BACK TO FISH
Platies are small livebearing fish that
are immensely popular as aquarium fish - they are colourful,
peaceful, breed readily and are very easy to look after.
Native to Mexico and neighbouring Belize, wild Platies are
rather plain in colour, usually olive with some blue or green
iridescence, sometimes with red or dark markings.
When they were first kept as aquarium fish
it was soon noticed that the progeny of these fish also varied
considerably and breeders soon started trying to improve
on various colour traits. Since very early in the twentieth
century Platies have been selectively bred, resulting in
a myriad of colour combinations, plus several fin shapes. The
development of new strains continues to this day.
A second species called the Variatus Platy
is also native to Mexico. This species is
even more variable in the wild, the brighter coloured males
often have a red tail and a yellow or blue body, with many
subtle variations. The Variatus Platy has also been
developed into many colour forms, and has also been hybridized
with the Platy and Swordtail in the quest for exciting new
varieties.
Males of both Platy types grow to about 4.5-5cm,
females grow slightly larger to 5-6cm. They eat most
standard fish foods and are not particularly fussy about
water conditions, however they do prefer neutral or alkaline
water of moderate hardness rather than soft acidic water. Very
peaceful, these fish are ideal for community aquaria. They
also can be kept in unheated aquaria in warmer regions of
Australia; they comfortably tolerate temperatures around
18 C, but prefer temperatures in the 20's.
A livebearer, mature females regularly give
birth to fully developed young. These can be easily
raised on commercial fish foods, starting with fry foods
such as Super Baby Min and Fry Bites. The fry need
to be isolated in a small aquarium or in a breeding trap,
otherwise most will be eaten by any other fish present.
(Platies were once classified as belonging
to the genus Platypoecilus, the common name Platy
is a shortening of the old generic name.)
Here at Pet City Joondalup we stock
a large range of tropical fish and can take customer orders
for any of the platies listed on this page. Please phone your
order through after reading how to make a customer
order
| ASSORTED CALICO PLATY 4CM |
|
This is a nice assortment of the popular
Calico strain, Platies with prominent dark spotting on
various background colours such as red or blue. |
| ASSORTED MICKEY MOUSE PLATY 4CM |
 |
With a distinctive "Mickey Mouse" pattern
at the base of the tail, this variety has been bred in
many colours and is one of the more popular varieties. |
| ASSORTED SPEARTAIL PLATY 4CM |
 |
One of several varieties with specialized
fin development, the middle rays of the tail are
elongated. Also sometimes called Plumetail Platy. |
| ASSORTED TUXEDO PLATY 4CM |
|
With a mostly black body contrasted by colours
such as red, blue or gold, Assorted Tuxedo Platies make
a very nice display. |
| ASSORTED VARIATUS PLATY 4CM |
 |
The Hawaiian variatus platy is a tuxedo
green variatus platy and is quite striking with black
markings on the top of a green body and a red or yellow
tail. As with many variatus platys, the colour
is quite variable. |
| ASSORTED WAGTAIL PLATY 4CM |
 |
Wagtail Platies have long been a popular
strain, with their black fins nicely contrasting with
their coloured bodies. |
| RED PLATY 4CM |
 |
One of the earliest colour strains developed,
the Red platy is still a very popular fish with its vibrant
red colour. |
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