Platies

[JezTaylor]

Hi all,
 
Hopefully I'll be buying my first fish today. I'd ideally like a couple of platies as it seems they're a great beginner fish and they're nice and active. My question is this... am I ok to buy a pair of them? Or do they really need to be in a group of 3 or more?
 
Also, I don't really want lots of babies overcrowding my tank so I'll ask for all males or females. Is there a difference between the two (other than the obvious).
 
Thanks for you advice!

 

[SarahMarie]

I had 2 males to start with and they were fine together. They were quite friendly really.

 

[JezTaylor]

I had 2 males to start with and they were fine together. They were quite friendly really.

Thanks SarahMarie, I'll start with just a couple then. Wish me luck!

 

[Mamashack]

 to TFF, Jez!
Is your tank new or an established one? They should be fully cycled the proper way (not the local fish store way!) before adding fish if it's new. If you're not sure what that means go to the link at the end of my signature and look at the articles on cycling. Fishless is by far the kindest on your future fish and won't damage them, or stress them with ammonia etc. reducing their health.

 

[daveg6529]

I started with two platys. After a few weeks I added another two. A year on I have 29 in two tanks (I have only bought 4).
They are prolific breeders.
Good luck and enjoy.

 

[daizeUK]

If you buy two females, there is a strong chance they will already be pregnant and you will get lots of babies out of them for the next few months.  If you don't want babies then it's probably best to get two males.

 

[Rich_77]

Hi

 
When I started fishkeeping....that makes me sound posh !!!....about a year ago, I got a tiny tank where my LFS said I could have 3 guppies and 2 platies....they all died pretty quick

 
Partly my fault as I should have looked into cycling the tank, and also their fault as they said it would be fine to put the fish in straight away.
 
I got rid of the small tank and got a 64L fishbox that I cycled for 6 weeks.  Using the API test kit the water & filter got to a stage where I could put fish into it.  I started with two female platies.  They loved the space to themselves and were good friends (for a time).  I then got an air stone (not an actual stone, as I first thought when I was starting this out !) and they loved it even more. 
 
I tried guppies again, but, sadly, I think my water hardness was too much for them and they eventually passed.
 
But the two platies went on stronger than ever.
 
Apologies for waffling !  But get two females, and in time you can look to add more to your tank.  Obviously, your tank has to be big enough, cycled and have enough attractions in it to make the platies interested.  Barely feeding them once or twice a day is a tad dull for them IMHO. 

 
Again, make sure your tank is big enough, ideally with an air stone and fun for them and I think you'll love the results !
 
Cheers.

If you buy two females, there is a strong chance they will already be pregnant and you will get lots of babies out of them for the next few months.  If you don't want babies then it's probably best to get two males.

 
thats a good point.
 
a lot of females are preggers...not all though

 

[Arcticfox1977]

I started off with 3 plagues as I was told that they were hardy fish. We got 2 orange and 1 yellow. 7weeks down the line they are still happy and in the last 2 weeks we have 2 orange fry.