General Platy Breeding Question

[Chris Lad]

I've been considering trying to intentionally breed some platy fish.  I'm wondering should I just stick to one variety of platy? If I mix a bunch of colors and patterns what will happen?  Will I get different offspring or will they end up being a drab muddled brown?

[Fish Folk]

Platy coloration crossing is difficult to predict. You will get some interesting fish for sure. They don't all turn brown . . . but they are not altogether easy to predict.

I recommend choosing one line that you really love, and breeding them true to their line. Save crossing colors for another project down the line once you dial in your proficiency.

I have never been disappointed with a bold Red Wag Platy, or a Steel Blue Platy...

I like to look for mine here.

[Scapexghost]

Part of the fun is seeing what colors the babies may have. You dont really have to worry about wild type coloration reimerging

[PineSong]

You are in for some fun!
I love the surprise of getting unexpected colors even though my whole goal was to breed blue platies. 
I bought three female blue platies from a local shop. They had hundreds of babies who were either blue, pale peach,or silver. I kept only blue babies for myself and when the blue babies had babies almost all the babies were blue, silver, or bright red/ orange tux, and one guy who is mostly silver but has red patches— you can see him in the background in the photo below. 
The big surprise to me was that the pale peach color was very washed out in the first generation but so vibrant later. All the platies in the first two pics below are grandchildren of the blue platies in the last photo.

[Chris Lad]

Thanks everyone for their opinions.  I've been meaning to message back with an update but life has gotten in the way.  I ended up getting a few varieties as I couldn't decide which I wanted at the fish store.  We just had our first round of babies and waiting to see what they look like when they get older

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I think after this you’ll either be sold on mixes or you’ll want the consistency of one set of genetics and a strain that breeds true. We’re all in this for a variety of reasons and it often comes out in our likes and what we breed. Have fun!

[PineSong]

On 8/1/2023 at 12:07 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

I think after this you’ll either be sold on mixes or you’ll want the consistency of one set of genetics and a strain that breeds true. We’re all in this for a variety of reasons and it often comes out in our likes and what we breed. Have fun!

So true. With my guppies I definitely like the variety of raising mixes and seeing how the babies turn out. With my platies, I thought I wanted everyone to look alike, but in the end I was happy with different!