mollies or platies

[Kittycat]

Hi, I'd just like to ask for some advice. Presently I have guppies. I'm thinking of getting a larger tank, so now I'm considering putting other kinds of fish. I'd rather stick with livebearers since that's what I'm familiar with and they seem to get along with guppies.

Can someone give me any idea on the pros and cons of keeping mollies vs. platies? I find swordtails very attractive, but I don't think I'll keep those as they grow rather big, and my tank will still have limited space (I'd also like to keep some free for whatever fry I may end up with). Do mollies and platies have the same lifespan? Do they breed similarly, or is there one easier or more difficult to breed? How long does it take for them to grow into young adulthood (or at least develop their gonopodiums)? Is the fry of one or the other harder to take care of or feed?

Which specie is hardier? Are they more or less the same in size as full adults?

 

[wer34]

Well i have experience with both, although i have had better luck with my mollies with my last batch of fry being 30+ and i have only had 2 batches of fry from my platy (1st bach 3 fry, 2nd batch 4 fry) so if that helps your decision ne then thats good. But for you question about them being similar to breed yes they are, they both give fry about every 23 to 30 days. i hope this helps your decision.

Nick

 

[littleme1969]

I like platies as there is such a wide variety of colour combinations
I have had i batch of 15 and 1 batch of 12 fry from my platies in the space of a month, so I guess fry batch is very varied. They are very friendly fish and a pleasure to look at while in the aquarium. I would say the platy is smaller on average than the molly, so if its space you want then go for the platy. But Mollies have lots of pros too. I like them both but I'm more of a platy person. Its really upto your personal preferance. The mollies do tend to have bigger batches of fry though.

 

[wrs]

mollies get very big, platties usually stay the size that you get them at the store, so id say go with them. And platties are alot nicer.

if you do go with mollies, only get like 3 if your tank is still small. Watch them though, some mollies are as peaceful as a cory cat fish, but others can be as agressive as an African cichlid, or with my experiance with some, alot more agressive.

 

[Kittycat]

Thanks, I think I'll go with platies, as I am beginning to enjoy the varieties just like with guppies. Will they be fine in bare tanks? The only plant I have is some java moss I'm still trying to attach to volcanic rocks.

Also, I'm thinking of putting up a community tank. Does anyone know anything about bumble bee fishes? I just saw them in the store, they were cute but couldn't find info about them (god knows we can't get any reliable info from stores that are just trying to make a sale). Will glass fishes get along with livebearers?

Just exploring my options...