Platy

Behaviour and habits

Platies are calm, busy livebearers that graze the glass and plants and rarely squabble, which makes them one of the most forgiving community fish. They are active at all levels, browse surfaces for food and colour up in good conditions, and a mixed group breeds constantly, so keep more females than males to stop any one fish being pestered. They are tolerant of a range of water, though they do best in harder, slightly alkaline water.

What to feed, and how often

A quality flake or micro-pellet plus blanched courgette, spinach or spirulina and the odd frozen daphnia; feed twice a day, lightly. They benefit from vegetable matter and are greedy, so avoid overfeeding, which fouls the water quickly.

Water changes and maintenance

Change 20–25% weekly in harder, slightly alkaline water, matched closely. They are hardy and adaptable but stay healthiest in clean, steady, harder water rather than soft or acidic conditions.

Care and how easy it is

One of the easiest first fish — hardy in harder water and tolerant of a range of temperatures, provided the group and sex ratio are right.

Lifespan

With good conditions and steady water quality, this species typically lives around 2–3 years in a home aquarium; some individuals live longer.

Common health problems

Occasional fin rot; like all livebearers they can show 'shimmies' (twitching) when cold or kept poorly.

If it gets sick

Keep the water warm, hard and clean, and treat fin rot early with water changes, observing the group for a few days.