Platy Tank Mates: Good and Bad Partners, Keeping Platies with Guppies, Shrimp and Neon Tetras, and Protecting Fry

In short: which tank mates suit platies?

Platies are ○ with most small, peaceful fish. The two to avoid are the betta and the angelfish.

Platies are generally seen as good community fish. The care resource Seriously Fish also says they can live with almost any community fish.

The tricky parts are where the growing number of fry will go, and pairing with shrimp and small fish. The key point: platy tank mates settle down when you decide what to do with the fry before choosing partners.

What this article covers:

• Why platies are ○ with so many fish
• Pairing with guppies, neon tetras and shrimp
• Fry getting eaten, how to protect them, and what to do when there are too many
• Tank size and numbers, and what to do when it goes wrong

How do platies match up with the other 22 species?

Source: Judged by this site's rules from the care data of each species (see the sources of the care data table)

Platies are ○ with 17 of the 22 species. The × and △ pairs split by reason like this.

• Betta (male): male bettas chase other fish
• Angelfish: platies are small enough to swallow
• Tiger barb: sometimes nips other fish's fins
• Medaka and goldfish: heater needs differ

For both × species, the reason lies with the partner. In this calculation, nothing shows platies themselves harming a partner.

Why do platies get along with so many tank mates?

Because platies are peaceful, and even males rarely fight each other. Their fins are not long either, so they are rarely targets of fin nipping.

Seriously Fish describes the platy as a very peaceful fish. It says even males tolerate one another.

It also says platies lack the rough streak seen in some swordtails and mollies.

Tokyo Aqua Garden also says platies are generally good with tank mates. The partners it names are guppies, characins, otocinclus, corydoras, loaches and small plecos.

Source: Seriously Fish (Xiphophorus maculatus)

With platy tank mates, what needs care is less the partners and more the water hardness and the male to female ratio.

Can platies live with guppies?

Guppies and platies are ○ on this site. Both are peaceful livebearers that like fairly hard water.

A livebearer is a fish whose eggs hatch inside the mother, so she gives birth to fry. Seriously Fish says guppies can live with other livebearers.

Source: Seriously Fish (Poecilia reticulata) / Seriously Fish (Xiphophorus maculatus)

Both swim at the top level. If you keep the two together, leave plenty of space near the surface.

When keeping guppies with platies, have more females of both. This spreads out the males' chasing. The guppy's side is in Guppy Tank Mates.

Can platies live with neon tetras or corydoras?

All are ○. They are all peaceful small fish, and they split into the top, middle and bottom levels.

○ Generally compatible　△ With care　× Not recommended

Source: Judged by this site's rules from the care data of each species (see the sources of the care data table)

The preferred pH is in the table. Platies prefer water above neutral, while neon tetras and cardinal tetras prefer it below neutral.

Source (5)

• Seriously Fish (Paracheirodon innesi)
• Seriously Fish (Paracheirodon axelrodi)
• Seriously Fish (Xiphophorus maculatus)
• Seriously Fish (Corydoras panda)
• Seriously Fish (Otocinclus macrospilus)

They overlap around neutral. Seriously Fish says platies are easier to keep when the pH is above neutral.

Aquarium Co-Op also names small tetras, rasboras and corydoras.

Even for ○ pairs, set the water around neutral, where both preferences overlap. The neon tetra's side is in Neon Tetra Tank Mates, and the corydoras's side is in Corydoras Tank Mates.

Do platies eat shrimp?

On this site, all three shrimp are ○. The sources we checked did not say platies eat shrimp.

The overlap in temperature and water is in the table.

Source (5)

• Seriously Fish (Xiphophorus maculatus)
• GEX (temperature), Tokyo Aqua Garden (pH, level, temperament), Kyoto Prefecture Red Data Book 2015 (size)
• Aquarium Co-Op (temperature, pH), UF/IFAS EDIS IN1301 (size, habitat)
• GEX (temperature), Tokyo Aqua Garden (pH, level), Hyogo Prefecture Red Data Book (size)
• Tokyo Aqua Garden (temperature, pH, temperament), Ishikawa Prefecture Red Data Book (size)

Aquarium Co-Op writes about tanks that keep shrimp and fish together. It explains that clumps of plants give baby shrimp and fry a place to escape from adult fish.

If you want shrimp to breed, grow plants thickly before adding them, even with ○ partners. Shrimp compatibility in general is in Fish That Can Live with Shrimp.

Do platy fry get eaten in a community tank?

Sometimes. Sources differ on whether the parents eat the fry.

Seriously Fish says adult platies do not eat their own fry. Aquarium Co-Op, on the other hand, writes that the parents will eat fry if they get the chance.

Tank mates may also eat the fry. Tokyo Aqua Garden writes that livebearer fry are very small, so they get eaten.

In a community tank, assume not all the fry will survive. Prepare to protect as many as you want to keep.

Platies have many fry at a time.

How do you protect platy fry you want to keep?

Before the birth, move the female to another tank, or grow plants thickly to make hiding places. Each source recommends something different.

Seriously Fish does not recommend breeding nets or traps. It recommends moving the female to another tank instead.

Tokyo Aqua Garden suggests moving her to a breeder box. Whether you move them to a small container or another tank, choose by how many tanks you have.

What should you do when platies multiply too much in a community tank?

If you do not want them to breed, you can keep only males. If they have already multiplied, set up another tank and split them.

