The variable platyfish (Xiphophorus variatus) is considerably less common in the hobby than the common platy (X. maculatus). There are also far fewer breed variants of the variable platyfish. One of these breed variants, however, ranks among the most beautiful livebearers in terms of coloration: the Hawaii platy. It is essentially the “Tuxedo” form of X. variatus. High-quality Hawaii platies have a deep red caudal fin, a broad, black “Tuxedo” band (a tuxedo is a black suit), and a golden-yellow body color.
The high dorsal fin first appeared as a mutation in swordtails (Xiphophorus hellerii); Thelma Simpson reported on her fish in 1961 in the American magazine TFH. The high dorsal fin is also known as the Simpson fin, named after her. It was transferred to the two platy species (X. maculatus and X. variatus) through crossbreeding. Interestingly, female high-fin platies seem to be particularly attracted to males with very high fins, even though this trait serves no purpose in their natural behavioral repertoire. Experienced breeders, however, do not cross high-fin fish with one another; the results are often unsatisfactory. Instead, it is preferable to cross a standard-finned male with a high-finned female. This yields a higher percentage of high-finned offspring than when pairing a high-finned male with a standard-finned female.
In the commercial breeding facilities in Southeast Asia—where most of the commercially available live-bearing fish varieties originate—the approach is quite pragmatic. While the breeding stock is selected according to strict criteria—and very often biologists specializing in genetics are even employed for this purpose—the juveniles are usually raised in large ponds or tanks and sorted only when they reach market maturity. As a result, when the sorted fish are imported, they give the impression of being homozygous—which they very often are not, as you can easily determine for yourself when breeding them at home.
For our customers: Hawaii platies are listed on our stock list under codes 442851 (sm) through 442855 (sh), depending on size, and the high-fin variant of the Hawaii platy under codes 442843 (md-lg) and 442844 (lg-xlg). Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
