Endler's Livebearer

Scientific name: Poecilia wingei

Adult size: males about 2.5 cm, females larger

Origin: Campoma and Buena Vista lagoons, northeastern Venezuela

Water: 24–30 °C, pH 7.0–8.5, 15–35 dGH

Group: several females to each male

Diet: omnivore, needs some vegetable matter

Temperament: peaceful, prolific livebearer

Endler's livebearer is a small, brightly patterned relative of the guppy. Males stay around 2.5 cm and carry the colour, splashed with metallic green, orange and black in patterns that vary between strains; females are larger and plainer. It comes from a handful of warm, hard-water lagoons near Campoma and Buena Vista in northeastern Venezuela. It is a livebearer, meaning the young are born swimming rather than hatched from eggs, and it is incredibly prolific: Seriously Fish records broods of 5–25 fry every 23–24 days, males colouring up within three to five weeks and females able to breed at two months old. A mixed-sex group becomes a colony quickly, whether or not you planned for it. Males court constantly, so keep several females to each male to spread the harassment, or keep males only. It is peaceful toward other fish. In the wild it eats small bottom-dwelling invertebrates and detritus and it should have some vegetable matter in its diet.

Water: 24–30 °C and pH 7.0–8.5, hardness 15–35 dGH, so warm, hard and alkaline. GH is the measure of dissolved calcium and magnesium; Endlers do poorly in soft, acidic water.

Tank and planting: a planted tank with dense cover such as moss or floating plants, which gives fry somewhere to hide and gives females a break from the males.

Feeding: quality flake or micro granules with spirulina or vegetable content, plus small frozen or live foods such as daphnia and baby brine shrimp. Feed small amounts a couple of times a day.