The southern platyfish grows to a maximum overall length of 6.0 centimetres (2.4 in). Sexual dimorphism is slight, the male's caudal fin being more pointed. The anal fin of the male fish has evolved into a gonopodium, a stick-shaped organ used for reproduction. The female southern platyfish's anal fin is fan shaped. Wild varieties are drab in coloration, lacking the distinctive dark lateral line common to many Xiphophorus species.
X. maculatus prefers slow-moving waters of canals, ditches, and warm springs. Omnivorous, its diet includes both plants and small crustaceans, insects, and annelid worms.
Breeders have developed a multitude of color varieties (e.g. orange, red, yellow, red/black, and black/white) which are common aquarium fish for hobbyists.
The southern platyfish is commonly known simply as the platy (pl. platys or platies), from the fish's original generic name, Platypoecilus.
This species has been recorded from Orange County, California, near Westminster; near a fish farm in Conejos County and the South Platte drainage, Colorado;[3] several counties in Florida; Hawaii; an unnamed tributary to Big Branch Bayou in Lacombe, Louisiana; Beaverhead Rock Pond (Madison County), Montana; Clark County, Nevada; and Texas. It has also been collected in the Loiza drainage near Loiza Reservoir, Quebrada Honda, and Rio Abajo Forest Station north of Utuado in Puerto Rico.[4]
The southern platyfish has been released probably due to fish farm or aquarium releases. Specimens in Louisiana were collected near a tropical fish farm. Southern platies, and other introduced poeciliids, have been implicated in the decline of native damselflies on Oahu, Hawaii. Often the distributions of the damselflies and introduced fishes were found to be mutually exclusive, probably resulting from competition for limited insect food.[4]
Platies are easy to keep and well suited to a community aquarium. They prefer water with a 7.0–8.0 pH, a water hardness of 9.0–19.0 dGH, and a temperature range of 18–25 °C (64–77 °F).[5]
In captivity, they reach maturity in three to four months, and breed readily, the females giving birth to about 20–40 young at a time. Often young are eaten by the adults or other inhabitants of a communal aquarium but given plants and gravel to hide in, some will probably survive as these are hardy fish. Platy young are first seen at approx 7mm long and will use cover to hide from predators and to look for food. Specialist fry food is available but any flake food, frozen or live food that floats their way will be easily consumed. These require excellent water quality and care must be taken to avoid fry being sucked up into a gravel cleaning syphon. A thin membrane covering the syphon opening such as a clean pair of tights will minimise this.
The fish commonly sold in pet shops is not a pure strain of X. maculatus, but is a hybrid between X. hellerii and X. maculatus.[6] In general, if the male has a sword-shaped tail, they are called swordtails. Otherwise, they are labeled platy. (However, this basic assessment does not take into consideration the undeniable fact that the majority of fishes sold as 'platies' do share the same stout form as the wild X. maculatus, whilst aquarium 'hybrid' swordtail strains likewise share the longer, larger body-form of the wild X. hellerii, so caudal extension is not the sole differentiator and it is clear that decades of selective breeding have reinforced, within each captive strain, the appropriate or typical - and therefore desired - body shape of the name types.) Color and fin shape vary wildly in the aquarium trade.
A common statement in the trade is that it is harder to stop them breeding than to make them do so, with ‘surprise’ fry appearing in community tanks regularly.
GeneticsEdit
The genome of Xiphophorus maculatus was sequenced in 2013.[7]
GalleryEdit
Fry
Pregnant female
Male platy with gonopodium
Female ‘Twin Bar’ or ‘Comet’ platy
‘Sunset’ platy
Wagtail platy
Blue platy
‘Hi-fin’ wagtail
Red ‘Salt and Pepper’ platy
Female black platy
ReferencesEdit
^Daniels, A. (2019). "Xiphophorus maculatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T191784A2003232. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T191784A2003232.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^"Xiphophorus maculatus - (Günther, 1866)". NatureServe. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
^"Southern Platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus) - Species Profile". nas.er.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
^ abLeo Nico; Pam Fuller; Matt Neilson & Bill Loftus (17 September 2017). "Xiphophorus maculatus (Günther, 1866)". Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
^Hamilton, Thomas (1981). "Platyfish: Versatile Animals for the Laboratory and Classroom". The American Biology Teacher. 43 (8): 426–472. doi:10.2307/4447343. JSTOR 4447343 – via JSTOR.
^"Demystifying The Varying Degrees Of Swordtails And Platies". BeChewy. 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
^Schartl M, Walter RB, Shen Y, et al. (2013). "The genome of the platyfish, Xiphophorus maculatus, provides insights into evolutionary adaptation and several complex traits". Nature Genetics. 45 (5): 567–572. doi:10.1038/ng.2604. PMC3677569. PMID 23542700.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Xiphophorus maculatus.
Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2004). "Xiphophorus maculatus" in FishBase. October 2004 version.
southern, platyfish, this, article, about, freshwater, fish, other, uses, moonfish, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed,. This article is about the freshwater fish For other uses see Moonfish This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Southern platyfish news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message The southern platyfish common platy or moonfish Xiphophorus maculatus is a species of freshwater fish in family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes A live bearer it is closely related to the green swordtail X hellerii and can interbreed with it It is native to an area of North and Central America stretching from Veracruz Mexico to northern Belize Southern platyfishFemale rainbow wagtail platyConservation statusData Deficient IUCN 3 1 1 Secure NatureServe 2 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder CyprinodontiformesFamily PoeciliidaeGenus XiphophorusSpecies X maculatusBinomial nameXiphophorus maculatus Gunther 1866 The southern platyfish grows to a maximum overall length of 6 0 centimetres 2 4 in Sexual dimorphism is slight the male s caudal fin being more pointed The anal fin of the male fish has evolved into a gonopodium a stick shaped organ used for reproduction The female southern platyfish s anal fin is fan shaped Wild varieties are drab in coloration lacking the distinctive dark lateral line common to many Xiphophorus species X maculatus prefers slow moving waters of canals ditches and warm springs Omnivorous its diet includes both plants and small crustaceans insects and annelid worms Breeders have developed a multitude of color varieties e g orange red yellow red black and black white which are common aquarium fish for hobbyists The southern platyfish is commonly known simply as the platy pl platys or platies from the fish s original generic name Platypoecilus Contents 1 Nonindigenous occurrences 2 In the aquarium 3 Genetics 4 Gallery 5 References 6 External linksNonindigenous occurrences EditThis species has been recorded from Orange County California near Westminster near a fish farm in Conejos County and the South Platte drainage Colorado 3 several counties in Florida Hawaii an unnamed tributary to Big Branch Bayou in Lacombe Louisiana Beaverhead Rock Pond Madison County Montana Clark County Nevada and Texas It has also been collected in the Loiza drainage near Loiza Reservoir Quebrada Honda and Rio Abajo Forest Station north of Utuado in Puerto Rico 4 The southern platyfish has been released probably due to fish farm or aquarium releases Specimens in Louisiana were collected near a tropical fish farm Southern platies and other introduced poeciliids have been implicated in the decline of native damselflies on Oahu Hawaii Often the distributions of the damselflies and introduced fishes were found to be mutually exclusive probably resulting from competition for limited insect food 4 In the aquarium EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Platies are easy to keep and well suited to a community aquarium They prefer water with a 7 0 8 0 pH a water hardness of 9 0 19 0 dGH and a temperature range of 18 25 C 64 77 F 5 In captivity they reach maturity in three to four months and breed readily the females giving birth to about 20 40 young at a time Often young are eaten by the adults or other inhabitants of a communal aquarium but given plants and gravel to hide in some will probably survive as these are hardy fish Platy young are first seen at approx 7mm long and will use cover to hide from predators and to look for food Specialist fry food is available but any flake food frozen or live food that floats their way will be easily consumed These require excellent water quality and care must be taken to avoid fry being sucked up into a gravel cleaning syphon A thin membrane covering the syphon opening such as a clean pair of tights will minimise this The fish commonly sold in pet shops is not a pure strain of X maculatus but is a hybrid between X hellerii and X maculatus 6 In general if the male has a sword shaped tail they are called swordtails Otherwise they are labeled platy However this basic assessment does not take into consideration the undeniable fact that the majority of fishes sold as platies do share the same stout form as the wild X maculatus whilst aquarium hybrid swordtail strains likewise share the longer larger body form of the wild X hellerii so caudal extension is not the sole differentiator and it is clear that decades of selective breeding have reinforced within each captive strain the appropriate or typical and therefore desired body shape of the name types Color and fin shape vary wildly in the aquarium trade A common statement in the trade is that it is harder to stop them breeding than to make them do so with surprise fry appearing in community tanks regularly Genetics EditThe genome of Xiphophorus maculatus was sequenced in 2013 7 Gallery Edit Fry Pregnant female Male platy with gonopodium Female Twin Bar or Comet platy Sunset platy Wagtail platy Blue platy Hi fin wagtail Red Salt and Pepper platy Female black platyReferences Edit Daniels A 2019 Xiphophorus maculatus IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019 e T191784A2003232 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2019 2 RLTS T191784A2003232 en Retrieved 19 November 2021 Xiphophorus maculatus Gunther 1866 NatureServe Retrieved 31 May 2023 Southern Platyfish Xiphophorus maculatus Species Profile nas er usgs gov Retrieved 2021 12 23 a b Leo Nico Pam Fuller Matt Neilson amp Bill Loftus 17 September 2017 Xiphophorus maculatus Gunther 1866 Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database Gainesville FL U S Geological Survey Retrieved 9 November 2019 Hamilton Thomas 1981 Platyfish Versatile Animals for the Laboratory and Classroom The American Biology Teacher 43 8 426 472 doi 10 2307 4447343 JSTOR 4447343 via JSTOR Demystifying The Varying Degrees Of Swordtails And Platies BeChewy 2017 04 16 Retrieved 2022 11 30 Schartl M Walter RB Shen Y et al 2013 The genome of the platyfish Xiphophorus maculatus provides insights into evolutionary adaptation and several complex traits Nature Genetics 45 5 567 572 doi 10 1038 ng 2604 PMC 3677569 PMID 23542700 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Xiphophorus maculatus Froese Rainer Pauly Daniel eds 2004 Xiphophorus maculatus in FishBase October 2004 version Xiphophorus maculatus Integrated Taxonomic Information System Retrieved 9 December 2004 Southern PlatyfishUnited States Geological Survey factsheetExternal links EditView the platyfish genome in Ensembl Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Southern platyfish amp oldid 1157894296, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
