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Platies are small livebearing fish that are immensely popular as aquarium fish - they are colourful, peaceful, breed readily and are very easy to look after. Native to Mexico and neighbouring Belize, wild Platies are rather plain in colour, usually olive with some blue or green iridescence, sometimes with red or dark markings.
When they were first kept as aquarium fish it was soon noticed that the progeny of these fish also varied considerably and breeders soon started trying to improve on various colour traits. Since very early in the twentieth century Platies have been selectively bred, resulting in a myriad of colour combinations, plus several fin shapes. The development of new strains continues to this day.
A second species called the Variatus Platy is also native to Mexico. This species is even more variable in the wild, the brighter coloured males often have a red tail and a yellow or blue body, with many subtle variations. The Variatus Platy has also been developed into many colour forms, and has also been hybridized with the Platy and Swordtail in the quest for exciting new varieties.
Males of both Platy types grow to about 4.5-5cm, females grow slightly larger to 5-6cm. They eat most standard fish foods and are not particularly fussy about water conditions, however they do prefer neutral or alkaline water of moderate hardness rather than soft acidic water. Very peaceful, these fish are ideal for community aquaria. They also can be kept in unheated aquaria in warmer regions of Australia; they comfortably tolerate temperatures around 18 C, but prefer temperatures in the 20's.
A livebearer, mature females regularly give birth to fully developed young. These can be easily raised on commercial fish foods, starting with fry foods such as Super Baby Min and Fry Bites. The fry need to be isolated in a small aquarium or in a breeding trap, otherwise most will be eaten by any other fish present.
(Platies were once classified as belonging to the genus Platypoecilus, the common name Platy is a shortening of the old generic name.)
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