Introduction
Platies are one of the most common fish to be found at a petstore, they are very colorful, and come with many cute names like: the Mickey Mouse platy, Blue Moon platies, Gold, Salt and Pepper platies, Sunset platies etc...
These are very easy to keep, fun to breed community fish suitable for beginners.

Tank Setup
Plants, caves, driftwood. The posibilities are limitless with these undemanding fish!

Community Tips
Some salt in the water ( 1 level tsp per 10 gallons) is good to prevent parasites and make these fish more comfortable, so care should be taken to pick tankmates that enjoy salt too. Keeping a ratio of at least 2:1 female:male platies is good to keep males from harassing females. Platies should be kept with other, similar peaceful community fish such as; swordtails, mollies, tetras, corydoras and other catfishes and loaches.

Feeding Tips
Being omnivorous, platies like a varied diet with staple flakes daily, a meaty treat and an occasional vegtable are key to have healthy, robust fish. Spirulina algae is relished, as are various worms; dry, frozen, or live. Other treats are shrimp and zucchini. They really will eat most anything that could be offered to a fish, so mix it up!

Sexual Identification & Breeding
Livebearing fish are very easy to sex by the male's modified anal fin, known as the gonopodium; ( narrow pointy fin); or the females ( shaped like a triangle). Females are larger and have a more rounded body.
Floating plants and/or dense thickets of plants will help with the survival of the baby Platies, as the parents eat their own fry. Virtually no effort is needed to breed platies, a ratio of one male to several females is recommended to lesson the stress on the female. The babies should be removed to a seperate rearing tank as they are found to a separate rearing tank to ensure their survival, else the tank will stabalize at a certain population. Have patience as it may take a few months for the female to feel comfortable enough to drop her fry! A full grown female can drop many fry at a time, and can have multiple batches of fry from one pregnancy!