Tropical Fish & Pet Centre
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Neath
West Glamorgan
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~~Live Bearers~~

The Live-Bearing Toothcarps - Poeciliidae
In this family, the males have converted their pelvic fins into genital organs - the gonopodium. This feature is characteristic to livebearers. The females, giving live birth, are chased almost incessantly by males. The organ releases spermatophores within the female. The eggs mature within her body, the egg sacs bursting shortly after birth. The female usually does not produce more than 40 youngsters. After delivery the fry can start eating immediately.
Maintenance
Livebearers are least demanding as regards to water quality. They can even tolerate extremes in water hardness. The fish make no special demands in terms of oxygen or filtration. The food they eat should have variety. Flakes are not enough. Black mosquito larvae are preferred.
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Breeding
Though these fish breed naturally and prolifically, it is not always easy to raise the fry. The parents may become predators of their fry. To eliminate this problem, females should be kept in a separate tank.

Females about to give birth can be recognised by their round, tight stomachs, which late in the pregnancy become cuboidal in shape. Black mollies can be identified easily by a white spot behind their pelvic fin; others by a black spot (the gravid spot). Personally I find the commercial breeding traps ideal for the pregnant female. If placed too late in pregnancy, the female can die, and the fry can be damaged. A small separate glass or plastic tank with plenty of hiding places can also be used. In this way the female can be placed a week or more before giving birth. The female would be too tired to start chasing her fry immediately and she can be distracted from doing so by feeding her.Unless exceptionally predacious, the female can be given a day or two of rest in this tank.

The fry can be fed brineshrimp, powdered food, finely ground flakes and hard boiled eggs.
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Platy - Xiphophorus Maculatus

Platies are peaceful fish. Many varieties exist including red, gold, blue, black, tuxedo, variegated, red-wag, yellow-wag, sunset, bleeding heart, festival, moons etc. They enjoy nibbling at algae, and spend much time bumping their lips on the side of the tank to dislodge this vegetable food.
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Examples of Platies
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Examples of Swordtails
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Examples of Guppies ~ Female Left - Male Right
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Example of a Black Molly
(image thanks to fishplace.org)

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