Seriously Fish suggests buying only males if you do not want them to breed. Males tolerate one another, so an all-male group works.

Seriously Fish says many platies sold in shops are weak from inbreeding. Bringing in new fish now and then makes them sturdier than breeding generation after generation from your own fry.

Can platies live with bettas, angelfish or tiger barbs?

Bettas and angelfish are ×, and tiger barbs are △. In every case, the reason lies with the partner.

Aquarium Co-Op writes that bettas usually lived well with platies. This site treats the male betta as an aggressive fish, so the calculation gives ×.

For angelfish too, one shop guide says platies are rarely eaten. This site's calculation gives × because of the size gap.

Sources differ on both pairs, so if you are unsure, treating them as × is the safe side. Bettas are covered in Betta Tank Mates, and angelfish in Angelfish Tank Mates.

Can platies live with medaka or goldfish?

Both are △. Platies are tropical fish that need a heater, while medaka and goldfish do not need one.

Source: Seriously Fish (Xiphophorus maculatus) / Seriously Fish (Oryzias latipes) / RSPCA Australia: How should I care for my goldfish?

As the table shows, the temperatures do overlap. But heating the water for tropical fish makes it warm for medaka and goldfish.

Goldfish grow large. A guide from RSPCA (an Australian animal welfare group) also covers this. Fish kept with goldfish must be larger than the goldfish's mouth.

If you pair platies with medaka or goldfish, decide first how you will handle the water temperature in winter.

How should you think about tank size and numbers for platy tank mates?

Start with 3 to 6 platies, with at least 2 females per male. A 60 cm class tank is said to be easy to manage.

The sources we checked gave no number for how many fit in a 60 cm tank. Tank mates also have their own group sizes.

Count the partners' group sizes and the fry to come, and you will avoid overstocking.

Before starting platy tank mates, what should you check?

Check the partner's result, temperature and heater, water hardness, the male to female ratio, then how to handle fry. Remove × partners at this stage.

Other pairs can be checked with the quick chart and checker in the Tropical Fish Tank Mates Chart. Before adding fish, check every pair with the partners once.

What should you do when platy tank mates are not working?

If females are chased, fry disappear, or fights continue, act on the cause. Most cases settle down with adjusted numbers and hiding places.

If fin wounds turn cloudy white, disease may have set in. If you use medicine, check its generic name and follow the instructions.

Keeping one spare tank for separating fish saves you from panicking.

What terms come up with platy tank mates?

What else goes with platy tank mates?

Platy tank mates connect to guppies, tetras and shrimp. Go on to the article for the partner you are curious about.

• Another livebearer: Guppy Tank Mates
• Partners in the middle level: Neon Tetra Tank Mates
• Shrimp compatibility in general: Fish That Can Live with Shrimp
• A partner that eats platies: Angelfish Tank Mates
• Quick chart and checker for 23 species: Tropical Fish Tank Mates Chart

Frequently asked questions about platy tank mates

Which fish can live with platies?

Most small, peaceful fish. Of this site's 22 species, 17 are ○.

The ones to avoid are the male betta and the angelfish. The tiger barb, medaka and goldfish are △, with conditions.

Can Mickey Mouse platies live with other fish?

Yes. The Mickey Mouse platy is a platy variety named for the pattern at the base of its tail.

This site does not split platies by variety. Choose partners the same way as for any other platy.

Can platies live with guppies?

Yes. They are ○. Both are peaceful and like fairly hard water.

In both species the males chase the females, so having more females calms both down. Both swim at the same top level.

Can platies live with bettas?

They are ×. Male bettas are aggressive and chase other fish.

One shop guide says they lived together, but a male betta is safer kept alone.

Is it okay to add shrimp to a platy tank?

Amano shrimp, Neocaridina shrimp and red cherry shrimp are all ○.

The sources we checked did not say platies eat shrimp. If you want baby shrimp to survive, grow plants thickly before adding them.

Sources

• Seriously Fish: Xiphophorus maculatus (very peaceful, lives with almost any community fish, males tolerate one another, more females, fairly hard water, above neutral, adults do not eat fry, 4 to 6 weeks, about 80 fry, move females to another tank, nets and traps not recommended, buy only males, inbreeding, a base of 60×30 cm)
• Seriously Fish: Poecilia reticulata (guppies live with other livebearers, hard water)
• Aquarium Co-Op: Platy Care Guide (tetras, rasboras, corydoras and others as partners, an example of living with a betta, tank size, 3 to 6 fish, 1 male to 2 or more females, 20 to 50 a month, parents eat fry, hiding places, a sponge on the intake, hybridizing with swordtails)
• Aquarium Co-Op: Cherry Shrimp Tank Mates (clumps of plants as an escape for baby shrimp and fry)
• Tokyo Aqua Garden: How to keep platies (プラティの飼育方法, in Japanese. Generally good with tank mates, fights within the species, fry eaten by parents and others, breeder box, birth about a month after mating, several births, 60 cm class, hybridizing with swordtails and variatus)
• Tokyo Aqua Garden: Fish you can keep with angelfish (エンゼルフィッシュと一緒に飼える魚, in Japanese. Says platies are rarely eaten)
• Tokyo Aqua Garden: Tropical fish you can keep together (混泳できる熱帯魚, in Japanese. Livebearer fry are small and get eaten)
• RSPCA Australia: How should I care for my goldfish? (fish kept with goldfish must be larger than the goldfish's mouth)