Mún Fish - Characteristics, habits, and care of the national ornamental fish

Platy fish is a national freshwater ornamental fish, with rich and diverse colors, super cheap price, easy to raise and easy to breed.

If you are looking for a beautiful, easy-to-raise, and cheap ornamental fish, you should definitely prioritize choosing the Mún fish . This is indeed a popular fish species in aquariums because it has many colorful colors, is easy to raise, easy to adapt, and is not picky about food or environment...

In today's article, let's learn more about the Mún fish from its origin, habits, care methods to the most popular nice fish lines !

Information about Mún fish :

Origin of Mún fish

Platy fish is also known as Platy fish.

Platy fish (scientific name Xiphophorus maculatus), also known as Platy fish, originates from freshwater areas in Central America such as Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, where the climate is tropical and the water is warm all year round.

The Mún fish was discovered around the beginning of the 19th century. By the 20th century, it began to become popular in Europe, America and then spread globally.

In Vietnam, Mún fish were introduced early and are popular in the aquarium fish community because they are cheap, have beautiful colors, are easy to raise and are friendly.

Physical characteristics of Mún fish

Platy fish have many different color variations.

The Mún fish is a small, colorful freshwater ornamental fish. Let's learn more about the appearance of this fish!

• Size : Female 4 - 6 cm, male 3 - 4 cm.
• Shape : Short, thick body, slightly curved back, round belly looks quite chubby.
• Color : More than 30 color variations with monochrome colors such as red, orange, white, black, yellow or mixed colors such as Mun Panda, Mun Mickey, Mun Tuxedo,...
• Dorsal fin : Triangular, soft.
• Pelvic fins : Short.
• Tail : Spread out like a fan.

Distinguishing between male and female Mullet fish :

Behavior of the Mún fish

The Mún fish is very friendly and easy to raise with other fish.

Let's learn about the typical habits of the Mún fish to see why it is so popular in aquariums.

gentle, friendly

Platy fish are very gentle, living in harmony with other small ornamental fish in the tank such as Guppy fish , Molly fish , Neon Tetra fish ,... They also do not have the habit of fighting for territory or biting each other, so they are very suitable for keeping in aquariums.

Live in the herd

Mún fish like to live in groups of 5 - 10 or more because this makes them feel safer. If kept alone, this fish will feel stressed and lazy, gradually become sick and die early.

Omnivorous, not picky

Platy is an omnivorous species, they can eat many types of food from pellets, live food and even algae, moss or organic waste in the tank.

Strong reproduction

The Platy is a live-bearing fish, it reproduces very quickly, in large quantities and continuously. Females can reproduce many litters after only one fertilization. The reproductive cycle is very short, only 20 - 30 days, each litter has 10 - 50 baby fish.

However, they can eat their own young, so you need to separate the mother fish from the young fish as soon as they have spawned.

Adaptable

The Mún fish is a super easy to raise ornamental fish, easily adaptable to many different environments, it can live well in an aquarium or outdoor cement pond if the temperature is not below 22 degrees Celsius.

Guide to raising Mún fish from A to Z

Mún fish should be kept in schools of 5 - 10 fish, the tank needs to have many aquatic plants.

If you are interested and want to try your hand at this fish, please refer to the A-Z guide to raising Mún fish that we share below.

Prepare the tank to raise Mún fish

Platy fish prefers still, clear water with weak currents, so when designing a tank you need to keep in mind the following:

• Tank volume : Minimum 20 - 30 liters for a group of 5 - 7 fish, the larger the number, the larger the tank.
• Filter system : Use mini filter for small fish.
• Aeration : If raising large quantities, an oxygenator is needed.
• LED lights : Should have to help the fish look better, shine from 8 - 12 hours per day.
• Decoration : Plant aquatic plants, decorations, caves,... to make the aquarium more beautiful and give the fish a place to hide when stressed.
• Temperature : 22 - 28 degrees Celsius.
• pH : 6.8 - 7.5

What do plaice eat?

