Platy/swordtail Temperature Question

[swordtail_king83]

just asking a general question on your experiences with swordtails and platies (maculatus), what temperature should they be kept at? i am puzzled. i read on every website, saying swordtails need 70-79f, some say 68-82f some say 71-78f. and with platies they say 64-77, 72-80f, even a book says "they become increasingly unhappy once the temperature goes much below 78f". so who do you believe LOL. since reading what every website says, i have been constantly adjusting my temperature seeing what they like. since ive been doing this my fish rnt the same, theyre more dopier, there barely courting the females. eat a lil bit then either hide or just do their own thing like loners lol. b4 i messed around with the temp they were great fish! and i forget what the temp was when they were normal fish-swimming happily, mating 24-7, eating like sharks lol. so i need to know personal experiences from you all, if you have amaing luck in keeping them and getting them to show their natural behaviours and them mating 24-7 like they should, to find out what temperature in farenheight i shud put all of my swordtail and platy (maculatus) tanks too. thanks for your information everyone!!

 

[snazy]

It probably depends a lot on the type of platies too. Some of them from what I can remember are even nearly cold water, below 24 degrees and I've read too they should be fine in such low temperatures. Personally, I've kept mine at 25-26 degrees generally because the tank they were in couldn't go lower than that and my other tanks are in the range 25-26 because of the other fish, and they are doing perfect in that temperature. They've grown huge and are healthy, breeding like crazy so it seems that at least they don't mind it. That's about 77-79 in Farenheit I think.

 

[swordtail_king83]

thanks!