You may have noticed that Platy fish, as babies, all look the same. But, when these babies grow big, the difference between their genders becomes prominent. So, how will you identify male and female Platy fish?
Look at the anal fin of your Platy fish. The anal fin is the tail fin underside the belly of your Platy fish. So, a pointed anal fin means that it’s male platy, whereas female Platy fish have a wide and fan-shaped anal fin. Moreover, an adult female Platy fish is larger and measures 2-3 inches, while the male is just around 1.5 inches long. There are also color differences between male and female platyfish, with males having darker hues than females.
There are many reasons why you should differentiate between male and female platy. Maybe this difference will help you with breeding. Besides breeding, knowing the difference is necessary so that you don’t invite aggression into your tank. Yes, male platyfish get aggressive if kept together. Not to forget that male platyfish go berserk for a female platyfish during the breeding season.
Today, I will tell you how to differentiate your platy fish’s gender. And I’ll answer your queries on the mating ratio or if you can keep an all-male, all-female tank, and so on. Let’s go.
Difference Between A Male And Female Platy Fish [Sexual Dimorphism]
You’re in luck here because sexing platy isn’t difficult at all. All you need to do is read the following and observe the difference of gender in your Platy fish carefully.
Anal Fin Shape
Perhaps the first thing when you go around while differentiating a male from a female platyfish is to look for its anal fin. Because obviously, the anal fin is a reproductive organ for a platyfish.
Also called gonopodium, the anal fin is located near the anus behind the pelvic fin.
So, the female platyfish has a round, wide, and fan-shaped anal fin. To be honest, both the pelvic fins and anal fins are fan-shaped.
But, you can notice that male platyfish have a pointed anal fin. This pointedness is needed for the insemination of sperm inside the female anal canal. Platy fish have internal reproduction, after all.
Sometimes, the anal fin of males will be folded inside their bodies. But, mostly, the anal fin is folded down and clearly distinguishable.
Body Shape
If you take a closer look, you can notice that adult female platyfish are rounder, fuller, and heavier-bodied than male platyfish. Maybe it’s because of the female platy’s larger size, but still, the roundness is quite prominent.
Male Platy fish are thinner and more streamlined.
Body Size
If you can’t notice their body shape, now here’s where it gets easy.
Adult male platyfish are smaller and measure 1.5 inches at the maximum. Whereas female platies are larger and measure 2-3 inches on average.
Side-to-side, you can easily notice their difference!
Vibrancy And Color
While the color and pattern is constant across gender in platyfish, the males have a slightly intense color on their body.
The difference between the color isn’t that prominent, though.
Gravid Spot
Now, this is a feature that easily distinguishes a female platyfish.
The gravid spot is the uterus of female platy pressing against its skin. It is present in their mid-body area. It has a darker hue than the rest of the body and bulges slightly. The bulging is most prominent in a pregnant female platyfish.
Do Platy Fish Change Their Gender?
There is a widespread conspiracy about platyfish changing their gender. But it hasn’t been scientifically proven.
I mean, fish like Clownfish, wrasses, moray eels, and Gobies can change their reproductive function. But are platyfish changing gender? Well, it is debatable!
Firstly, platyfish are late bloomers. And their sexual dimorphism is unrecognizable until 5-6 months after their birth. You may think that the female suddenly changed into a male while the males might just be late bloomers who develop pointed fin later in life. This theory makes sense to me because most people see their female platy change into a male Platy fish.
But swordtail, platy fish’s cousin, is a hermaphrodite. And they can change genders when there are fewer males around. The dominant female with masculine hormones will suddenly switch into a male. Since platy and Swordtail are cousins, the same phenomenon may occur.
But, of course, the question about platyfish changing genders is debatable. I don’t agree with this. But, some people believe this phenomenon to be true.
Can I Keep Only Male Platy Fish In My Tank?
So, you decide to fill your tank with male Platy fish only. I understand that you might not want Platy fry to dominate your tank. And, as I mentioned earlier, male Platy fish are more vibrant and colorful than females, and they will make your tank look lovely.
But, there are downsides to crowding your tank with male platyfish. Male platies are territorial and really aggressive. Since platyfish live in a hierarchy, the strong ones bully the weak platy. Or to balance the fight by nipping and biting each other.
This will result in ill health and a poor immune system for your platyfish. So, it will be better if you don’t keep an all-male platyfish tank.
Can I Keep Only Female Platy Fish In My Tank?
You will make a good decision when you keep an all-female platy tank. This is because female platyfish are calm than those aggressive male platies. Moreover, female platyfish can live peacefully with other community fish too.
But here’s a catch. Female Platy fish can store sperm in their belly for multiple inseminations. So, an all-platy tank has a risk of being overpopulated with platyfish sooner or later. Of course, this can be eliminated when you separate the females from males as soon as they are distinguishable!
I’ve told you that females are docile. But they can become bullies if there are weaker fish around. Hierarchy is a part of nature, after all.
Should I Keep Both Male And Female Platy In My Tank?
If you are looking into breeding Platy fish, you can keep both male and female platyfish in your tank.
However, if you’re not looking into breeding platyfish, then it’s better to opt for an all-female platy tank. That’s because if you keep mature males and platyfish together, they will breed within minutes to hours of keeping together.
You need to remember one thing, though. Always keep a greater number of females than male platyfish. Otherwise, a series of bad events will follow in your tank.
What Happens If the Number Of Male Platy Fish Is More Than Female Platy Fish In Your Tank?
Male platyfish are always looking to breed with females. In this quest, the male will go around every female it can find to mate.
When you keep a few females with a large number of male platyfish, the female platies will be harassed to no limit! Moreover, the male platies may nip each other to claim their female partner.
This will cause the female to be stressed and suffer ill health. Moreover, the male platies will also suffer from ill health due to all that fighting.
That’s why you should maintain the proper mating ratio in your tank. Otherwise, you will get unhealthy female and male platyfish in your tank in no time.
What Is the Proper Mating Ratio For Platy Fish?
The ideal mating ratio is 3 female platies for every single male platy. This ratio will ensure harmony in your tank.
This is because the aggression of male platyfish is dispersed when he mates with many female platyfish. And there is no male to fight with for a female partner too.
All in all, it will be a happy platyfish tank.
But, the male platyfish will mate with the females. So, you will get plenty of platy fry every month. You might want to get ready for that!
FAQ
At What Age Can You Differentiate the Gender Of Platy Fish?
Since Platy fish develop their sexual organs at 4-5 months old, you can differentiate their gender during this time! But, some Platies are late bloomers and develop their pointed anal fins very late. This is why many people may confuse the male for a female Platy fish.
How Many Platies Should Be Kept Together?
You can keep a single Platy fish in a tank. But, it will be better if you keep Platy fish in a group. So, you can keep 4-5 Platy fish in your tank.
Conclusion
Since you’ve read this article, you can easily distinguish a male Platy fish from a female one. It’s simple really. The main difference is the reproductive organ, the gonopodium or anal fin, which is pointed in males and fan-shaped in female Platy fish. I also hope you got answers to some questions regarding keeping the same gender or mixed tank. Happy fishkeeping.