Again we can offer the friends of livebearers a special treat: Xiphophorus variatus Rio Coacuilco is a wild form of the variable platyfish that has only recently become available in the hobby. The Rio Coacuilco (unfortunately we originally made a typo when adding the species to our stock list, the spelling of the river used here is the correct one) is a very fast flowing, small river in the state of Hidalgo in Mexico, where also the swordtail species X. birchmanni occurs. The Rio Coacuilco is part of the Río Pánuco system.
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Variable platys are known to be very variable in coloration, even within a population. This is also true for the Rio Coacuilco form. Normally the fish are pale lilac with black speckles; the males always have a “pregnancy spot”, a band in the dorsal fin and rather pale vertical stripes on the flanks. In courtship the males become very beautiful: the chest turns yellow-orange, the tiger pattern becomes intense and two dark bands appear in the caudal fin.
We have also made a small film about these fish, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAhLK5fCkb4
For our customers: the animals have code 442988 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer