Cross Breeding Platys ?

[Karybou]

Hi ,
I'm sorry if my question may sound stupid, but I'd rather learn something than staying stupid ...

I'm planning on adding another batch of platys to my 20 Gal. tank (probably Rainbows ) I already have a school of 6 sunsets and fall in love with schoolling fish ...
Since I was told the best tankmates for Platys are platys I was wondering if they would mate among different breeds ???
As always I'm open to advice and suggestions ...Thanks in advance for your time

 

[basia]

Yes - I had blue micky mouse and red diamond tails and now I have a mix of both.

 

[i_ganjaman]

try stopping them

 

[chenny]

hope you have room to keep all the babys/fry because they breed like rabbits!

 

[LauraFrog]

Platies are all the same species, the different colour variants were created by inbreeding. This means that crossbred fry from mixed strains are actually healthier. Mine were allowed to breed freely - they lost the 'integrity' of their markings but still remained fairly attractive. I had orange tuxedo, red dalmatian, sunset and sunset wag mixed up. The fry are mostly yellow, orange or pink with tuxedo markings that do not cover all of the body, they take the form of dark markings on their sides. If you allow random platies to school together the fry will be a real mixup but it could still be really attractive. Besides, if you're buying from a fish shop rather than a specialist breeder the females are either infertile or already pregnant. The only livebearer females i have ever bought from stores that were not pregnant, have failed to become pregnant no matter what conditions they were in (perfect) or what males I had them under.

Platies will also interbreed with swordtails and another species of platy that is sold as Variatus Platy, Variatus (or sometimes just platy). I have seen variatus called rainbows. They will breed with whatever platies you have. Most platies you can buy are actually hybrids between Xiphophorus maculatus and X. variatus, many with sword blood mixed in. (So are most swordtails - the tuxedo or dalmatian markings seen on swords are a result of crossing out to platies).

Platies will NOT breed with mollies, endlers or guppies, or any of the rarer livebearers (goodeids, other Poecilidae like mosquitofish)