Swordtail-Platy Cross

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
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Florida
#1
I know that Swordtails and Platies can cross, but will the babies always carry the swordtail gene? Plus, I heard that when they cross that the males will have smaller swords on their tail. Is this true? Also, if the gene for the swordtail doesn't always cross, would it be better to use a male swordtail and a female platy rather than a male platy and a female swordtail?
 

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
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Florida
#3
No. I'm pretty sure that they can breed after being crossed. My question is if the swordtail gene is dominant. Would Swordtails (not crossed, the actual breed) gene for the swordtail be Homozygous or Heterozygous?
 

Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
May 11, 2010
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North Carolina
#4
Swordtail-Platy Hybrid - Microcosm Aquarium Explorer

Theres a good picture of one. Ummmm as i said before i belive it would depend on what the Fathers Gene is as to what the carrying gene is but im not no pro at genetics

For example: Male Swordtail Female Platy-Dominent Gene Swordtail
Ex2: Male Platy Female Swordtail- Dominent Gene Platy.

I belive thats how it works but i may be wrong but i know for sure the Swordtail Gene itself wouldnt be dominet so you dont have to worry about that and neither would the Platys
 

misterking

Superstar Fish
Aug 12, 2008
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Manchester, UK
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#5
Sorry fishman that's not how it works, it is much more complex than that. The dominant gene will always show, regardless of male or female parentage. For example if the gene for yellow colouration is dominant to that of red, regardless of which parent it came from, yellow will be the colour of the fry. Same applies to hair colour in humans. The hybrid fry are fertile and are perfectly able to reproduce.

The fry will always carry the swordtail gene and it's true the sword is likely to be quite a lot smaller. However, you'd actually be surprised at just how many "platies" and "swordtails" in the hobby are platy/swordtail hybrids.

I'm not sure parentage would necessarily matter here since females still carry the sword gene. A male swordtail with a longer tail would, however, probably help produce a longer tail in the offspring.
 

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Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
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Florida
#6
Thanks misterking. But how can I tell if right now my Platies are purebred? I got them from wlamart and it said that they were all platies. I have a Sivler Wag and 2 Mickey Mouse Platies. They look purebred, but is there anyway I can be 100% correct? Well, probably not. Could they have a little bit of Swordtail in them but people just bred the offspring with platies a million times over to get rid of the tail? I don't know!! I'll just say that my platies are purebred. lol