# Do Platies Change Sex?



## maykaym4 (Dec 2, 2008)

I swear I intentionally started out with two female platies so I wouldn't end up with a million of them everywhere (kind of like my molly situation)... and after at least 5 months or so... one of them now has a gonopodium (noticed it about a week and a half ago). He didn't really show interest in the other one until a few days ago, and never showed interest before that (and really didn't have a reason to, since I could have SWORN it was a female...). Do platies change sex or does it take a really long time for the males to sexually mature? It was the full-grown size when I bought it, and I've had it for 5 months since then. I've looked at different things online and keep getting mixed answers...
Thanks


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

From my own personal experience, I have never experienced any changes in sex of the dwarf platies nor the guppies. Is it possible that you purchased them before they were sexually mature at or before 3-4 months? I have however, experienced the sex change many times in the swordstail, another livebearer. I also can not seem to find any conclusive information on the topic.


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## Kurtfr0 (Nov 2, 2008)

theres alot of debate around the net about issues with livebearers like this. Alot of people report, swordtails, Guppies and platies, and more change sex if a male or female is not present. kinda like "In order to survive".

But people say they keep two of the same sex, without sex changing.

Then again I could not find any good sources for this issue. I've never had it happen, but I belive it does. Maybe someone else has a clearer answer.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Platies differ from us mammals in that they have 3 sex chromosomes instead of just two, being x,y, & w.

They way these are activated or not activated determines the active gender of the fish. In short, this peculiar arrangement is what lets them change sex so easily. It also causes the most confusion, because it means that genotypically they are already both male & female, so technically they don't really change sex so much as "get more in touch" with one side or the other, as the saying goes. In practice this means that "females" often turn into "males" late in life when the w/x arrangement shuts down and the x/y arrangement activates. 

So, yes, Platies do change sex for all practical purposes, but not technically. Some people just love to argue about it for reasons that baffle me, though, vehemently against the notion that this sort of thing could ever happen. Boy, do they ever have a lot to learn. Sexchange in fish is downright common, actually.


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## maykaym4 (Dec 2, 2008)

Wow! Well I guess that answers my question then! I thought I was losing it for a little while.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful answers!


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