These fish are all very similar. They are all born live. These fish are a great fish to start of if you're breeding them. They can live a long time, and are not very particular on their diet, or condition of a tank. They are a non-agressive fish. They are compatible with anything as long as the the other fish is not aggressive. They can live in just about any size tank. These fish come in many different colors and have many great strains that are being developed. This type of fish can live up to five years, if kept in good conditions.
Platies and Swortails
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| Green Swordtail, one of the first strains. |
Platies and swordtails are closely related. They both are a great fish. They usually range from $2.50 to $4.00. They are kept easily under many different conditions. There are many new strains coming out. One of these reasons is the fact that they are bred so easily. They breed very often so it is not always a slow process to mutate the DNA to create many kinds. Another big reason is that Swordtails and platies are very closely related. This helps because the fish can be crossbred. For instance, there is a new platy strain called the twin barb platy. If a twin bar is bred with a swordtail it can create a twin bar swordtail. There are many new strains being created. They are a great fish to have. They are tolerant of any water temperature from sixty five to eighty two degrees. They can even live in water with a very high iron content, which can be hard on many different fish.
Guppies
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| Male guppies are kept for their color and tails. |
Guppies are another great fish to have. The males are attractive to hobbyists for their bright colors and their long fins, and tails. They are also known as one of the easiest fish to breed. They cannot be crossbred with other fish. Occasionally they can be bred with mollies, but they are not worth doing. They usually are not colorful and cannot produce offspring, so it really isn't worth bothering with. Guppies can also live in water with a high iron content, even though it is preferred that the iron is low. Usually this depends on your municipality that you're in. They can tolerate many temperatures, but it is preferred that they are kept in water in the mid 70s. One things you have to be aware of: You have to keep an eye on the tails. Especially on the males. Guppies are a pretty hardy fish, but they have long fins and they are thin. They can get cut easily and get an infection from it. If this happens, you'll notice rips in the fins, and loss of color.
Mollies
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| Silver Molly |
Mollies are another great fish to keep. The most common are a silver molly or a black molly. These fish usually are about four dollars. They another fish that is easy to breed. There are new strains starting to come out, just like the platies and swordtails. Balloon mollies are becoming quite popular, along with the lyretail mollies. Mollies, just like these other fish, are non-aggressive and will live without attacking other fish. They can live easily in many different water conditions, just as platies, guppies, and swordtails. These fish are all connected in their toleration, and breeding habits.
Breeding
There isn't too much information one needs to know on breeding any of these fish. If a female has bred with a male, she will begin to get bigger. She will also develop a dark spot near the back end of the fish. They're all pretty easy and all share the same techniques as far as conditions go. You can easily tell if a female has already bred with a male. If you're looking into breeding, and you come across a female such as this. Buy her! She will usually hold the fry for about twenty eight days, and will drop them. She will eat the fry if she wants to, and once they're born, the mother does not provide any care for them. Keep the fry in a separate tank for about six to eight weeks, then they should be safe to put back in with the other fish, as long as they are smaller fish like mollies and platies. These fish will usually gain a high stress level during this period, do don't be surprised if the fish does die before dropping the fry. Most livebearing fish will release about twenty to thirty fry but it can be up to one hundred. Changing water and raising the heat in the tank up to about eighty two degrees will help encourage your fish to breed. You can keep feeding them whatever food that you're feeding them to begin with. These fish aren't picky on what they eat. These patterns are all pretty much the same for all four of these fish.
