three to six with at least two females for every one male. Fishkeeping World: groups of six, with one male for every three females. aqua-fish: two females per male, to reduce breeding stress. The reason is in the temperament row: males pester females and show aggression to other males during breeding.
How many platies in a 10 gallon tank?
Five or six, per Fishkeeping World, which asks for 10 gallons for a group of five to six and 2 gallons per additional fish. Aquarium Co-Op puts platies in a 10 to 20-gallon aquarium or larger. aqua-fish asks for 16 gallons for the same five or six fish, so the same group is a ten gallon tank in two sources and a sixteen gallon tank in the third.
What do platy fish eat?
Nearly anything. Aquarium Co-Op calls them omnivores that will eat virtually anything, naming flakes, pellets, freeze-dried and frozen foods, once a day for adults and two to three small meals for juveniles. Fishkeeping World adds algae, plant matter, small crustaceans and insects, with spinach, cucumber and lettuce. aqua-fish builds on flake with daphnia, bloodworms and brine shrimp.
Do platys eat algae?
One of our four sources says so. Fishkeeping World: they graze on algae within the tank, and it lists algae first among the wild foods. No other source raises it, and nothing our sources publish makes a platy an algae solution.
What are good platy tank mates?
Our sources name cory catfish, snails, guppies, small tetras, rasboras, danios, gouramis, mollies, shrimp, swordtails, bristlenose plecos and rainbowfish. Against our own records the hardness row cuts that list down: the corydoras, nerite snail and guppy records share water with this one, while the bristlenose pleco, ember tetra and otocinclus records top out below 214 ppm and are marked cautions on our grid.
Are platies fin nippers?
Nothing our sources say describes a platy as a nipper. Fishkeeping World calls the species rarely aggressive and points the warning the other way: long-finned platy varieties should not be kept with renowned fin-nippers such as tiger barbs and tetras. The only aggression it names is between males during breeding.
What is a green lantern platy?
A trade name Aquarium Co-Op lists among the varieties, alongside Mickey Mouse, sunburst, red wag, blue, bumblebee, tuxedo and tricolored. No source we hold defines it or attaches a care figure to it, and not one of our four publishes a care difference between any two varieties.
What is the difference between a platy and a swordtail?
The sword, and that is Wikipedia’s definition rather than our reading: platy is a common name of freshwater fish in the genus Xiphophorus that lack a sword at the bottom of their tails. Both are in the same genus. No swordtail record is written here yet, so this record will not go further than the name.
What a platy needs that a guppy does not
Three things our sources ask for, and the first is about arithmetic.
- Two or three females per maleevery source publishes a ratio, not a count
- Hard water, 12 to 18 dGH214 to 321 ppm, which three of our records cannot share
- Cover for the fry, or a plan for themadults display no parental care and will happily eat them
Every item our records ask for is gathered on the tank setup topic.
Nothing here is a paid link. It is the shortfall between what this record asks for and what a boxed kit contains.
How this record was compiled
- By
- Verified
- Sources
Wikipedia, Platy (fish), Aquarium Co-Op, platy care guide, Fishkeeping World and aqua-fish
- Conflicts
Printed above: one source says most platies sold are hybrids of two species while the others publish figures for one. Our sources also disagree about the lifespan by four years and about the number of fry by thirty
- Blanks
Growth rate stay empty until a source we trust states them
- Not recorded
A growth rate, because nobody publishes one; and a figure of any kind for the hybrid our sources say most shop platies are