Platy

The platy is a common livebearer with many color varieties, such as red, yellow, blue, "sunset" and the black-tailed "wag". Its body is short and deep and its fins are short, which makes it less delicate than the guppy. Its ability to tolerate water close to room temperature is another advantage.

In the wild it lives in warm, planted, slow-flowing streams, ditches and marshes in Central America. The water is moderately hard to hard and slightly alkaline.

• Volume: 50 liters for a small group, 80 liters for a more comfortable, larger group.
• Water: 22–25°C, pH 7–8, moderately hard to hard water. Tap water is suitable in most regions.
• Plants: dense plants provide both hiding places for fry and grazing surfaces.

Omnivorous. Flakes or micro granules, spirulina food, blanched vegetables and brine shrimp or daphnia a few times a week. It also likes to graze algae.

The most peaceful of the livebearers. Although males chase females, they are not as persistent as molly or swordtail males. Still, 2 females per male is recommended.

Good companions: guppies, mollies, swordtails, corydoras, zebra danios, otocinclus, shrimp.

Avoid: large and aggressive cichlids, sensitive species that need soft, acidic water.

The platy is the most docile of the livebearers, but at least 2 females per male is still recommended. 2 males and 4 females in 60 liters is a comfortable start.

Different platy colors live together in the same group without problems. Platies and swordtails kept in the same aquarium can hybridize; those who want to preserve a color line keep the species separate. Being a livebearer, the population grows quickly; regularly rehoming fry or a calm companion species that thins out the fry keeps the colony in balance.

Gestation lasts about 4 weeks, and the female gives birth to 20–80 fry. Platies and swordtails hybridize easily; many "platy" color varieties are the product of this hybridization. Adults eat the fry, but in a densely planted aquarium some always survive.

Generally hardy. Tail rot and white spot can appear in poor water, and columnaris in soft water. Females that constantly give birth become exhausted; limiting the number of males gives the females a break.

The males' anal fin has been modified into a thin, rod-shaped gonopodium. Females are larger, with a rounded belly and a fan-shaped anal fin.