This is a discussion on Hybridizing? within the Fish Breeding forums, part of the Advanced Freshwater Discussion category; -->
I'd like to start up a community of live bearers in my 30. gallon tank. I have about a dozen guppies now. I'd like ...
I'd like to start up a community of live bearers in my 30. gallon tank. I have about a dozen guppies now. I'd like to add platys, mollies, and swordtails. I was warned that they would hybridize. Is that bad? are the hybrids fertile or sterile?
Guppies and mollies hybridize (other wise known as the muppy), swordtail and platy hybridize. No clue on the sterility (I believe both are but I dont know for sure) but you should be careful that the female is the larger species as the smaller species female might have issues giving birth to larger fry.
Hybridization is possible, but unlikely, with Swordtail and Common Molly. I don't know about sterility. I would not recommend chancing it. This is confirmed by clicking on the shaded name and looking under the Compatibility section.
Yup. And the interwebs never lie. But Byron, 1077, and buckmanrules complied the Swordtail profile that reads: "Should not be kept with other livebearers, especially platy and guppy, as it will likely interbreed."
So perhaps they can provide the scientific basis for that assertion.
You can also read more here http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/f...-set-up-83951/ where we discussed interbreeding between the livebearers. I understand that the layman's thinking for a long time that the two genus cannot interbreed, but it sounds like the scientific community may not be so sure. Since they are of the same family and subfamily, Poeciliinae, and because of their method of reproduction, perhaps there some things we don't yet understand. I have not read the research or whatnot myself, but am going on the reliable source of someone who has.
Yea all the web points to is most people on the web cannot agree. I'm more apt to believe out profiles since most of them are put together by a few people actually reading articles on research instead of random forum user saying I've kept them together and never had inbreeding!
Google is awesome for some things and on other less popular topics it completely fails at.