Platy Varieties & Pics
Hey back to you Mellisa, For starters, ALL Platies ARE NOT named under the scientific name of Xiphophorus maculatus. At last count there were 23 different Xiphophorus species, some Platies and some Swordtails. Most of the other Xiphophorus species, such as the Spiketail Platy (Xiphophorus xiphidium) are rarely, if ever, seen in the hobby. The same too, goes for such other wild species as the Rio Aloyac Platy (X. andersi) and the endangered (Lake)-Catemaco Platy (X. milleri). Then too, even such hybrids as Xiphopohorus roseni are seldom seen outside of Livebearer enthusiast’s tanks. Most of the wild species are somewhat drab in color, even though, they are quite interesting. The same was true with the wild X. maculatus until it was domesticated.
The two most common species in the hobby (and most colorful because of hybridizing) are X. maculatus and X. variatus. They’re the most popular species in the hobby because of their many different man-made color variations first produced well over 70 years ago by crossing them with Swordtails (X. helleri) and then over the years, to each other to subsequently derive the present assortment of color strains now available — and the only reason why they’re so popular in the hobby, deservedly so. By your descriptions, your orange-colored Platy (fading from a lighter to a somewhat darker shade), is most probably a “Sunset” Xiphophorus variatus — especially if its somewhat more elongated than the previous fish. Your pale (pale blue?) Platy with its heavy smattering of dark blue and/or black spots (dots) sounds to be a “Blue” Variatus Platy (X. variatus - blue strain). This is without actually seeing your fish, but the descriptions fit (and do not fit any others). Ray
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
