1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful, lively fish for hard-water community tanks.
115 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful, lively fish for hard-water community tanks. Keep more females than males.
Flakes, spirulina and algae wafers plus small frozen foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Males are smaller and have a gonopodium; females are larger.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Livebearer · Moderate
Easy livebearer. Males chase females hard, so use a large, heavily planted tank with floating plants; adults are less cannibalistic than most livebearers and can stay with the fry.
One male to three females.
Planted 40 L tank with floating plants and hard water.
Warm water and a varied diet.
20-50 fry per brood after a gestation of 4-6 weeks; fry take newly hatched brine shrimp or powdered flake from birth.
Fry take baby brine shrimp and fine flake right away.
A small livebearer endemic to Jamaica, where it lives in small streams; long shuffled between the genera Limia and Poecilia, and rarely seen for sale.
Albert Günther described the blue limia in 1866. Endemic to Jamaica, it is a peaceful livebearer kept for the blue sheen on its body.
First described by Albert Günther in 1866. Named for 'Melanogaster' means black belly.
14 facts checked with sources
Genus in flux. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (Sept 2026) now lists it as Poecilia melanogaster (following Huber 2019; the catalog returns no species under Limia at all), while FishBase and Seriously Fish still use Limia melanogaster, and many recent papers (Rodriguez-Silva & Weaver 2020, Spikes et al. 2021) use Limia. Taxonomy preference goes to Catalog of Fishes; keep Limia melanogaster as an other name, since the hobby sells it under Limia. Limia caudofasciata Regan 1913 and 'Limia tricolor' are synonyms.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Poecilia melanogaster · FishBase: Limia melanogaster summary · Seriously Fish: Limia melanogasterSubfamily Poeciliinae. Legacy has no family.
FishBase: Limia melanogaster summaryBoth figures are SL. Seriously Fish 4.0 cm SL; FishBase 4.0 cm SL male/unsexed and 5.0 cm SL for females. Larger well-sourced figure (females, 5 cm SL) used; total length a little longer. Legacy 6 cm not supported.
FishBase: Limia melanogaster summary · Seriously Fish: Limia melanogasterBoth sources give 7.5-8.5; legacy minimum 7.0 is too low.
Seriously Fish: Limia melanogaster · FishBase: Limia melanogaster summaryNew value; legacy had none. Needs very hard water.
Seriously Fish: Limia melanogaster · FishBase: Limia melanogaster summary60 x 30 x 30 cm = 54,000 cm³ = 54 L. Legacy 60 L is slightly more generous; Seriously Fish says the relatively large size is for open swimming space plus dense planting.
Seriously Fish: Limia melanogasterSeriously Fish rates it 'Easy' (and breeding 'Easy'); legacy care 2 (moderate). Note it needs steady, hard alkaline water.
Seriously Fish: Limia melanogasterLegacy has no range field (story says Jamaican). FishBase gives 'Jamaica and Haiti'; Catalog of Fishes and Seriously Fish say Jamaica only, preferred. IUCN Near Threatened.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Poecilia melanogaster · Seriously Fish: Limia melanogaster · FishBase: Limia melanogaster summarySize and gonopodium confirmed. The legacy colour notes (male blue sheen, black belly spot) were not confirmed by the sources fetched.
Seriously Fish: Limia melanogaster · FishBase: Limia melanogaster summaryLegacy 15-40 fry; Seriously Fish gives 20-50.
Seriously Fish: Limia melanogasterJamaica origin confirmed. Legacy colour description (grey-blue body, dark belly, male blue sheen) not checked against a source; the name 'blackbelly limia' (FishBase common name) fits.
Seriously Fish: Limia melanogaster