Can platies and guppies cross breed?

Question

I have a 30 gallon tank with guppies, mollies, and platies in it. Males and females of all species. Guess what?? There is a lot of cross breeding going on here! I have heard platies can not cross with guppies and mollies but I have seen male guppies breeding my female platies. Now I have white guppies and platies acting like guppies and orange guppies. ha ha ha its pretty cool. I have managed to save around 100 of the fry over the past 2 months or so. They are about half to three quaters of an inch long now. OH I also have mollie platie crossed fish. thanks

Answer 1

Yes it can happen

but some times it doesn't always work and it can kill the females

Answer 2

yes guppies mollies platies can all cross breed iv done it all

Answer 3

Here's the scoop on livebearers:

Guppies are Poecilia reticulata

Endlers are Poecilia wingei

Mollies are Poecilia sphenops

Platies are Xiphophorus maculatus

Swordtails are Xiphophorus helleri

The Poecilia can crossbreed with each other and the Xiphophorus can crossbreed with each other, but Xiphophorus and Poecilia cannot crossbreed.  So no, platies and guppies cannot crosbreed.  It is a scientific impossibility as they are not closely enough related.

Livebearers are prolific fish and not too bright, so the males will attempt to breed with any female fish that looks about right.  Male guppies will mate with any other livebearer.  So will male mollies, platies and swordtails.  That does not mean that the female will bear young from such a cross.  There is a case in South America where guppies have nearly decimated a native population of smaller fish by mating with the females and rendering them infertile due to the relatively large size and incompatible shape of their gonopodium.  Also, although guppies and mollies can crossbreed, the fry from such crosses are not very viable and rarely live to adulthood.

Answer 4

yes it can happen but it usually wont if there is a male and female of the same species in a tank otherwise they will usually breed just to make sure there genes get passed on. Also if you force breed them then they could end up dying. my friend force bred and all of the babies were deformed and died at 2 weeks of age.