who is lovin who???

[Magnum Man]

So, I'm starting to play with a few live bearers, mostly smaller, that I can keep a pair or trio, in my shrimp breeding tanks ( not breeding shrimp to sell, only to add a few occasionally to several of my community tanks ) so if a few baby shrimp get caught by their tank mates, is not a problem... I bred molly's 30 years ago, for feeder for sea horses I raised at the time, and I currently am breeding high fin sun set platy's with my cherry shrimp... there are a surprising amount of live bearers out there... and I don't have much experience with most... so is my understanding correct, that live bearers generally can't or don't cross, with the exception of sword tails, and platy's???
i have a breeding pair of liberty molly's, and a pair of tiger limia coming... will the liberty's cross with other molly's or any of the limia interbreed???

they will all be separated at 1st, but to keep the bio load down, I usually let the platy fry, get about an inch long, then move them... so just curious if fry / Juvenal live bearers are put in the same tank, to get to a sellable size, if I'm going to end up with interbreeding???

 

[emeraldking]

Liberty mollies and tiger limias can crossbreed. Mollies are related to limia species.

 

[Magnum Man]

thanks, I didn't know that... Ideally I'd like to keep 3-4 varieties that won't cross with each other, and look different enough, that if I had a mixed "raising tank", that I wouldn't get cross breeds... I like the idea of 3-4 that would all breed, in the conditions of the shrimp tank, but not cross breed if "raised" together

 

[GaryE]

The thing to bear in mind with those fish is they are separate species because they never meet in nature. They're isolated from each other. But put any Poecilia (molly) with another, and they'll try to cross. Limia are so closely related they'll get into the party.
There are tons of Xiphophorus species, and they'll give it a try.

Some of the pet store mollies have 3 or 4 species crossed in, and most swordtail/platy 'Xiphs' in pet stores are mutts. I've bred platys and gotten sworded males from them - a sordid story. They were extra large, so I guess the size came from that cross.

 

[Magnum Man]

just guessing here... would platy's, limia, and, Neoheterandria elegans be safe, or would the tiger teddies be to small to grow out in a communal tank???

 

[Colin_T]

who is lovin who???

In prison if you drop the soap and bend over to pick it up, they are loving you

 

[GaryE]

You know me. I'd never combine them. I'd pick one, or set up 3 different tanks. Commonn platys are one thing - hobby hybrids at ther finest. But any Limia, and tiger teddies are not commonly available fish. They should be treated as rarities and bred.

I know, the breeding thing again, like a scratched vinyl record.

 

[Magnum Man]

the breeding pairs would be in their own tanks, with a specific color of shrimp , I'd just like to have one grow out tank, to get them all to an except-able selling size, to keep the bio load lower on the breeding tanks, as those will be only 10 gallon tanks... doing so, will require setting up said "grow out tank", some place easily serviceable, and as someone who already has MTS... I'm running out of places to put tanks., that won't freak out Mrs.... the ideal tank, is only visible from the work area, but already has a bichir in it ( feed me ) so that wouldn't work... yes individual grow out tanks would be better, but one combination one would be easier...
if I'm going down that road, I'd kind of like to do it with "wild types" but not if they would end up cross breeding in the grow out tank... so trying to figure out, based on that, small size, and something that won't eat "all" the shrimp...

 

[emeraldking]

But put any Poecilia (molly) with another, and they'll try to cross.

Well put...! They try but most likely they can't actually mate. It's not particular the genus they're in but more a matter if their sexual organs are compatible or not.

I've bred platys and gotten sworded males from them - a sordid story.

I have to make a small remark. Even in the wild, there are platies that carry a sword and there are swordtail species in the wild that don't carry a sword. The name "swordtail" also doesn't refer to the sword but to the gonopodium. But it was convenient to use the name "swordtail" for swordtail fish.

just guessing here... would platy's, limia, and, Neoheterandria elegans be safe, or would the tiger teddies be to small to grow out in a communal tank???

I wouldn't recommend this combo. The teddy tigers would slowly disappear from the tank when using this combo. They will have problems with the vivid activity of these two species and will fade away. Limias and platies would be okay together.

 

[GaryE]

When I say I bred pet shops platys and got swords - they weren't like the natural swordtail on xiphidium, for example. I have bred platy species with natural tail swords, and swordless swordtails. The platys in question were strange looking things with short swords - hybrids. At least they weren't balloons...

 

[emeraldking]

When I say I bred pet shops platys and got swords - they weren't like the natural swordtail on xiphidium, for example. I have bred platy species with natural tail swords, and swordless swordtails. The platys in question were strange looking things with short swords - hybrids. At least they weren't balloons...

I see quite often balloon mollies, balloon platies and balloon guppies. I really don't see the beauty of it. And nowadays, they have also these telescope (pop eyed) guppies. Just horrendous to look at. But in Asia they're so popular.

Well, if you crossbreed a swordtail x platy, a sword development can occur but doesn't have to. Depending on the genetics of both breeding fish, of course.