Platy Berliner - Xiphophorus maculatus

The Berlin Platy shows a fine black dot pattern on its orange-yellow to red base color, which thickens towards the caudal fin. The Berlin Platy is a breeding form of the well-known Central American live-bearing platy or mirror platy Xiphophorus maculatus. In their native habitat, platies are found primarily in marshy ponds adjacent to flowing waters. The robust mirror platies are related to guppies, swordtails (with which they interbreed) and mollies and, like these, are relatively easy to keep in the aquarium.

Male Berlin Platies grow to a body length of about 3.5 to 4 inches, while the rounder females grow to 6 inches. You can also recognize the males by the gonopodium, their anal fin converted to a sexual appendage at the transition to the base of the tail.

Our Berlin Platies are shipped mixed-sex, so it is not possible to select them by sex.

A well planted aquarium along the edges of 60 liters or more is great for keeping these beautiful group fish. Please do not keep your mirror carps individually, that would not be appropriate for the species! If you want to keep a colorful group of 5-10 Platys in your aquarium and you don't care about the color fastness of the offspring, you can mix different colors and fin shapes very well - or you can decide for a purely colored group, just as you like it!

Platies need medium to hard water in the aquarium. With a pH between 7 to 8.5, a total hardness (GH) of 5 to 25 °dGH and a carbonate hardness of 5 to 20 °dKH they are well served. The ideal aquarium temperature for platies is 18 to 28 °C.

Berlin Platy females, as live-bearing toothcarps , do not spawn, but give birth to live young. Berlin platy females can store sperm after mating and then give birth to several more litters even without a male. Therefore, even in female-only groups, there can still be offspring for a while. A litter contains about 10-80 young. Adult platies will eat the offspring selectively, but in a well and densely planted tank a few platy babies will always get through.

With larger shrimps like Amano shrimps and even with dwarf crabs a socialization of a swarm of Berlin Platys works very well. Dwarf shrimp that reproduce well, such as Neocaridina shrimp or Sulawesi inland shrimp also work well in the Platy aquarium if the shrimp can find enough hiding places.

In the wild, Xiphophorus maculatus eats algae, growth and small crustaceans, insect larvae, insects and worms. Berlin platies in the aquarium are uncomplicated eaters and willingly accept all foods for omnivorous ornamental fish in the aquarium. The platies also like to pick at algae deposits. Ideal is flake food and granulated food, gladly also a special food for livebearers in the aquarium. Additionally, Berlin platies are always happy about frozen food and live food such as grindal, enchytraea, water fleas, artemia or black, white and red mosquito larvae.