Coldwater Platy Advice Please

[FishLover4+1]

Hi everyone one of my coldwater platys (is there such thing as tropical platys?) is growing really fat, and i noticed today that his / her fins arent spreading as much as they normally do. he / she is quite young (only had him / her since december) does anyone have any advice? thanks

 

[snazy]

Is there such a thing as coldwater platies?
What's the temperature in your tank?

 

[Fishy friend2]

I believe we are talking about Xiphophorus variatus, right? If so then it might be getting preganant. And is close to giving birth, but it could easily be some thing else like, overfeeding, swim bladder disease, and internal parasite. Etc. so if you could fill out the form per topic then that would be great!








Tank size:
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ammonia:
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kH:
gH:
tank temp:

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Volume and Frequency of water changes:

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:

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Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

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Digital photo (include if possible):

 

[-FighterFishh]

They'll probably benefit from a heater, I'm pretty sure all platies are tropical. Try that and see if they improve. Also, can you tell us your water parameters and if your filter is cycled?

 

[Fishy friend2]

actually the variatus types do much much better in cooler temps than the average tropical tank

 

[-FighterFishh]

After a quick google, the consensus seems to be they do well in tropical temps. Might just be worth getting a heater and seeing if that perks them up anyway.

 

[Fishy friend2]

did you research the right fish? Xiphophorus variatus. these fish actually do better in subtropical temperatures mate. and a heater is not of any use to keep them as long as you can keep the tank at around 73

 

[-FighterFishh]

did you research the right fish? Xiphophorus variatus. these fish actually do better in subtropical temperatures mate. and a heater is not of any use to keep them as long as you can keep the tank at around 73

Yes, I did, I also used to keep platies.
I said they may benefit from the heater, so adding one could help. We also don't know where the OP lives, so it may be hard to keep the tank at a stable temperature depending on where they're located.

 

[snazy]

did you research the right fish? Xiphophorus variatus. these fish actually do better in subtropical temperatures mate. and a heater is not of any use to keep them as long as you can keep the tank at around 73

The OP hasn't answered what type of platies he has. It's a wild guess at the moment. Also, it's nearly impossible to get a pure breed Xiphophorus variatus(even the name explains why)
His/hers are more likely mixed types as most platies/swordtails in the shops are so it's hard to say whether they got the genes to survive colder water. Generally platies will survive for a short period of time colder temperatues but not a lifetime.
The safe side is tropical temperature over 20 degrees as all types will tolerate that.