Great for newbie aquarists, Blue Mickey Mouse Platy Fishes are engaging, hardy fish that are available in a wide range of colorations and coloration patterns. Platies are energetic, peaceable, schooling fish that blends properly with different community fish.
Blue Mickey Mouse Platy profile
One of essentially the most fascinating options of platies is that they’re a livebearing species, which means they provide start to free-swimming offspring.
The blue Mickey Mouse platy boasts a “hidden Mickey” design situated close to its tail, is tolerant of a large range of water circumstances, and is comparatively simple to breed.
Rather than laying eggs, these species of bears reside younger; the sudden look of the tiny fry could be fascinating for each younger and old fishkeeper.
Blue Mickey Mouse Platy Overview
The Blue blue Mickey Mouse platy is a phenomenal, orange and black coloration number of the popular Xiphophorus maculatus Platy. An iridescent black tail contrasts a shiny orange body and a small blue spot behind the eyes.
Through selective breeding, platies are actually out there in a large range of recent coloration and fin variations. The Gold blue Mickey Mouse platy is a great instance of an atypical coloration variation.
The Blue blue Mickey Mouse platy provides good coloration to the aquarium and is very simple to maintain. These options make it a great fish for freshmen and completed aquarists alike.
The Blue blue Mickey Mouse platy requires an aquarium of a minimum of 10 gallons that are densely planted with hardy vegetation like Java Fern and Java Moss.
The Blue blue Mickey Mouse platy is a really peaceable fish and makes a wonderful addition to the freshwater community aquarium. Any different peaceable fish could be housed with them.
The Blue blue Mickey Mouse platy is a livebearer able to reproduce at three to 4 months of age. The male is smaller and more brightly colored than the feminine and could be distinguished by his gonopodium. The fry will most frequently attain maturity in a community aquarium.
The platy is an omnivore that can eat commercially ready flaked meals and algae, in addition to freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, and brine shrimp.
Common Names: Golden moon platy, blue Mickey Mouse platy, moonfish
Scientific Name: Xiphophorus maculatus
Adult Size: 1 to 2 inches (three 1/2 to five cm)
Life Expectancy: 5 years
Blue Mickey Mouse Platy Origin and Distribution
Native to North and Central America from Ciudad Veracruz, Mexico, to northern Belize in Central America, this platy is just not thought-about to be endangered.
Nonnative populations now reside in plenty of areas inside the United States, together with California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, and Texas.
Colors and Markings
If you might be questioning the place this lovable fish bought its nickname, simply look carefully on the tail space, and you may discover a “hidden Mickey.”
Near the bottom of the tail is a big round black spot upon that are perched two smaller round “ears” that give it the spitting picture of the popular Disney character, Mickey Mouse.
The fish itself could also be pale yellow to gold, red to orange, and even bluish in coloration. The fins might range from pale yellow to red- or black-tinged. There are additionally long-finned and high-finned varieties. Despite the color and fin variations, all are the same species of fish.
Blue Mickey Mouse Platy Tankmates
The blue Mickey Mouse platy could be very peaceful and lives sociably with all kinds of different fish. Because they aren’t schooling fish, they do not need a great deal of room by which to maneuver. Small tanks, subsequently, are very snug habitats.
And but, Mickey Mouse platies usually desire the company of different members of the genus Xiphophorus. These are all livebearing fish, such as guppies, mollies, and swordtails. Other appropriate tankmates embody angels, catfish, danios, gouramis, and tetras.
Blue Mickey Mouse platy Habitat and Care
The blue Mickey Mouse platy is a terrific alternative for brand spanking new aquarium homeowners.
Like different platys, the Mickey Mouse tolerates a large range of circumstances, and is appropriate for even small aquariums.
They will graze on vegetation, so maintain that in thoughts when you’ve got resident vegetation.
The perfect substrate is small to medium-sized and darker in coloration, which additionally serves as a great distinction to point out the gorgeous colors of this fish.
Water circumstances aren’t crucial. Alkaline water of reasonable hardness is good, which is similar to most city faucet water. The temperature of a typical community tank, 76 to 78 F, will do fairly properly for the blue Mickey Mouse platy.
Blue Mickey Mouse platy Diet and Feeding
In nature, this fish feeds on resident meals similar to bugs and worms, in addition to vegetation. However, they aren’t choosy and settle for nearly any meals, together with flake, freeze-dried, frozen, and resident meals.
Live meals, similar to brine shrimp, glass worms, and bloodworms, are a great complement. Frozen or freeze-dried sorts of the same meals provide a great variety.
A different diet together with loads of vegetable matter ensures good health. Fresh produce similar to lettuce, spinach, cooked peas, or zucchini might be readily accepted. In lieu of contemporary veggies, strive spirulina.
Gender Differences
Like all live-bearing fish, blue Mickey Mouse platys exhibit sexual dimorphism, meaning men and women have externally seen bodily variations. Females are usually bigger and typically are much less vibrantly colored than the male.
Males are simply acknowledged by the presence of the gonopodium, a modified anal fin used to hook the feminine and deposit sperm. Males even have a more pointed caudal fin.
Breeding
Like different livebearing fish, this fish is sexually mature as early as four months of age, which implies younger fish must be sexed and separated as early as possible. Females who mate retain sperm packets and might proceed to offer to start without mating once more for plenty of months.
Once mating has occurred and the eggs are fertilized, it takes about 30 days for the fry to emerge. The temperature can decelerate or pace up the process; hotter water shortens the gestation interval. Typical broods are 40 to 60 fry which might be born free swimming.
As the fry develops, the stomach of the feminine turns bigger. Eventually, the eyes of the fry could be seen by way of the stretched stomach of the mom.
As birthing time attracts close to, you have to be ready to shelter and defend the fry. Otherwise, the parents and other fish within the tank will eat most if not all of them.
One possibility is to position the feminine in a breeding lure simply before the start. The lure is designed in order that fry fall by way of slits which might be too small for the mom to observe.
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The downside of that is that the small lure is unnatural and disturbing for the mom, so she should be moved properly before she begins giving a start.
The higher technique is to have a separate birthing/nursery tank that’s closely planted with nice leafed vegetation. As the fry are born, they conceal within the vegetation. Once the mom has given start to all of her fries, she is eliminated.
The fry is born as absolutely fashioned very tiny fish. Initially, they need very nice meals to feed upon. Freshly hatched brine shrimp are perfect, however, liquid or powdered fry meals will function properly.
Feedings are required a number of occasions per day, which signifies that particles will construct up more shortly within the tank, thus requiring day-by-day water modifications. Read more about pacific-viperfish-facts-diet-adaptations-size.