Expanded Fish Care

Platy Fish-Southern Platy Fish 

Kingdom:  Animalia

Phylum:  Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order:  Cyprinodontiformes

Family:  Poeciliidae

Genus: Xiphophorus

Species: Xiphophorus maculatus

Care level- Easy to Expert

Temperament and Behavior- Platy Fish are peaceful, active swimmers. Found in all aquarium levels, waiting at the top for food, males chasing females around the mid-levels, and found nipping along the substrate for food or algae. 

Platies available in the hobby come in an array of beautiful, stunning colors and are a perfect addition to the aquarium. From the start, Platy fish explore and interact with their environment. One perk is that you do not have to worry about them acting aggressively with other Platy fish or nipping others. They add vibrant color combinations, either in an aquarium of their own or adding color to a community tank. 

Lifespan- Up to 5 years  

Size- 2.5-3 inches

Diet - Omnivores

Feed high-quality foods that are rich in proteins. I feed a mix of flakes, for example, Krill Flakes, or granules like Fluval’s Bug Bites. Platy fish also enjoy frozen and live foods like blood worms or baby brine shrimp, and I do provide smaller amounts more often. Platies are continuously grazing and picking on the algae in the aquarium. 

Minimum Tank Size- 10 gallons

pH 7.0-8.2

Water Hardness- Harder water recommended 

Temperature-70-82 degrees Fahrenheit 

Tank-mates- Platies are a peaceful fish species, and they will get along best with other fish that are not aggressive or have the possibility of nipping fins. Make sure your Platy fish does not fit in fellow tank-mates mouths. Possible tanks-mates to try Kerri Tetra, Long-finned Danio, Corydoras (Cory Catfish), or Harlequin Rasbora. 

Recommended Group Size- 3:1 male to female ratio. Platies, I believe, from my experience, do better if kept in a group. 

Male v. Females- Male and female Platy fish look reasonably similar compared to other livebearers. However, they are sexually dimorphic, meaning there are physical characteristics that you can see. Male Platy fish have a gonopodium, the tell-tale stick-like anal fin, and the females have a triangular anal fin and a gravid spot. Both male and female Platy fish are stunningly beautiful, no matter the variety, and females are generally slightly larger than their male counterparts. 

Platy fish and Swordtails are a part of the Xephophorus genus, and they can breed and produce viable offspring.

Fry-Like other Livebearers, female Platy fish drop a brood of fry ranging from only a few to other times, having a possibility of hundred+ at one time. With the capability to drop fry every 30 days. From my experience, females in my care produce offspring prolifically when breeding outdoors. 

If you choose to keep both males and females together, there isn't a wrong way and many different forms of raising the fry. I keep my Platy fish in a heavily planted, 20Long aquarium. I mix males and females, allowing the females to drop directly into the same aquarium, choosing not to remove the mom or the fry. You can choose to use a breeder box if you wish. I recommend using a breeder box to allow the mom a day or two to rest in the breeder box before reintroducing it to males again. Also, only keep the young in the breeder box for a few weeks. These breeder boxes will get dirty quickly from all the fry, have a plan where you wish to grow them out. 

Female Platy fish are ovoviviparous, meaning the fry will hatch inside the female, giving birth to live fry. Being ovoviviparous also allows the females to hold sperm. Meaning she can fertilize eggs inside her when a male is not present. Usually, the brood sizes are smaller when developed this way. Females do have the ability to absorb young when she is under stress. 

Tank Setup- I keep a mix of two High Fin Platy's, two Micky Mouse Platy's, and two Neon Wagtail Platy Fish together in a planted 20Long aquarium. With a mixture of creek gravel, pool sand, and CaribSea Super Naturals Aquarium Sand. This Platy aquarium does have a Tetra 50-watt heater and a Tetra Whisper Filter. With the Tetra filter, I do not use carbon filter inserts. Instead, I fill the filter with aquarium bio-media in a small aquarium bag. This aquarium bag does rest on top of a piece of Fluval aquarium sponge for added beneficial filtration.