Platy /
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Platy /
Platies
Xiphophorus
maculatus
Max.
size:
5cm / 2 inches
pH
range: 7–
8
dH
range:
10-25
Temperature
range:
18 – 26C / 65– 78
Care
Easy to Moderate
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Common
names are numerous
depending on the colour
range and include Mickey
Mouse, Red Tuxedo,
Southern Platy, Red
Wagtail Platy and many
others
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Southern Platy Photo by
Wikipedia
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The Platy is a live bearer,
which means that unlike most other fish their
young are born swimming rather than released as
eggs.
Consequently Platy breed
very successfully and can cause problems for
you as either your tank becomes overstocked or
you need to find a new home for your extra
fish.
They are extremely hardy
and easy to care for and make excellent fish
for beginners. I personally think that no
tank is complete without a live bearer whether
it be the Platy or other varieties such as
Guppies.
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The Platy
originates from Central America and come in a huge variety of
colours such as the salt and pepper platy, the sunset platy,
the red wag tail and the tuxedo platy as well as a variety
called the Mickey Mouse. They are very active fish and will
swim in all regions of the tank from the bottom to the
top.
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The male Platy is usually
smaller than the females measuring up to one
and half inches as opposed to the female which
can measure up to two and a half
inches.
It is important to either
stick to just females if you don’t want to
breed them or make sure that there is a ration
of two females to every male if you are
intending to breed them. Otherwise the males
will chase the females relentlessly and can
even chase them to death.
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Sunset Platy
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They will be happy on a diet of
nothing but flake food but thrive is this is supplemented with
live or frozen food.
This will avoid your Platies turning dull due to a lack of
nutrients. If they do
breed you should ideally separate the young from the adults as
they will become dish of the day for any adult fish in the
aquarium. They
enjoy a well planted tank with open spaces and fit easily into
a community tank having reasonably docile
personalities.
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