Endler's Livebearer
Poecilia wingei
Tiny, colourful livebearer for nano tanksBeginner
- Lifespan
- 2-3 years
- Size
- 2-4cm / 1-1.5in
- Social needs
- Social; keep in groups
- Time
- 10 min daily; weekly water change
- Cost
- Low
- Diet
- Omnivore (micro-flake, crushed pellet, live foods)
Overview
What is this animal?
- Endler's livebearers are a close relative of the guppy from the warm coastal lagoons of Venezuela, with males showing orange, green, and black metallic patterning on a small body.
- Pure strains are conservation-sensitive and worth keeping unmixed.
- They are hardy, active, and smaller than guppies, which suits nano and planted aquariums.
- Like all livebearers they reproduce quickly, so single-sex groups or population planning are wise from the start.
Temperament
- Peaceful, lively, and constantly active, Endlers do best in groups where males display their colours.
- They are too small to harass tankmates and make good peaceful community fish alongside other gentle, small species.
- They are prolific breeders, and a mixed group will produce a steady stream of fry that adults may eat without plant cover.
- Keep males only to avoid a population explosion, or provide dense planting if you want them to raise young.
A good fit for
- Nano and small planted aquariums
- Beginners wanting a colourful small fish
- Peaceful community and shrimp tanks
- Keepers interested in preserving pure strains
Common mistakes to avoid
- Crossbreeding pure strains with guppies
- Rapid overpopulation from mixed-sex groups
- Overfeeding fouling a small tank
- Inbreeding weakening closed colonies over time
Enclosure
Minimum 38 litres (10 US gallons) — for a group of 3
Cannot be kept alone. The minimum is 3, and the space above is for that group.
- A cycled, heated tank from 38 litres (10 gallons) suits a colony, held at 22-28C (72-82F) in slightly hard, alkaline water.
- Dense planting shows off their colours and gives fry refuge, while a gentle filter keeps the small fish from being buffeted.
- Endlers stay near the surface and mid-water and tolerate a range of conditions, but appreciate stable parameters and low nitrate.
- A lid is sensible, and avoid housing pure Endlers with guppies if you wish to preserve the strain.
Supplies
Setup
- Tank and stand
- Filter
- Heater and thermometer
- Substrate, plants and decor
- Liquid test kit
- Dechlorinator and starter supplies
Ongoing
- Quality tropical flake or micro-pellet
- Spirulina or vegetable flake
- Frozen brine shrimp and daphnia
- Frozen or freeze-dried bloodworm
- Veg clip for courgette and spinach
- Baby brine shrimp hatchery or frozen equivalent for fry
- Fine net for removing leftovers
Safe substrate: Inert aquarium gravel · Fine, smooth sand · Aquasoil for planted tanks
Care routine
Daily
- Check temperature and equipment
- Feed
- Head-count and look everyone over
Weekly
- Top up evaporationevery 3 days
- Clean glass and clear algae
- Test the water
- Water change and gravel vacuum
Monthly
- Trim and thin the plantsevery 2 weeks
- Check supplies and reagent dates
- Review the fry plan
- Rinse the filter media
Less often
- Replace chemical filter media (Carbon/Purigen)every 2 months
Vet: Quarterly stocking and health review — every 3 months
Top resources for more info
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Diet
- Omnivorous and undemanding, Endlers take finely crushed flake or micro-pellets as a staple.
- Supplement with spirulina, blanched veg, and small live or frozen foods such as daphnia, microworm, and baby brine shrimp, which improve the males' colours.
- Their mouths are tiny, so grind dry food finely and feed small pinches once or twice daily.
- Remove uneaten food promptly, as overfeeding a small, heavily stocked tank quickly degrades water quality.
Health
- Endlers are robust when given clean, stable water.
- The usual livebearer troubles, ich, fin rot, and internal parasites, tend to appear only after chilling, crowding, or poor maintenance.
- Quarantine newcomers to protect an established colony.
- Because they breed so freely, inbreeding can weaken closed colonies over generations, so introduce fresh, healthy stock occasionally.
- Watch for wasting, clamped fins, or white spots and respond early with corrected parameters and appropriate treatment.
Is your enclosure big enough?
Is this urgent?
In a fish tank the patient is usually the water. Test before you treat — dosing a healthy tank for a disease it does not have makes things worse.
Go now
Today
Soon
Never add a new fish to a tank that is not fully cycled, and never treat blind. A test kit is cheaper than the fish.
This is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it — and the time to find one is before you need one.
What it really costs
Setup, monthly, first year and across a whole life, itemised and with the electricity worked out from the actual wattage. Published figures for the same animal disagree by a factor of four, so the calculator shows ranges rather than picking one.
Bedding and substrate
Substrate in an aquarium is a filter as much as a floor. Most of the biology lives in and on it.
Safe
With a caveat
Never
This is our general list for freshwater fish. We have not built one specific to Livebearers yet.
My kit says 0.25 ppm. Is that dangerous?
A liquid kit measures total ammonia, but only the un-ionised fraction is really toxic, and that fraction is governed by pH and temperature — each whole pH unit multiplies it roughly tenfold. So the same reading can be nearly harmless in one tank and lethal in another; this works out which one you are in.
Compare with other animals
The same axes for every animal, side by side — the way the guides are written makes that a fair comparison rather than two articles.
Livebearers, side by side
Same axes, same care guides — the honest way to choose between types.
See all Livebearers side by side →
