Red Platy (School of 5)

Five bright red platies will create a colorful and active display. Very peaceful and hardy, the red platy is a good addition to any community aquarium.

Quick Facts

Care Guide

Tank setup: Platies are hardy and easy to keep. Give a small group at least a 10-gallon tank with 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. Change about 25% of the water every week.

Feeding: Feed a quality flake or small pellet once or twice a day, only as much as they eat in about two minutes. Platies also need plant matter, so include a vegetable or spirulina flake, plus treats of frozen or live brine shrimp and daphnia.

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 two or three females per male 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.