Platy or swordtail?

[CassCats]

Interesting boy here, still young as hes smaller than my 10 month old platy boys he is housed with. He was bought from a store that had their platies and swordtails housed together.

He has some swordtail traits, such as narrow body shape and pointed face compared to the stockier platies, but also has horizontal stripes (you can see them bleeding out from the red by his tail). He was fairly unique so thats why i picked him out, but not 100% sure hes all platy. He was priced as a platy though.

The other fish in the photo is my 10 month old boy platy born in my tanks.

 

[Crispii]

It's most likely have been a result of hybridization with a platy and a swordtail.

 

[JuiceBox52]

It's either a hybrid or a platy

 

[emeraldking]

He´s a fancy variety of the Xiphophorus variatus. Which means that he´s a platy. Most of you will know the species by the name of "variatus platy". And this fancy strain is known as rainbow variatus platy or neon rainbow variatus platy in the commercial trade. At least, overhere in western-europe. And it's of course, a wagtail (because of the black fins).

So, it's not a cross between a swordtail and a platy. It's a genuine platy.
Most fancy platies you'll find at an average lfs are derived from the Xiphophorus maculatus. The xiphophorus variatus is a different platy.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

He looks like a platy to me. The red is probably due to a hybridization.

Good find though.

 

[kribensis12]

Definitely a platy. I find most of the fancy varieties to not be particularly pretty, but he is gorgeous! Great find!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Definitely a platy. I find most of the fancy varieties to not be particularly pretty, but he is gorgeous! Great find!

I agree. I was looking at Platys a couple of days ago at my LFS. They where under the title, “Fancy Platys”, but none of them really looked fancy. I actually prefer the regular ones, lol.

 

[kribensis12]

I agree. I was looking at Platys a couple of days ago at my LFS. They where under the title, “Fancy Platys”, but none of them really looked fancy. I actually prefer the regular ones, lol.

Red wag has always been my favorite. Also in swordtails too. They're not trying to be gorgeous, they just are.

 

[CassCats]

Definitely a platy. I find most of the fancy varieties to not be particularly pretty, but he is gorgeous! Great find!

Man, if my stores sold wild variety platies, id be all over them. I started with my blue mickey mouse platies. I like them. But aside from those ive only added 2 that i liked... this guy and a bumblee girl who only has one eye but shes sooooo cute with this innocent little face.

But mannnn id love wild ones. Im uber jealous of the person who caught the wild sailfin mollies. Theyre just so beautiful plain as they are.

 

[kribensis12]

For sure! That platy is also beautiful!

In another life (as in, 10 years ago) I picked up some green swordtails which are about as close to wild caught as you can find (strain wise) and there were GORGEOUS. They have "peacock eyes" all over their body and were MASSIVE (Seriously, females were 3 inches long!).

They were not terribly hardy - then again, I was 16 years old and did not own a test kit at the time so it may have been my doing.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I really like Platys that are mutts. No one really likes them, but I do. I would get some for my 29g, but I don’t know the requirements.

What are the basic requirements for Platys?

 

[kribensis12]

@PheonixKingZ water and food. Jokingly, they'll live in almost any environment. I've never met an Aquarist who can't keep platy's. They prefer slightly hard to moderately hard water and will take a pH anywhere between 7-8 (or more).

I kept them for years a kid in a pH of 8.6 with some of the hardest water I've ever seen. They did really well - but obviously would fare much better in their natural conditions.

** edited to correct hardness requirements.

 

[JuiceBox52]

@PheonixKingZ water and food. Jokingly, they'll live in almost any environment. I've never met an Aquarist who can't keep platy's. They prefer soft water and will take a pH anywhere between 7-8 (or more).

I kept them for years a kid in a pH of 8.6 with some of the hardest water I've ever seen. They did really well - but obviously would fare much better in their natural conditions.

I was always told that they need harder water? @Byron can you please clarify?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Could I keep them with neons tetras in my 29g?

 

[emeraldking]

Man, if my stores sold wild variety platies, id be all over them. I started with my blue mickey mouse platies. I like them. But aside from those ive only added 2 that i liked... this guy and a bumblee girl who only has one eye but shes sooooo cute with this innocent little face.

But mannnn id love wild ones. Im uber jealous of the person who caught the wild sailfin mollies. Theyre just so beautiful plain as they are.

I'm keeping some wild platies as well...

A wild Xiphophorus maculatus (wildcaught 2019)


Xiphophorus evelynae (Pueblo platy / Puebla platy)


Xiphophorus variatus La laguna


Xiphophorus xiphidium crescent


Xiphophorus milleri (Catemaco platy)