Painted Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus)

Name: Painted Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus)
Brand: Legacy Line Aquatics LLC
Price: 4.5 USD
Availability: InStock

$4.50

Painted Platies are a colorful and hardy livebearer that make an excellent choice for community aquariums. They are active, peaceful, easy to care for, and available in a wide range of colors and patterns. Painted Platies are a great option for hobbyists who want a bright, lively fish that stays relatively small and does well in planted and community setups. Most platies grow to around 2–3 inches, with females usually a little fuller-bodied than males.

Why Hobbyists Love Painted Platies

Bright, eye-catching color and pattern
Peaceful temperament that works well in community aquariums
Hardy and beginner-friendly
Active fish that stay visible and add movement to the tank
Easy to keep and readily breed in the right setup

What You’re Getting from Legacy Line Aquatics

At Legacy Line Aquatics, these fish are bred and raised in-house by us in a small-scale, care-first setup. We do not source from mass-production fish farms. Our focus is on raising healthy fish with clean water, proper nutrition, and attentive day-to-day care, so you receive fish we would be confident keeping in our own fish room. We take a small-scale approach so we can focus on:

Fish health
Clean systems
Proper feeding, mixture of high-quality sinking pellets, live baby brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, and high-quality flakes.
Parasite free

Adult Size: 2–2.5 in
Temperament: Peaceful
Difficulty: Beginner
Lifespan: 3–5 years
Minimum Tank Size: 10 Gallons
Temperature: 70–78°F

Temperament & Behavior

Painted Platies are peaceful community fish with active, social behavior. They are best kept in groups, and like other livebearers, males can be persistent with females. A good ratio is more females than males, and many keepers aim for at least two females per male to reduce harassment. They do well in planted aquariums with open swimming space and stable water conditions.

Feeding

Painted Platies are omnivores and are not difficult to feed. They do best on a varied diet that includes quality prepared foods along with supplemental frozen foods and vegetable matter. Reliable care sheets list foods such as flakes, granules, pellets, algae wafers, and frozen foods, and note that they will also browse algae and biofilm.

Recommended foods:

High-quality flakes and small pellets
Frozen foods such as daphnia or other small frozen foods
Algae wafers occasionally
Vegetable-based foods as part of a varied diet

They do best in tanks with:

Stable water quality and temperature
Live plants and cover
Open swimming space
Gentle to moderate flow
Harder, more alkaline water rather than soft acidic water

Tank Size (Recommended)

Small group: 10 gallons minimum
Better long-term setup: 15–20 gallons+
Larger community groups: 20 gallons+ preferred

Platies can live in a 10- to 20-gallon aquarium or larger, and a starting group of 3–6 fish is commonly recommended.

Water Temperature

Ideal range: 72–78°F
Stable temperature matters more than chasing an exact number

Tank Mates (Good Choices)

Best tank mates are other peaceful community fish of similar size and temperament.

Good tank mates may include:

Corydoras
Small peaceful tetras and rasboras
Bristlenose plecos
Rainbowfish in properly sized aquariums
Other peaceful livebearers, with some care taken about crossbreeding and stocking balance

Avoid:

Highly aggressive fish
Fin-nippers
Large predatory fish
Very cramped setups with too many males

Local Delivery

Delivery is available within an 80-mile maximum distance from Owensboro, Kentucky.
$150 minimum order is required for delivery
$25 delivery fee applies

Local Meet-Up

Local meet-up is available.
After order we will contact you by email, or through Facebook or Instagram Messenger.
We will arrange a date, time, and public location to meet.

Shipping & Live Arrival

Live fish are shipped Monday–Wednesday (weather permitting) to reduce transit risk. Please review our How Shipping Works page and DOA policy before ordering.