{"product_id":"bumble-bee-platy-xiphophorus-maculatus","title":"Bumble Bee Platy | Xiphophorus maculatus","description":"\u003ch2\u003eDescription\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Bumble Bee Platy is a cheerful, hardy livebearer dressed in bold black-and-yellow markings — one of the very best fish for a first community aquarium. Peaceful, endlessly active and quick to breed, it brings instant colour and movement to a planted tank. Adults stay small, reaching only around 6cm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eNatural Habitat\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe southern platy is native to the fresh and brackish waters of eastern Central America, from Mexico through Guatemala to Honduras, where it lives in warm, slow-moving canals, ditches, springs and vegetated margins. The Bumble Bee is an aquarium-developed colour form of this wild species. These waters are typically hard and alkaline, which is why platies thrive in mineral-rich conditions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAppearance\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA short, deep-bodied little fish with a rounded profile, the Bumble Bee shows a warm yellow-gold body broken by bold black blotching, especially towards the tail. Females grow noticeably larger and rounder than the slimmer males, which carry a modified anal fin (the gonopodium) used in breeding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eTemperament and Compatibility\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeaceful and sociable, platies make ideal community residents. They mix happily with other easygoing livebearers, small tetras, rasboras, peaceful barbs, corydoras and similar fish. Keep them in mixed-sex groups or with a majority of females, as males will persistently court females.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFeeding\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn unfussy omnivore. Offer a good-quality flake or micro-pellet as the staple, supplemented with frozen or live foods such as brine shrimp and daphnia, plus some vegetable matter or algae. A varied diet keeps their colour bright.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCare Requirements\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlaties are famously forgiving but do best in hard, neutral-to-alkaline water with stable parameters. Provide gentle filtration, regular partial water changes and some planting for cover. They will not thrive in soft, acidic water. A temperature of 21–25°C suits them well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eBreeding\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExceptionally easy — platies are prolific livebearers that give birth to free-swimming fry roughly every four to six weeks. Provide dense planting or floating cover so some fry survive, as adults will eat their young. No special conditioning is required.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSpecies Information\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eScientific Name\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eXiphophorus maculatus\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCommon Name\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBumble Bee Platy\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOrigin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCentral America (aquarium-bred strain)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaximum Size\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAround 6cm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLifespan\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e3–4 years\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eTemperament\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePeaceful (community)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDifficulty\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBeginner\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMinimum Tank Size\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e40 litres\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRecommended Tank Size\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e60 litres or more\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDiet\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOmnivore\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWater Temperature\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e21–25°C\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003epH Range\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e7.0–8.2\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGH Range\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e10–28 dGH\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSalinity\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNot applicable (freshwater)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSuitable For\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCommunity aquariums, beginners, planted tanks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eReef Safe\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNot applicable\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePlant Safe\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eYes\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSuitable Tank Mates\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMollies, guppies, swordtails, small tetras, harlequin rasboras, peaceful barbs, corydoras catfish and other calm community fish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAvoid Keeping With\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLarge or aggressive cichlids, fin-nipping species, and any predatory fish big enough to eat them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nick's Aquarium Oceanarium Terrarium","offers":[{"title":"Small (1-5cm)","offer_id":55232792592675,"sku":"BA8291","price":8.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Medium (5-10cm)","offer_id":55232792625443,"sku":null,"price":13.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0972\/7236\/5347\/files\/Bumblebee_Platy_04361465-c0e1-4eb4-9b6f-c3de4997d52e.jpg?v=1781697984","url":"https:\/\/nicksaquariumoceanariumterrarium.com.au\/products\/bumble-bee-platy-xiphophorus-maculatus","provider":"Nicks Aquarium Oceanarium Terrarium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}