Peppermint Platy

Great color breeding and a fun name distinguish the peppermint platy. It is not often such alliteration is accidental, but these fish truly resemble little red and white peppermint candies and are just as sweet.

Quick Facts

Care Guide

Tank setup: Platies are hardy and easy to keep. Give them a filter, a lid and plenty of plants. Use a heater to keep the water steady in the 70s. They prefer harder, slightly alkaline water.

Feeding: Feed a quality flake or small pellet once or twice a day, only as much as they eat in a couple of minutes. Platies also need some plant matter, so a vegetable flake is a good choice. They also enjoy frozen brine shrimp.

Tankmates: Platies get along with most peaceful community fish, such as other livebearers (mollies, guppies and swordtails), tetras, rasboras and corydoras. Avoid large or aggressive fish that may bully or eat them.

Breeding: Platies are livebearers, so a tank with males and females will almost certainly have babies (fry). Adults will eat fry, so add dense plants or use a breeding box if you want to raise them. Keeping more females than males gives the females a break from the males' attention.

Good to know: Platies are one of the easiest fish to keep, which makes them a great choice for a first aquarium.