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Platy Moonfish

Variegated Platy ~ Variatus Platy ~ Swordtail Platy Family: Poeciliidae

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Xiphophorous maculatus (Platy or Moonfish)

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I have two Platies, Moonfish. They keep on having babies. They mate with others of their same kind and I have more than 20 babies, except one, which has grown.  Anonymous  2009-10-24

Xiphophorous variatus (Variegated platy or Variatus Platy)

   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!

   The Platy or Moonfish, Xiphophorous maculatus and the Variegated Platy or Variatus Platy, Xiphophorous variatus are a short stocky fish lacking the extended tail fin or "sword" of their close relative, the Swordtail Xiphophorous helleri. These bright colored fish can be kept in a smaller tank than the Swordtail and are more peaceful, active, and hardy. They are also dependably prolific.

   Although nowadays the platies have been interbred with themselves and with swordtails to the point where it is now hard to separate species. Originally there were two common species available to the hobbyist: the Platy or Moonfish Xiphophorous maculatus, and the the slimmer and more elongated Variegated Platy or Variatus Platy Xiphophorous variatus.

   Today platies come in all colors and mixtures of colors. Many beautiful color variations and hybrids have been produced. Platies cross easily with each other and with other Xiphophorous species, thus a wide variety of popular platies are available today.

   An aquarium best suited to the platies is well lit with plants. Like all livebearers, they do like a bit of salt though it is not necessary. The plants should be loosely arranged for the Platy or Moonfish and densely planted with open swimming areas for the Variegated Platy or Variatus Platy. Have some floating plants for the fry to hide, though Platies don't eat their fry other community tankmates will.

   The male platies won't show their colors until they are mature and they will show best if the aquarium is kept at the cooler end of their temperature range.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:
   The Platy or Moonfish Xiphophorous maculatus are found on the Atlantic coast of Mexico and Guatamala, and northern Honduras. It was first introduced in 1907. They were often called "Moonfish" because of a crescent shaped dark spot at the base of their tail, especially on the yellow colored ones.
   The Variegated Platy or Variatus Platy Xiphophorous variatus are found in southern Mexico from Rio Panuco to Rio Cazones. It was identified in 1904 but not introduced into the hobby until 1932. They were an immediate hit and become one of the best liked livebearers.
   There is also a very sensitive species called the Swordtail Platy Xiphophorous xiphidium in which the male has a short sword. This delicate platy is rather rare and not seen much in the hobby.

   So many beautiful color variations and hybrids have been produced, it is difficult to find the pure-bred original strains. Today pure breds are the exception rather than the rule and their colors vary depending on the waters they originated from.

Popular varieties developed from the Platy or Moonfish:
   The solid colored fish include the very popular Red Platy or Coral Platy which will be either a deep blood red or a brick red and the Golden Platy which has an all over bright yellow color.
   The term "Moonfish" is applied when the fish have a specific color along with a black crescent shaped dot on the tail fin, these include the Red Moon, Blue Moon (Blue Platy), and the Gold Moon (Gold Crescent).
   The term "Wagtail" is applied when the fish have a specific color along with black on the tail, these include The Red Wagtail Platy, the Gold Wagtail Platy, the Black Wagtail Platy, and the Mixed Wagtail Platy.
   The term "Tuxedo" is applied when the fish have a specific color along with a black coloration below the lateral line from the gill to the tail, these include the Black Platy often called the Black Tuxedo or Green Tuxedo and has a greenish body.
   The Salt-and-Pepper Platy is mixed with a bit of all the colors and it breeds these colors true, the Mixed Platy has various colors with no particular pattern and it doesn't breed true.

Popular varieties developed from the Variegated or Variatus Platy:
   Redtail Platy varieties have a tail that is bright red.
   The Yellowtail Platy varieties will have a yellow tail fin.
   The Sunset Platy varieties have a tail with more than a single color but with yellow being prominent, though they are also called this when they have yellow dorsal fin and a red tail fin.
   In the Rainbow Platy varieties the tail has multiple colors with no one color being prominent.
   The Hawaii Platy has an entirely black body with a yellow dorsal fin and red tail fin.
   The Marigold Platy is yellow on the dorsal fin and top of the body with the lower half and the tail fin being orange.
   Other popular varieties include the Comet Platy, Gold Twinbar Platy, Sunset Fire Platy, Blue Mirror Platy, Two-Spot Platy where there are two small dots at the top and bottom where the tailfin begins and the similar Mickey Mouse Platy where the two small dots have a large dark spot in the middle, Half-moon Platy, and Bleeding-heart Platy.

   Many characteristics including special finnage such as Topsails, Sailfins, Hifins, and Plumetails or Brushtails come from Swordtail cross breeding.

Size - Weight:
   The Platy or Moonfish females get up to 2.5 inches (7 cm) males are somewhat smaller at 2.0 inches (6 cm). The Variegated Platy or Variatus Platy females can get up to 3 inches (9 cm) with males again, somewhat smaller.

Social Behaviors:
   They are an excellent community fish that is very peaceful, and does not look for trouble with other tankmates.

Sexual Differences:
   The female is larger and generally rather plain, though in many of the fancy platies today they have more color. The male has a gonopodium. It is difficult to sex platies until they are mature as the male does not attain his coloration until then.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Hardness: 15-30° dGH
   Ph: 7.0 to 8.3
   Temp: 59-77° F (15-25° C)

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Platy or Moonfish and the Variegated Platy or Variatus Platy will readily reproduce in the aquarium. See the description of how to breed livebearers in Breeding Freshwater Fish - Livebearers.

