Platy - Assorted

Platy - Assorted

Xiphiphorus Maculatus

Another very widespread Aquarium fish, bearing much of the same hardiness and easy-to-breed nature as other Aquarium-kept Livebearers, whilst also available in many different colour, body, and fin variants, much like other livebearers.

Locale: Occurs naturally through much of Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua and Guatemala, however can be found as an invasive species all over the globe - occurs in a wide variety of ecosystems, but seems to thrive best in algae and vegetation rich environments with middling flow.

Fun fact: Platies, much like Guppies, Swordtails and Mollies, are a species of livebearer, meaning they do not reproduce through the means of eggs, but that they reproduce via giving birth to live young - this couples with their hardiness is what makes them so easy to breed.

Care:

Care difficulty - Beginner, hardy alkaline water fish.

Temperament - Peaceful, best kept in all-male tanks if no breeding is wanted, if breeding is welcomed, best to keep 2-3 times as many females as males, so that the females are not overwhelmed and overbred by males.

Adult size - 4-5cm for Males / 6-7cm for Females

Diet - Omnivorous; will eat both ends of the spectrum, from filament algae to small invertebrates and microcrustaceans, so in the Aquaria it is best to feed a staple diet of smaller pellets or flakes, and can have frozen or even live food dietary supplements, such as live or frozen brine shrimp, live black worms, frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis with spirulina, these should only be fed once or twice per fortnight.

Habitat - In the aquaria Platies are very unfussy fish when it comes to environment, as they occur in almost every imaginable environment in the wild.

Optimal Water Parameters:

Temperature: 23-27°c

pH: 7.4-7.8

GH: 10-15

KH: 7-9

Fish size, sex, exact colour and patterning may vary from photo.