Freshwater Fish
Endler's Livebearer
Poecilia wingei
Tiny, colourful livebearer for small planted tanksBeginner
- Lifespan
- 2-3 years
- Size
- 0.8-1.6 in2-4 cm
- 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 small 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.
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- 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
- 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 15 gallons57 litres, 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 of at least 15 US gallons57 litres and 18 in45 cm long suits a colony, held at 72-82°F22-28°C 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
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- Baby brine shrimp hatchery or frozen equivalent for fry
- Fine net for removing leftovers
Safe substrate: Fine, smooth sand · Smooth, rounded fine gravel (not for loaches or sand-sifting cichlids; sand is better for corydoras) · Bare bottom (quarantine and grow-out only)
Care routine
Daily
- Check temperature and equipment
- Feed
- Head-count and look everyone over
Every few days
- Top up evaporationevery 3 days
Weekly
- Test the water
- Water change and gravel vacuum
- Wipe the front glass only
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Every few weeks
- Trim and thin the plantsevery 2 weeks
Monthly
- Check supplies and reagent dates
- Replace or recharge chemical media, if you use any (skip it in a blackwater tank)
- Review the fry plan
- Rinse the filter media
Health review: Quarterly stocking and health review, every 3 months
Tools
Care in depth
Diet
Omnivore (micro-flake, crushed pellet, live foods)
- 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
Signs of good health, and the common problems
- 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 this urgent?
6 warning signs and how fast to act, 3 of them right away
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
Any detectable ammonia or nitrite in a stocked tankLarge water change now with dechlorinated, temperature-matched water. Stop feeding. Test again in 12 hours. Both are directly toxic. How toxic the ammonia reading is depends on pH and temperature, so the same number can be harmless or lethal.
NowFish gasping at the surface with fast gill movement, or crowding the filter outflowIncrease surface movement now (gently in a betta or gourami tank, without creating a strong current), then test the water. Either the oxygen has crashed or the gills are being chemically burned. Both are hours-scale problems. Bettas, gouramis and corydoras rise to gulp air as part of normal breathing; the warning is constant gulping, fast gill movement, or the whole group hanging at the top.
NowSudden deaths, more than one fish in a dayTest ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and temperature before doing anything else. Do not add medication yet. Multiple simultaneous deaths usually point at the water or the equipment rather than a pathogen, so rule those out first.
NowToday
Flashing: repeatedly scraping against decor or substrateTest the water, then look closely for parasites. Irritation is either chemical or parasitic; the test tells you which before you medicate.
TodayWhite salt-grain spots over the body and finsBegin the appropriate treatment today and check the temperature. The parasite's life cycle is temperature-driven, and it multiplies with every cycle you wait.
TodaySoon
Clamped fins, hiding, or refusing food for more than two daysTest the water and review recent changes. Usually the earliest visible sign of a parameter drifting.
A few daysNever 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.
Bedding and substrate
3 safe, 4 with a caveat, 2 to avoid
Substrate in an aquarium is a filter as much as a floor. Most of the biology lives in and on it.
Safe
Fine, smooth sandCorrect for corydoras, kuhli loaches, eartheaters such as rams and acaras, and anything else that sifts or burrows. Barbels wear away on sharp gravel.
safeSmooth, rounded fine gravel (not for loaches or sand-sifting cichlids; sand is better for corydoras)Rinse thoroughly before use. Grain size should be too large to swallow and too small to trap food. Kuhli loaches need sand to burrow into and rams and acaras sift mouthfuls of it; bronze and panda corydoras manage on smooth fine gravel, but sterbai corydoras need sand.
safeBare bottom (quarantine and grow-out only)Legitimate for quarantine and grow-out tanks. Easy to clean, but it holds far less biological filtration, and it is no long-term home for burrowing loaches or sand-sifters.
safeWith a caveat
Crushed coral or aragoniteDeliberately raises hardness and pH. Correct for rift-lake cichlids, wrong for soft-water species.
with a caveatAquasoil for planted tanksExcellent for plants, but most active soils soften the water and pull pH and KH down for months, and many leach ammonia for the first weeks. Right for soft-water species; wrong for hard-water animals (livebearers, rainbowfish, goldfish, and snails, whose shells erode in soft, acidic water) unless you test GH and KH and remineralise. Cycle around it; do not stock into it.
with a caveatVery deep sand bedsAnaerobic pockets form below about 2 inches5 cm in still sand. Either keep it shallow or keep it stirred.
with a caveatPainted or coated gravelUsually fine, but coatings chip. Test a handful in a jar for a week first.
with a caveatNever
Sharp or angular gravel with bottom-dwellersWears down barbels and leads to infection in corydoras and loaches.
neverAnything containing metal, limestone of unknown origin, or shells in a soft-water tankSlowly alters chemistry in ways that are hard to diagnose later.
neverThis is our general list for freshwater fish. We have not built one specific to Endler's Livebearer yet.
Top resources for more info
Independent creators and organisations we would send a friend to. We have no affiliation with any of them, and nothing here is sponsored. Links checked 2026-10-22.
YouTubers
Girl Talks FishCare how-tos by fish type, tank setup and beginner mistakes (the host works for Aquarium Co-Op, a retailer)Aquarium Co-OpSpecies care guides, filtration and fish health (run by a retailer)Prime Time AquaticsSpecies profiles, stocking and water chemistry explained plainly
Sites
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