Can Guppies and Platies Mate?

This question has popped on my feed for quite some time so I decided to answer it once and for all – can guppies and platies mate? Apparently, many people are curious about this topic.

Let me begin by saying that platies and guppies are different species. Guppies belong to the Poeciliidae family and platies are part of the Xiphophorus family.

Without going into much detail, the two species can’t crossbreed. The chances of a functional guppy-platy hybrid are absolute zero. However, don’t get your hopes down, as there are some interesting facts about keeping platies and guppies together in the same aquarium!

Why Do Guppy Males Chase Platy Females?

If you’re keeping platies and guppies together, you may have noticed that male guppies often chase after platy females. Even more, male guppies may even start mating with platy females due to an overabundance of sexual passion. Their sexual energy is so high that male guppies may even try to mate with male platies. They don’t care as long as they can unleash themselves.

However, this doesn’t mean that platy female that gives birth to guppy-platy hybrids. There’s no impregnation, so no fry will be born. Guppy males are just going through the motions of mating. You may have seen photos of would-be platy-guppy hybrids but I can tell you from experience that it’s impossible. I’ve tried to no end and nothing came out of it.

Crossbreeding the two species is just not possible and that’s that!

Can Platy Females Be Pregnant Without Mating?

Most beginner fish keepers ask this question because of a common misconception. After buying platy females from the store, you notice that there are a few fries in the tank the following morning. How did that happen? Did the female give birth to fry without any intervention from males? Or did guppy males mate with your platy females and this led to hybrid fry being born?

None of that, unfortunately. The answer is much simpler and less intriguing than that. When you bought the female from the store, it was already pregnant. Most likely, it was kept in a mixed-gender tank and a male platy had already impregnated the female before you bought it.

Platy females, just like guppy females, can retain sperm from males for months after one contact. After bringing it home, the female gave birth to the fry, and it may happen more than once.

Can Other Fish Breed with Platies?

Platies can only breed with other fish species from the Xiphophorus family. Swordtails are also from the same family as platies, for instance. Crossbreeding between swordtails and platies is very common, and the results are interesting, to say the least. I recommend giving it a shot, if you have the time for it.

Can Other Fish Breed with Guppies?

The same thing goes for guppies – they can only breed with fish species from the Poeciliidae family. Many fish species are part of this family but the most common are mollies and endler guppies. While these two species can crossbreed with common guppies, the resulting fry will not be functional and viable. Most times, they’ll be abnormal, with mutations, and they’ll die quickly after being born.

Fancy guppies and endler guppies are infamous for giving birth to non-viable fry, in fact. The genetic mutations make it impossible for the fry to survive long-term. Not only are the fry more prone to disease but they may also be infertile. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as many fry are in a worse situation.

As for molly-guppy crossbreeding, most fry are infertile, so they can’t spread their genes. Though the hybrids look interesting and they may be worth documenting, they’re not viable nor functional fish that you want in your tank.

Wrap Up

I hope I helped you understand how platies and guppies interrelate with one another. While they can’t make or produce fry, the two species can live together without a problem. They’re very tolerant of one another. Still, male guppies may try to mate with female and male platies, but that’s a regular occurrence. It’s nothing out of the ordinary most times.

If you have more questions, leave them below and I’ll reply as soon as possible!