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How to look after
Xiphophorus maculatus
Platy
(Guenther, 1866)

This orange platy is one of many colour forms, that are much brighter than the wild fish
more images here

(Other members of the genus Xiphophorus)

ADULT SIZE: 6 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Moderately hard and alkaline

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 21-25 C

FOOD: Feed Xiphophorus maculatus small live-foods and fine grade dried foods. Some vegetable component to the diet is welcomed.

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico

AQUARIUM CARE: The platy is an all-time aquarium favourite, with very many varieties and colour forms. It is very easy to keep and breed in slightly harder water. Males can be a little aggressive towards females, and in order to avoid over-stressing them it is a good idea to have 2-3 females for each male, and/or ample hiding places to allow the females some respite from the male's attentions. If fry are to be raised this cover can also improve survival chances, giving them somewhere to escape predation from their parents and other fish.

Fry are produced every three weeks or so, and the females can actually store sperm to fertilize eggs even with no male present.

The Platy is an ideal community species; peaceful, hardy and easy to keep and breed. Platies will interbreed readily with swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri) but generally not other livebearers.

BREEDING: No special treatment is required to breed the platy, and they will give birth to offspring about every three weeks. They are livebearing fish (they give birth to fish, rather than lay eggs), and the fry are big enough to eat powdered flake food. They prefer, and grow more quickly on, newly hatched artemia nauplii. Heavily pregnant females can be placed in a breeding trap, or another small tank, and removed once she has given birth - other fish will eat young livebearer fry.

Have you bred Xiphophorus maculatus? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Xiphophorus maculatus breeding reports

Xiphophorus maculatus
Platy

This orange platy is one of many colour forms, that are much brighter than the wild fish

A terrific black platy

Xiphophorus maculatus
Platy
breeding notes

BREEDING: No special treatment is required to breed the platy, and they will give birth to offspring about every three weeks. They are livebearing fish (they give birth to fish, rather than lay eggs), and the fry are big enough to eat powdered flake food. They prefer, and grow more quickly on, newly hatched artemia nauplii. Heavily pregnant females can be placed in a breeding trap, or another small tank, and removed once she has given birth - other fish will eat young livebearer fry.

Have you bred Xiphophorus maculatus? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

This page summarises breeding reports provided by visitors to this site, along with some statistical analysis. Please feel free to contribute - whatever your experience! 6 breeders have filled in breeding reports, a summary of the results are shown in the graphs below. You can read the full reports here. To add details of your experiences of Xiphophorus maculatus, why not fill in a Breeding and maintenance Report.
Would Xiphophorus maculatus be a good addition to a community tank? Never Doubtful, only with VERY calm fish Only with species of similar size Yes, a good community fish	How would you describe the disposition of Xiphophorus maculatus? Very timid Slightly timid Neutral Somewhat aggresive on occasions Very aggressive
In which water conditions do you keep these fish? Very soft and acidic Moderately soft and acidic Neutral Moderately hard and alkaline Very hard and alkaline	At what average temperature? 10-15°C 16-19°C 20-23°C 24-27°C 28°C+
What, if any is the biggest difficulty encountered when breeding these fish? Poor egg production Poor egg survival Poor fry survival rate Deformities Skewed sex ratio	How would you describe sex ratios when breeding Xiphophorus maculatus? If you are unsure please leave this question unanswered. Almost all males Somewhat male heavy Roughly equal Somewhat female heavy Almost all females
In general, how difficult is Xiphophorus maculatus to keep and breed? Very easy Easy Average Difficult Very difficult	How sucessful have you been at breeding Xiphophorus maculatus? Very unsucessful Fairly unsucessful Average Fairly sucessful Very sucessful

Remember, each record represents only one persons experience; if you had different results, or used different methods, please share your experiences