Difference between Mollys and Platys?

C

chee

AC Members
Jan 6, 2010
71
0
0
41
i had 2 orangish yellow platies so i thought that i would get a third (so i have 2 females and 1 male). the one i got is a vibrant redish orange with black fins. but now i am wondering if it is actually a Molly. i went back to the pet store where i bought it to check out other fish and i thought i would check the name of the one i bought but they were in a different tank labelled as Mollys. so i am wondering if the sales person was confused (or am i confused). the other thing i have noticed is that the one i think is a Molly doesn't behave the same as the Platys and doesn't hang out with the Platys (not sure if that means anything).

they look very similar, but i can't tell. the fish looks like these 2 (first ones a Molly, second is a Platy):
http://www.irananimals.com/fish-page/pic's fish/molly01.jpg
http://www.tropicalfishforum.net/photopost/data/540/RedWagPlatyFemale.jpg

the biggest reason i ask is that i want my fish to be happy and i have read that both Mollies and Platys like to be around there kind, so i feel bad having just one.

Thank you
 
Both of those pics look like platies to me and that second one looks like a male, not a female, I may be missing something though. Neither are schooling fish and I've kept both species before as lone specimens without issue. In fact, one of my platies hangs out with the rummynose tetras more than he does with the other platy.

Mollies are going to be significantly larger than platies. They're also longer bodied overall. The mouth shape is a bit different too, I'll need to try and find a good pic.
 
Both look like platies to me as well but I'm not well versed with these two livebearers.

Platy- Xiphophorus maculatus
RedWagPlatyMale.jpg


Molly- Poecilia sphenops
aapoecilia-velifera-black-black-molly-nib5S6GJCy.jpg
 
Thanks for posting the pics jpap, it shows the structural differences between the mouths of the two species. The molly has a more upturned mouth.

I would be wary of info from wherever you pulled those pics from OP. The top one looks misidentified (saying molly for a platy) and the bottom one, while it is a platy, looks like a male that they're saying is female (anal fin looks like a gonadopodum of a male, not a female's anal fin from what I can see).
 
ducatigirl said:
Chee
they both look the same to me too.
If they are happiest with their own kind, buy more :D
Click to expand...

i'd love to but i only have a 10 gal tank! ha!

see the more i look at the pics now the more i think that i was mainly looking at the colour and fins as the shape of the head is not the same.

oh well maybe i will take a pic and post it to see what you guys think!
 
OK so i went back to the pet store today to look for amano shrimp (which i was amazed they had) and i checked out the tank again and it seem they have some labelling problems. the tank the fish are in now also has a swordtail label on it so i have no clue, and i don't think the girl working there does either. no matter! i was just looking for clarification anyways.

thanks for all the help though! the main types of fish i am looking at for the future are either platies or guppies or mollies (though it seems they may get a little bigger then i want), so all the info i can get is great.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom