Xiphophorus

Wild swordtails are a fairly basic green colur. However the vast majority of swordtails available in the hobby today are hybrids of X.helleri with X.maculatus or X.variatus. There are a huge number of selectively-bred varieties available, including wagtail, lyretail, tuxedo, albino, neon, red, green and hi-fin. Swordtails may undergo what appears to be a change in sex. In young fish this may simply be late development. However some adult females develop male characteristics which is thought ...

Another massively popular aquarium fish, with dozens of selectively bred varieties available, including mickey mouse, wagtail, tuxedo, moon, blue, red, comet and hi-fin. Some of these are produced by crossbreeding with X.helleri or X. variatus. Unfortunately many commercially bred platies are not very hardy due to inbreeding and over-production and are prone to disease and premature death. Wild fish are almost never seen in the hobby. As long as the ph remains above neutral this fish is ...

Another massively popular aquarium fish, with dozens of selectively bred varieties available. Some of these are produced by crossbreeding with X.helleri or X. maculatus. Unfortunately many commercially bred platies are not very hardy due to inbreeding and over-production and are prone to disease and premature death. The wild X. variatus can be distinguished from X. maculatus by its slimmer, more elongated body shape and slightly longer dorsal fin. This last feature has been seized upon by many...