Freshwater
Southern platyfish
Xiphophorus maculatus
Poeciliidae, Poeciliinae
Facts
Characteristics
- Length
- Up to 4 cm
- Body shape
- Streamlined
Care
- Group
- Missing
- Smallest aquarium
- 4 liters
- Diet
- Missing
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Behavior
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Swims
- Missing
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Water values
Smallest tank
4 liters24 × 12 × 15 cm · For one fish
Worked out from its length, as we don’t yet know what size tank it should have. Do you? Sign up and tell us in the app.
Try other measures in the appNativeIntroduced
Lives wild in Belize, Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
Introduced to Australia, Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Hong Kong SAR China, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, and 11 more countries.
Tank mates
More about the species
About the species
Adults occur in warm springs, canals and ditches with typically slow-moving water, silt bottoms and weedy banks. Also inhabit creeks and swamps. Feed on worms, crustaceans, insects and plant matter. Used for genetic research. Several color varieties are popular aquarium fishes, where they attain sexual maturity after 3-4 months and reproduce easily. Aquarium keeping: minimum aquarium size 60 cm.
Source: FishBase
Other names
Other scientific names
- Platypoecilus aurata
- Platypoecilus cyanellus
- Platypoecilus maculatus
- Platypoecilus maculatus aurata
- Platypoecilus maculatus cyanellus
- Platypoecilus maculatus sanguinea
In other languages
- Platy
- Platy
- Platy, Almindelig Platy
- Platy
- Moon, Moon fish, Platy, Southern platy
Articles
All articles
How to set up a Central American aquarium5 min read
Hard, alkaline water, sand and rock: an aquarium from the rivers and lakes of Mexico and Central America, with cichlids and livebearers.
How to set up an aquarium from Australia and New Guinea4 min read
The home of rainbowfish: water, substrate, plants and light for rainbowfish, blue-eyes and peacock gudgeons, with a long aquarium and open water in the middle.
How to add new fish4 min read
From the store to the tank: how to get the fish used to your water, why you should add only a few at a time, and what to watch for in the first few days.
Quarantine for new fish3 min read
Why new fish should live in a tank of their own for a few weeks before they move in, what you need, and what to look for.