Pet Talk - Platies - Moonfish


Animal-World Information about: Platies - Moonfish

   The Platy is considered the color king of the live-bearer fishes! It is one of the best beginner fish and is excellent for community aquariums!
Latest Comments
Maeve - 2012-05-17
I have recently bought a platy and it was rather fat when I got it but I didn't think much of it. Now it's really, REEAALLY fat. Is she pregnant or have I been over feeding her? I give the fish in my tank 1 small pinch of food a day.

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  • Jeremy Roche - 2012-05-17
    You should be able to see the fry inside. Will be a large black mass inside.
  • Maeve - 2012-05-20
    No, it's just quite pale around her belly. But she is so fat she HAS to be pregnant. She is very shy and hides most of the time. Is that a sign of pregnancy?
  • Maeve - 2012-05-21
    She has a gravid spot so she must be pregnant! It is very dark now!
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allie - 2008-05-01
I must be doing something wrong here. I bought a little red, male platy and just recently a female who is about two and a half times his size. I can't get them to breed at all.

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  • nm123 - 2011-11-16
    Thats because you have to have (2 females) for every (1 male).
  • Anonymous - 2012-03-03
    They probably aren't fully grown yet give it some time.
  • Jeremy Roche - 2012-03-04
    It will happen if water conditions are right and other fish aren't causing them to be nervous. I would add another male and 3 or 4 more females if your tank has room. Better chance of breeding if their are multiple females for a mature male.
  • Maeve - 2012-05-17
    Try getting more fish, generaly you need at least 2 or 3 females or 1 male.
  • Maeve - 2012-05-17
    I mean 2 or 3 females for 1 male soz
  • Jeremy Roche - 2012-05-17
    It's not instant. I would add another 2 or 3 females. Make sure water conditions are right and soon you will have fry every where.
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Maeve - 2012-05-17
I only have one platy but I think it is pregnant. Maybe it mated in the pet shop??? It definitly has got fatter! But not much,only a bit. Is it pregnant at all?

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Anonymous - 2012-01-02
HELP for my beloved platy, please!
I have a female red wag platy that has been 'treading water' at the top of the tank for some time now (over the course of 1 day). Normally an active fish, and the worst part is, my male platy literally is showing sadness and is trying to get her to see him, but she's not moving. It's such a sad sight :( no signs of ich, nothing unusual that I've noticed. Doesn't look like she's birthing at all.
My tank (20g):
1 female red wag platy
1 male sunset platy
2 male lyretail mollies
1 male dalmatian molly
1 blue mystery snail
4 platy fry (in maturation tank)
Planted, temp 77 degrees F, good and stable conditions, water changes (1/3) weekly, filter changes every 1-2 weeks.
I truly appreciate any help or advice for my platy. Thank you.

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  • Anonymous - 2012-03-03
    Buy another female platy.
  • Clarice Brough - 2012-03-04
    It's hard to say what's going on, especially because you aren't seeing any signs of ich or other illnesses. You could try putting her in her own tank with good water conditions, and keep an eye on her. There's could be things going on that you can't see too. It doesn't sound like a swim bladder problem, but once in awhile one can have kidney problems which can make them not swim, but nothing can be done for that really. Also, Platies only have a lifespan of about 2 - 3 years, so it may just be old age or she may just not be a healthy fish.
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Anonymous - 2012-03-03
My platy has white scales on top near its eyes. It is about 1/2 inch long and a few centimeters wide. I dont know if she cut herself or if she's just sick. Please help

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  • Jeremy Roche - 2012-03-04
    Hard to real answer without more or a picture. Sometimes if Amonia levels are spiking fish will itch themselves and leave almost a white scab. Eyes clouding at all? Only in that one spot?
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lizz - 2012-01-09
I have blue moons that just had babies. Shes had about 23 so far. I think I moved her out of the breeding box to soon and she may still have more in her... shes still got the black stop not interested in food and not very active. so questions 1) how do I know when she is done giving birth 2) the fry are in a net breeding basket is this better than the plastic box... also tips on raising the fry is welcomed

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  • nm123 - 2012-01-19
    if the black spot is still there your fish is still pregnantt i would recommend you move the fish back into the net breeder move the fry into another tank to prevent the mother from eAting the young or end up losing the pregnant mother platy I would highly recommend that you use a plastic net breeder because if you have anglefish in the tank you will end up losing most of the babies also when the fish is done giving birth the black spot will fade
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jonmichael - 2008-07-29
Hi, I was just wondering is it possible to breed my micky mouse platy with my swordtail platy. I already have fry from my swords however I've just purchased two new females who are mickey mouse platy. I want to know if these will breed or do they not breed with swordtail platy. Many thanx

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  • nm123 - 2011-11-11
    You can but the fish mostly breed with their own kind.
  • hayden - 2011-12-01
    Yeah course... there both types of platys and all platys can breed. I even think its possible to breed platys with guppies (very rare). So yea I'm sure you can :)
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nm123 - 2011-11-22
Can anyone plz respond to my qustion

Here are all the fish that are currently in my 30 gallon aquarium. I have (platies, swordtails, torpedo barb, red tailed shark, cory catfish, clown pleco, silver shark, silvertip tetras). That's all the fish I have in the tank. My tank now will any of these fish eat the live plants or will they leave them alone and will they breed more with live or fake plants? Thanks.


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  • Charlie Roche - 2011-11-22
    Some are fine with fake plants but some prefer live plants - such as the platies. Yes, some of them will eat the plants but you can plant some that are fairly easy to grow. You can do a java moss or a wisteria - hardy plants that grow fast so less maintenance. Good luck and have fun.
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nm123 - 2011-11-15
Here are all the fish that are currently in my 30 gallon aquarium I have (platies, swordtails, torpedo barb, red tailed shark, cory catfish, clown pleco, silver shark, silvertip tetras) that's all the fish I have in the tank my tank now will any of these fish eat the live plants or will they leave them alone and will they breed more with live or fake plants? Thanks.

plz get back to me soon so I can get set up thanks

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somebody - 2007-10-07
In January i got 3 girl platys (orange) and a girl and a boy black platy. Since then they have bred and had babies, which have grown up and have had more babies, and the cycle keeps going. I'm telling you to not put boy and girl platies together! Since January I have now 25 boys And 35 girls in my 29 gallon tank! They are still breeding! And now i have spotted baby platys, what am i going to do! Recently the boys where breding so hard that some of the girls had died. I started out with one boy and ended up with 50! Do not put boys and girls together!

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  • nm123 - 2011-11-11
    Dude let other people try it to god as far as I know you don't want to create a new hybrid wow.
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