[platylover13]

Hello, so I have bred fish for many years, mainly sticking to platys and swordtails. I'm going to experiment with some carefully planned crossbreeding between the two. I'm just not sure about which types to use. I will most likely use my very colorful pineapple swordtail male. I'm thinking about using a red wag female platy for one breeding, and possibly a female blue wag platy for the other set.

 

[henningc]

I am not a fan of hybreds especially intentionally doing so. If you want a project, breed a male or female albino sword into a platy line. If you can get a line of albino platys, I'll be the first to give you congrats and a fist full of money to get breeders.

 

[BWG]

I am not a fan of hybreds especially intentionally doing so. If you want a project, breed a male or female albino sword into a platy line. If you can get a line of albino platys, I'll be the first to give you congrats and a fist full of money to get breeders.

Normally I'd agree with the hybrids, but this is swordtails and platies. Aquarium strains of X. hellerii, X. variatus, and X. maculatus have all been crossed so much in the past that you'd have a very hard time trying to find one that is pure.

 

[platylover13]

I know, the ones I have are fairly pure though. These fish wouldn't be used for selling at all and would be kept separate, to keep inbreeding and my mixbreeds breeding with my ones that are completely pure. I'm not really interested in trying to get an albino sword. This would just be a project to go alongside my normal breeding and selling to my lfs

 

[BWG]

I know, the ones I have are fairly pure though. These fish wouldn't be used for selling at all and would be kept separate, to keep inbreeding and my mixbreeds breeding with my ones that are completely pure. I'm not really interested in trying to get an albino sword. This would just be a project to go alongside my normal breeding and selling to my lfs

Most of them aren't pure. That was my point. They have all been mixed in the past. It doesn't matter if you sell them. You are not creating hybrids. You're mixing hybrids, and even if you somehow know with a hundred percent certainty that you have pure lines than you're just doing something that has been done many, many times already.

 

[platylover13]

I'm not doing it to create new hybrids, I'm doing it for fun, pure fun

 

[Chesh]

Hi, Platylover - and welcome to TFK!!!

I love Platy, too. Fun is the word for these fishies, too, and pure fun sounds to me like a great reason to play! BWG is right about the hybridization of these fish - we have so many gorgeous strains because of this. No reason not to play, just be sure that if you sell them, you label them properly. I see so many questionable listings for Platy around. I'd love to get my hands on a pure wild strain one day - I think they're gorgeous, even without all the bright colors and fancy fins ^.^

When you're ready to start your experimenting, I hope you take (and post!) lots of pictures for us! Can't wait to see what you come up with!!! I get the feeling that you're going to have a blast with this project!!!

 

[henningc]

Blackwaterguy and the rest, pure was the wrong word, breeding true would have been a better choice. Don't know about you guys, I've been around longer than most of the new strains we all enjoy today. My point was that too many fish get marketed that are crosses and unsuspecting folks buy them and end up with messed up fry.

As long as you're breeding them just for you and have no plans to market them knock yourself dead trying. The only reason I suggested albinos is there aren't any. They have been produced, but as we all know they a very, very far and few between. Most have never seen an albino platy or ever will.

 

[platylover13]

Thanks guys, yes I will be posting pics. Most of my breeder swordtails are getting too old to use anymore. It's odd, I've told my petstore before how old they are, but they don't care, they just like them bigger. I will probably by a few male platies too to do a partial true strain (I'll save a female for that). Thanks all for opinions