Endler's Livebearer

Poecilia wingei

Also known as: Endler's guppy, Endler

Water Parameters

• Temperature: 24–30°C
• pH: 7–8.5
• Hardness: 268–625 ppm

Care Summary

A smaller, more vividly-coloured relative of the common guppy, native to a few specific lakes in Venezuela and considered endangered in the wild. The males display extraordinary patterns of orange, green, and black, with body shapes more elongated than guppies. Females are plain and silver, like guppy females. Hardier than fancy guppies because the breeding lines are less inbred, with no equivalent of guppy disease. Females produce smaller broods than guppies (typically 10–20 fry per month) but breed continuously in stable tanks. A genuinely excellent nano-tank centrepiece species.

Tankmates

Peaceful, hardy livebearers smaller than common guppies. Best kept with at least two females per male to prevent males from harassing any single female. Will readily hybridise with common guppies (Poecilia reticulata) — keep separately if maintaining pure Endler strains is important. Particularly well-suited to hard, alkaline Australian tap water. Adults are too small to threaten cherry shrimp adults, though fry and very small shrimp may be eaten.

Compatible with

• Bronze Corydoras
• Harlequin Rasbora
• Ember Tetra
• Cherry Shrimp
• Otocinclus
• Mystery Snail
• Platy

Avoid keeping with

• Betta
• Guppy
• Fin Nippers
• Large Cichlids

Common Problems

• overpopulation from continuous breeding
• hybridisation with guppies if mixed
• occasional ich
• loss of colour intensity if outbred to wild types

Sources: seriouslyfish.com, fishbase.org · Last updated: 2026-06-03