What Kind Of Platy Is This?

[antoniolee]

Hi everyone I bought him along with my female mickey mouse platies. he is the only male.
Im intrigued by his unique looks. he looks hybrid to me but im not exactly sure.
 

 

 

[Doomchibi]

My guess would be a dalmation platy bred with a mickey mouse platy and you have one of the resulting offspring, though I may be wrong.  
 
http/www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/livebearer_platies/platies.htm  This link has pictures of some different varieties of platys, perhaps you could go down the list and see if yours looks like it could be a mix of any of them? 

 

[snork6]

Sunbearst platypus they look just like that

 

[fluttermoth]

Sunbearst platypus they look just like that

Sunburst platies might, but I think a platypus might look a little bit different

 

[snork6]

Ops man I heat this about correct

 

[fluttermoth]

Proofread before you hit 'Post'

 

[Doomchibi]

Sunburst platys don't seem to have any black on their bodies, though. I only see them with it on the tips of their fins and tails, maybe you are thinking of something else? 

 

[antoniolee]

thanks for those info about platys. I really wanted to know the exact type of my fish. He looks like a mix of those two but im not so sure because my platy's body is quite longer than those.
Is it normal for mixed platys to have that shape of body?

 

[fluttermoth]

It could be a platy/swordtail hybrid; very common in the trade.
 
I don't think you're going to be able to pin down an exact colour type (and all these types; mickey mouses, tuxedos, sunbursts are just colour variations of the platy, they're all the same species), unless you're buying from a specialist breeder. Most LFS livebearers are just a mix of different colours.

 

[antoniolee]

It could be a platy/swordtail hybrid; very common in the trade.
 
I don't think you're going to be able to pin down an exact colour type (and all these types; mickey mouses, tuxedos, sunbursts are just colour variations of the platy, they're all the same species), unless you're buying from a specialist breeder. Most LFS livebearers are just a mix of different colours.

Yep it looks like he got the swordtail body but without the sword and the color of a mickey mouse platy or dalmation platy perhaps but Im afraid that he's sterile.
I've read somewhere that hybrids are sterile, is it true?
Im worried because  I want the babies too look like him. he looks cool to me.

 

[Doomchibi]

I wouldn't say all hybrids are necessarily sterile, all you can really do is wait to see if any of your females start getting big. He looks pretty healthy, i'd give him the benefit of the doubt and if after a couple months nothing seems to be happening, that may be your answer. See if he starts courting any of your females, and let us know how that is turning out.

 
One thing though, is i've found that with lighter colored fish, often if either of the two is darker than the other, the fry will take on the majority of that color. What colors are your females? It's possibly they would mostly look like their mothers seeing as the male doesn't have too much visible color on him, though you may get lucky and have a few that look like him.

 

[fluttermoth]

Platy/swordtail hybrids are not sterile; in fact nearly all LFS swordtails are already hybridised with platies; they are very closely related species.

 

[antoniolee]

I wouldn't say all hybrids are necessarily sterile, all you can really do is wait to see if any of your females start getting big. He looks pretty healthy, i'd give him the benefit of the doubt and if after a couple months nothing seems to be happening, that may be your answer. See if he starts courting any of your females, and let us know how that is turning out.

 
One thing though, is i've found that with lighter colored fish, often if either of the two is darker than the other, the fry will take on the majority of that color. What colors are your females? It's possibly they would mostly look like their mothers seeing as the male doesn't have too much visible color on him, though you may get lucky and have a few that look like him.

 
Thanks for the answer

. He is the only male i got. he always chase the females especially the red mickey mouse platy,not sure if that's courting.
my females are 2 mickey mouse and 1 full red platy.

Platy/swordtail hybrids are not sterile; in fact nearly all LFS swordtails are already hybridised with platies; they are very closely related species.

yay thanks for the info. im so glad that he's not sterile!

 

[Doomchibi]

Yes, chasing is usually involved in courting unless it is clearly aggressive, which is when you would start seeing biting and carelessness while swimming. If your fish swim into objects while being chased, that's usually a sign that it's not going well, though I rarely if ever see this happen with platys or mollies. If your male swims alongside your females and rapidly shake his fins, that is pretty much like a mating dance. "Look how pretty I am, have my babies!" Guppies do a similar thing, only excessively and they will do it towards anything colorful that moves.

 

[antoniolee]

Yes, chasing is usually involved in courting unless it is clearly aggressive, which is when you would start seeing biting and carelessness while swimming. If your fish swim into objects while being chased, that's usually a sign that it's not going well, though I rarely if ever see this happen with platys or mollies. If your male swims alongside your females and rapidly shake his fins, that is pretty much like a mating dance. "Look how pretty I am, have my babies!" Guppies do a similar thing, only excessively and they will do it towards anything colorful that moves.

thanks for the useful information!