Parrot platy "Hawaii" - Xiphophorus variatus

The Parrot Platy "Hawaii" is a very beautiful color variation of the species Xiphophorus variatus, the Parrot Platy, which is also called Parrot Platy or Variable Mirror Platy. The wild form comes from Central America. The basic body color of the parrot platy "Hawaii" is golden yellow, the caudal fin and the lower abdomen are orange-red . In the rear half of the body, this intensely colored ornamental fish has a black elongated mark, which can end in a point in front. The iris of the eye is golden yellow, the dorsal fin as well.

In their biotopes in Central America, variable mirror carps are found in warm springs, in marshy ditches and in channels with a lot of plant growth. The relatively easy to keep variable mirror fish are very popular in aquaristics thanks to their varied colors and patterns. They are related to Platys (Xiphophorus maculatus) and Swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri) and may also interbreed with them. Therefore, they should not necessarily be socialized. Xiphophorus are also related to the popular guppies and mollies, but they do not necessarily interbreed.

Xiphophorus variatus is a live-bearing toothcarp, and consequently females give birth to live young. Male parrot platys "Hawaii" grow up to 5 to 6 cm, female up to 7 cm long. Females have a roundish physique, males can be recognized by their elongated gonopodium on the hind abdomen, to which the anal fin is transformed. The gestation period is 24 days, the females give birth to up to 100 live baby platys. They get their color rather late and look quite inconspicuous at first. In the first days they are fed with dust food, then you move on to somewhat larger food like Artemia nauplii. The fry survive better in dense plant groups because the adults can't find and eat them as easily.

The peaceful parrot platies are quite lively and therefore need space to swim. An aquarium with at least 80 cm edge length is optimal for a shoal. Parrot platies need conspecifics to feel safe, a good shoal size is 10 specimens. Different breeding forms can be mixed well - then however a multicolored mixture comes out in the offspring. Parrot Platies "Hawaii" love free swimming space as well as plant thickets in which they can hide. They prefer medium hard to hard water with a GH of 9 to 19 °dGH and a KH of 5 to 18 °dKH and a pH between 7 to 8. The water temperature should be 15 to 25 ° C. Especially the young animals like their water a little cooler. At too high temperatures the males can become rather unattractive colorless dwarf males.

The rather surface-oriented parrot platys can be kept well in the aquarium with larger shrimps such as Amano shrimps or with very robust dwarf shrimps of the genus Neocaridina or with Sulawesi Island shrimps. Socializing with crayfish can be difficult because they may eventually view the fish as live food. However, parrot platies get along very well with adult dwarf crayfish, although they may eat newly hatched juvenile crayfish in turn. For a community aquarium with peaceful, not too quiet or shy fish, the lively colorful Parrot Platy "Hawaii" is very well suited.

The Hawaiian among the parrot platies are also omnivores with a tendency to rather vegetable food. As animal food they like frozen food or live food very much, the vegetarian part is covered by scalded green food or soft vegetables. The parrot platy "Hawaii" also tugs at algae. Parrot platies are uncomplicated and can be fed very well with high-quality flake food or granulated food.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.