6 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful nano livebearer, great with shrimp.
197 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful nano livebearer, great with shrimp.
Micro-pellets, crushed flakes.
Tap a food to see what it is.
How hard to tell: Easy
Tip: Colour and anal fin
From the checked notes: “Males are smaller and far more colourful, with a gonopodium; females are larger, plain and plumper.” Numbers sit on the part of the body each difference is about. Tap a picture to see it bigger.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Livebearer · Easy
Livebearer that breeds continuously; it crossbreeds with guppies to give fertile young, so keep it apart from guppies to keep strains pure.
Buy 1 male and 2-3 females; keep strains pure by not mixing with guppies.
20-40 L tank with plants and a sponge filter.
No trigger needed; females give birth about monthly.
5-25 young per brood, depending on the female's age and size; new broods every 23-24 days.
Fry are born ready to eat. Feed crushed flake, baby brine shrimp and microworms several times a day. Separate fry from adults or use plants as cover. Sort by size and sex early.
First collected by Franklyn F. Bond in 1937 and rediscovered by biologist John Endler in 1975 at Laguna de Patos near Cumaná, Venezuela; the common name honours Endler. It was formally described only in 2005, as Poecilia wingei, named after geneticist Øjvind Winge. It readily hybridises with guppies, and most hobby fish are now hybrids.
This fish was collected in 1937 by Franklyn Bond, then rediscovered by biologist John Endler in 1975 near Cumaná, Venezuela. Poeser, Kempkes and Isbrücker described it as a species in 2005. Its tiny, vivid males made it a hobby favourite.
First described by Poeser, Kempkes & Isbrücker in 2005. Named for Common name after biologist John Endler.
15 facts checked with sources
Valid in FishBase as Poecilia wingei Poeser, Kempkes & Isbrücker, 2005. Species status is disputed: Schories et al. 2009 (molecular) support a separate species; Herdegen et al. 2014 found Cumaná guppies only partly isolated from the common guppy and did not support two species. Trade warning: John Endler says most Endlers in the hobby are guppy hybrids (Practical Fishkeeping), so shop fish are often not pure P. wingei.
FishBase: Poecilia wingei summary · Wikipedia: Poecilia wingei (cites Schories, Meyer & Schartl 2009, Zootaxa 2266: 35-50) · Herdegen et al. 2014, Population structure of guppies in north-eastern Venezuela, BMC Evol Biol 14:28 (PubMed 24533965)Legacy has no family; sourced value recorded.
FishBase: Poecilia wingei summaryBoth are SL (standard length): FishBase 2.0 cm SL, Seriously Fish 2.5 cm SL. FishBase preferred for size. Legacy 3 cm is plausible as a total length for a large female.
FishBase: Poecilia wingei summary · Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingeiInside Seriously Fish's 24-30. FishBase gives no temperature.
Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingeiInside Seriously Fish's 7.0-8.5.
Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingeiLegacy has no hardness; Seriously Fish value recorded.
Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingei45 x 30 x 30 cm = 40.5 L (~41 L, as Seriously Fish states), which it calls 'big enough to house quite a substantial colony'. Legacy 30 L is below this.
Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingeiNo minimum group number given; only advice on sex ratio.
Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingeiSeriously Fish lists it as peaceful but notes 'females may act quite territorially'.
Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingeiSeriously Fish difficulty rating.
Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingeiLegacy has no range. Seriously Fish says the type locality, Laguna de Patos, is thought to have lost its population after a garbage dump was built beside it. IUCN status per FishBase (assessed 8 March 2021).
FishBase: Poecilia wingei summary · Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingeiBrood size top raised from 20 to 25. Seriously Fish gives a brood interval of 23-24 days, consistent with legacy '3-4 weeks', but not a gestation figure as such.
Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingeiLegacy claims verified; correction: Endler rediscovered it in 1975 (Bond collected it first in 1937), and the scientific name honours Øjvind Winge, not Endler (Practical Fishkeeping). 'Smaller than a guppy' is consistent with 2-2.5 cm SL but was not stated as a comparison in a source.
Seriously Fish: Poecilia wingei · Practical Fishkeeping: Endler's livebearers are nearly all hybrids (interview with John Endler) · FishBase: Poecilia wingei summary