Availability:
   The Platy or Moonfish and the Variegated Platy or Variatus Platy is readily available.

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Latest Comments
I have two Platies, Moonfish. They keep on having babies. They mate with others of their same kind and I have more than 20 babies, except one, which has grown. Anonymous 2009-10-24
I purchased 4 Blue Moon Platys and 6 Sunset Platys last June and put them in my 160 gallon backyard pond. When I went to net them in the fall I had over a 100! They are residing in my 65 gallon basement tank right now. Amazing what good water and sunlight will do for fish. Kevin Lee 2009-06-13
I don't see a breed of platy here that I currently breed. It may be a subclass but I was under the impression that high fin platy's were a breed of their own within the platy family. graham 2009-06-11
Cool info. I have 2 Mickey mouse platies ( female = blue/green , male = yellow/red). I found out that they reproduced just a few day's ago. I caught 13 of them and put them into a breed tank inside of the normal tank (with a tube) and they are doing fine! :) P.s do not mix mickey mouse fish with goldfish (always keep goldfish with other goldfish because otherwise they will die). Adding a big stone of coral will make the water harder and not always good for tropical or other fish. Peace fishlover 2009-02-23
I got 2 Mickey Mouse Platys the other day. A male and a female. I named them Mickey and Minnie. They are doing great with my other fish. I have some Balloon Mollies in the tank with them. 1 Clown Loach, 1 Yo Yo loach, and 2 little frogs. Everyone gets along. Everyone's happy. I love the Mickey Mouse Platys. kathy 2009-02-18
Some of the coolest comments:
I just love my (wild colored) Variatus! They are so active, easy to breed, and peaceful in my 20gal. tall community tank. My tank has low lighting (with a full glass top cover), 2" of Eco brand soil, 1med. piece of beautiful Mopanzi wood, Java moss, Java ferns, 1lg. Anub., 1lg. Balanese Crypt., good amount of Italian Val. (in back corners), 1sm. bunch Pennyroyal, and lots of floating Duckweed. I use a 30gal. Whisper hang on filter (set on low flow). The care of my tank is easy - remove overgrowth of most of duckweed (once a month), trim and remove any dead leaves (whenever found), rinse off filter every month (replace with new one every 6 months), replace fish/plant grow light tube (every 6 months - even if it's not burned out), top off water (as needed when it dehydrates down to 1" - usually once every 2 wks.), divide/remove extra grown plants (yearly), and remove baby Variatus when they are 1/4th grown (I give most of them away) - THAT"S IT! It houses 2f.Variatus and 1m.Var., 3f.Oto. cats and 2m.Oto. cats. (these are the best algea eaters EVER), 1m. Pearl Gourami, and 1m.Sunset Gourami! I just love my beautiful "LIVE" aquarium and gorgeous (wild colored)Variatus are my favorites fish! Phyllis 2008-11-22
I brought home 5 platys three months ago. Three of them were males. Within a month, the two females had thirty babies between them! My kids enjoyed watching the process from pregnancy, to a full tank of small fish. I must mention, to have success with breeding platys, plants are not enough. The babies must be separated so that they are not eaten, especially if you have other fish in the tank. The babies seem to not swim away from predators for the first little while after birth. Alwyn 2008-03-23
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
To whom it may concern, Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise on platties. I have learned much valuable information from your website. I have some platties coexisting happily with other community fish including guppies, mollies, several female bettas and one double tail male betta. They all seem to be doing fine together. Most of my platties have the Mickey Mouse markings on their tails. As I am a big Disney fan, I love these types the best. At this time I have a couple of babies that have survived in the tank and live with the other fish just fine. For later reference, I have organized your website and other related websites that I may need later. Sincerely, Irene Irene 2009-06-03
I just found this website and it is great. I just got my first fish tank, and by no other reason than what I call luck, I selected some platys for my first fish. I wanted to go with fresh water since I'm a beginner, and I thought these Platys were some of the most colorful of the fresh water fish in the store. They're still swimming after 8 days, and I came home tonight to what I have learned from this site as breeding in the making. I saw a long "tube" hanging from one, and out of 4 fish, I think just 1 is female. So I'm excited to see what happens. These are black tail fin, orange and yellow bodies in color. Whatever kind they are, I'm enjoying them so far. Dave 2007-07-11
Wow, I wish I'd have found this site a month ago! My husband and I purchased a 10-gallon fish tank for our kids for Valentine's Day this year, and filled it with 5 platys. When the sales associate asked if I had a male/female preference I am just enough of a dummy to just tell her it didn't matter. It was only after I got home and started researching our purchase I learned how quickly these little things multiply! And not only that, we ended up with three males and two females, so it was like having three fish only because the dominant male herded the females, and the other two males hid in the corners. So that was my first mistake. After realizing this, and dreading explaning to my kids that the fry swimming in the tank every so often were actually fish food, I decided we needed a homosexual tank. Which takes me to my second mistake... I actually rounded up and exchanged the males for females, so now the tank is all females. I had worried that an all male tank would be less sociable or something, I guess. It's solved the mating problem, but I agree with the other comments - the males are more beautiful, and I think I would have liked to have seen the interaction between them. Anyway, live and learn, but If you're looking for a stable fish tank without s gazillion babies, tell the salesperson "males only, please." Laura 2006-03-28

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Author: David Brough, CFS & Clarice Brough, CFS.