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Encyclopedia / Livebearers / Metallic livebearer
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Variations

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Metallic livebearer

Girardinus metallicus · Metallic girardinus, Cuban livebearer, Girardinus

Peaceful with fish of similar size, but males are active and persistent with females.

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9 cmAdult size ✓
22–27 °CTemperature ✓
6.5–8pH ✓
41 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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Not recommended
  • White cloud mountain minnow needs cool water and makes a lot of waste, while Metallic livebearer is tropical.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: exactly 22 °C.
Not recommended
  • Giant gourami eats animals up to about 10 cm. Metallic livebearer only grows to 9 cm.
Not recommended
  • Oscar eats animals up to about 12 cm. Metallic livebearer only grows to 9 cm.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: exactly 22 °C.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 26–27 °C.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

392 species in our list are a good match.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓8–20 dGH
Group size ?5 or more
Temperament ✓Peaceful
Swims at ?Middle
Care level ✓Easy
Diet Omnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 3–5 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Peaceful with fish of similar size, but males are active and persistent with females.

Food

Flakes, spirulina and live or frozen foods; likes algae grazing.

Tap a food to see what it is.

Male or female

Males are smaller, with a gonopodium and a black stripe running from the mouth along the underside into the gonopodium; females are larger.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Livebearer · Easy

Very easy unless kept in soft, acidic water. Keep several females per male and dense planting; adults eat the young, so move the pregnant female to her own tank to give birth (breeding traps are too small).

Pairing

One male with 3 females.

Setup

40-60 L tank with dense plants and floating cover.

What starts it

A warm, well-fed tank.

Eggs

15-30 fry per brood after a gestation of about 24 days; fry take brine shrimp nauplii or powdered flake from birth.

Raising the fry

Baby brine shrimp and flake; very easy to rear.

Common mistakes
  • No cover for fry
  • Too many males
  • Cold, stale water
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionCuba
HabitatPonds, ditches and slow streams
Native rangeAbout 500 km across
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The story of the metallic livebearer

A hardy Cuban livebearer of stagnant, often brackish water. It entered the aquarium hobby in the early 20th century, vanished, and reappeared in a Berlin zoo in 1965; it has stayed with specialist breeders since.

Cuban naturalist Felipe Poey described this livebearer in 1854. It is a small, peaceful fish, and some males show black markings on the head and belly.

First described by Felipe Poey in 1854. Named for 'Metallicus' refers to its metallic sheen.

  • Its genus Girardinus honours zoologist Charles Girard.
  • There are two male forms, plain and black-marked.
  • Felipe Poey is regarded as the founder of Cuban ichthyology.

Sources

14 facts checked with sources