Platy is an omnivorous fish, easy to eat so you can feed them some of the following types:

• Pellets specifically for small tropical aquarium fish.
• Artemia, bloodworms, daphnia, help fish have beautiful colors.
• Boiled and mashed eggplant.
• Algae, moss, moss, natural organic debris in the tank.

Clean and change water regularly

Catfish like clean, clear water so you need to pay attention to cleaning the tank.

• Change 20 - 30% of water every week.
• Use dechlorinated water or let sit overnight.
• Vacuum and clean the bottom and sides of the tank 1-2 times/month.
• Check the filtration and aeration systems regularly to ensure they are working properly.

Disease prevention and health care for Mún fish

Mún fish are susceptible to some common diseases in ornamental fish such as white fungus, fin rot, bloated belly, lethargic swimming,...

The best way to prevent disease :

• Keep water clean and clear.
• Do not release new fish directly into the tank, but quarantine them for 4-6 days before adding them to the group.
• If the fish shows signs of lethargy, add 1 - 2 g of coarse salt / 1 liter of water to help the fish feel more comfortable.
• Observe fish regularly to detect unusual signs such as white spots, fin rot, abnormally swollen belly... for timely treatment.

Mún fish price list updated 2025

Platy fish are very cheap, only from a few thousand to a few tens of thousands, depending on the color. Please refer to the latest Platy fish price list that we have compiled below.

The most popular type of fish

Currently, Mún fish have many different color variations, however in the Vietnamese ornamental fish market, they have some common types as follows:

Pomegranate Fish

Dice fish

This is one of the most popular and loved variants of Platy fish thanks to its bright colors, ease of keeping, and ease of breeding:

Characteristic:

• Color : Deep red like pomegranate, shimmering under light, some individuals have a slight orange tinge under the belly.
• Body shape : similar to common plaice, plump, short, flat body.
• Size : 3 - 6 cm.

Fire Fish

This is also a popular variety of Mún fish thanks to its fiery red-orange color that resembles a torch swimming in the tank.

Characteristic:

• Color : The whole body from head to tail is bright orange-red, the fins are light orange or gray-black.
• Size : 3 - 5 cm.
• Shape : Slim, slightly flat on both sides.

Short

Goldfish has a short, chubby body.

This is one of the most unique Mún fish lines with a sparkling appearance like sequins and a lovely short body.

Characteristic:

• Color : The whole body is covered with a layer of gold, silver or copper-green glitter that looks like glitter. Some lines have additional black and red streaks on the fins and tail.
• Body : Shorter, rounder than the traditional line (short body), short tail, small fins, plump and lovely.
• Size : 2.5 - 4 cm.

Mandarin Duck Fish

A colorful and eye-catching mandarin duck fish.

This is a variant of the Mún fish with very special color combinations, healthy, easy to raise, easy to reproduce, so it is very popular in aquariums.

Characteristic:

• Color : Yellow body, prominent orange tail.
• Size : 4 - 6 cm
• Shape : Traditional Mun breed, slim body, slightly short, wide tail fin.

Koi Fish

A white-orange Koi fish.

As a Platy fish line bred with colors similar to Japanese Koi fish, they are very opaque and popular.

Characteristic:

• Color : The color scheme is white - red - black like traditional Koi fish, some individuals have a light metallic sheen, the background is silver white with red-orange patches and black spots.
• Pattern : Uneven distribution, not following any rules.
• Size : 3 - 5 cm.

Goldfish

This is a type of Mún fish with bright metallic colors and a lucky and feng shui meaning, so it is loved by many aquarium hobbyists.

Characteristic:

• Color : Mainly gold, copper or orange, silver.
• Shape : Small, slender, flared tail fin.
• Size : 3 - 5 cm.

In the above article, nicefish.net has shared the most detailed information about Platy fish . Hopefully, through this, you will understand more about this lovely ornamental fish and can try it. This is indeed a beautiful ornamental fish, cheap, easy to raise, easy to breed, suitable for even inexperienced players.

If you want to find more information about other freshwater and saltwater aquarium fish, don't miss our Blog section!