I see most “wags” are bicolored, is that the only difference???
What is the difference between a “regular” platy, and. “Wag” platy
- Thread starter Magnum Man
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Yes , Wag Platy’s are happier than regular ones . That’s why they wag their tails .
The original platy linebred was orange. Then black tailed ones were developed, and were all the rage in the 1960s. There all kinds of platys back then, with different markings than now. In the 70s, I liked the then less popular salt and peppers. Now, Mickey Mouses and all kinds of variants have been developed.
They are like any fancy bred fish - the names are fluid in the trade. I imagine there are breed standards for shows and such. They can all interbreed, though many are crosses with X variatus or with swordtails, done to make them larger. My last batch of fancy platys had very swordtailed babies in the mix.
They are like any fancy bred fish - the names are fluid in the trade. I imagine there are breed standards for shows and such. They can all interbreed, though many are crosses with X variatus or with swordtails, done to make them larger. My last batch of fancy platys had very swordtailed babies in the mix.
Hello. The difference has something to do with the shape of the tail on this variety. Don't know much more than this. I have a lot of these fish. I love the different colors. The Mickey Mouse variety is especially interesting. These are extremely hardy fish and are my personal favorites.
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Wagtail platies differ from other platies by their black fins. Nothing more. Wags don't have to be bicolored but the first wagtails were bicolor.
Well, the Mickey Mouse platy itself isn't a breeding form. What we call the "Mickey Mouse trait or mark" is given by the commercial trade but is actually a wild trait and is called "moon". This trait and other marks in the caudal penducle are wild traits. They can occur in wild platy species such as Xiphophorus maculatus, Xiphophorus variatus, Xiphophorus xiphidium, etc...
On my own website, I'm referring to these marks.
But yes, a lot of variaties with these marks have been created for the commercial trade.
Another example is the socalled twin bar platy strains. The twin bar mark is also a wild trait.
When we consider only maculatus and variatus platies, in the wild they have multiple color varieties depending on the location (bodyshape and fin shape may differ per location). And within a population in the wild more phenotypes occur (besides color also pattern).
I still love those. I even have a wild X.maculatus strain overhere that is salt and pepper.
There absolutely are standards for shows (I've judged livebearers at international shows in Holland and Germany).
Wagtail platies have got nothing to do with the shape of the tail.
Hello. I disagree with the tail having nothing to do with the "Wagtail" name. Their name absolutely comes from their distinctive wagging tail fin.
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Maybe there's an optical illusion with them wagging, caused by the solid black tail, but I've never seen any wagging motion. I've seen them shimmy, but that's a different sad story.
One of these days I'm going to get to the Netherlands to a fish gathering and see some of these wild livebearers they breed. One of my holy grails is a wild form maculatus platy.
One of these days I'm going to get to the Netherlands to a fish gathering and see some of these wild livebearers they breed. One of my holy grails is a wild form maculatus platy.
Well, we do disagree on this. You see a black fin move better in water than a translucent one. Just an optical illusion. But it's got nothing to do with a wagging tail.
Well, you don't even have to travel that far if you want to see wild livebearer species. Even wild maculatus platies. Try the ALA (American Livebearer Association). But when you're here, I'll gladly show you around. I do have some wild maculatus platy species overhere.
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