A tiny, dazzlingly colored relative of the common guppy, prized for the intense metallic patterning of the males and well suited to small planted nano aquariums.
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Educational only. KinStation content is reviewed by licensed veterinarians but cannot replace an in-person exam. Always consult a licensed veterinarian or board-certified specialist for diagnosis, treatment, or any decision affecting your pet's health.
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Males about 2-2.5 cm, females about 3-4 cm total length
Lifespan
1–3 years
Social needs
group
Native region
Northeastern Venezuela (Laguna de Patos and surrounding coastal lagoons of the Paria Peninsula)
Origin
New World
Climate
🌴 Tropical
Water type
💧 Freshwater
Family
Poeciliidae
Genus
Poecilia
Part of the Livebearers
Egg-free breeders that give birth to free-swimming fry — guppies, mollies, platies, swordtails and their dwarf relatives. Hardy, prolific, and beginner-friendly favorites of the freshwater hobby.
From the minimum an animal needs to be kept humanely, up to the ideal setup. Bigger is almost always better — minimums are floors, not targets.
Photo coming soon
Minimum
Small group planted
10 gal / 38 L planted
Poecilia wingei reaches 1–1.5 in. 10-gallon planted tank for a single-sex group of 6+ (or all-male — mixed-sex breeds nonstop). Hard slightly alkaline water, dense plants, gentle filtration.
Photo coming soon
Recommended
Planted shoal display
15 gal / 57 L planted
15-gallon planted with all-male group of 8–10 to enjoy colour without rampant breeding, or a small breeding colony with floating cover for fry survival.
Photo coming soon
Ideal
Mature shrimp biotope
20 gal+ / 76 L+ biotope
Mature 20-gal+ planted with dwarf shrimp, mosses, and a small endler colony. Pure-strain endlers (not endler/guppy hybrids) show stunning colour combinations.
Life & growth stages
How this animal changes through its life — each stage often has its own care, diet and space needs.
Photo coming soon
Egg
Fish eggs are small, translucent spheres, often laid in clutches on plants, substrate, or in a nest — or carried/brooded by a parent in livebearing and mouth-brooding species. A dark eye spot and the curled embryo become visible inside as development progresses.
Photo coming soon
Fry
Newly hatched fry are tiny and semi-transparent, frequently still carrying a yolk sac that fuels them before they feed freely. They lack full fin structure and adult coloration, staying near cover until they can swim and forage on their own.
Photo coming soon
Juvenile
Juveniles look like miniature adults but with developing fins and muted or different markings; many species shift pattern and color as they mature. Growth is rapid at this stage given clean water and steady feeding.
Adult
Adults show the species' full size, finnage, and mature coloration, and are sexually mature. Many fish develop sex-specific differences in size, color, or fin shape, which can intensify during breeding.
Color & pattern variants
Natural variants occur in the wild; selectively bred (man-made) variants were developed in captivity.
Because of their small size, a colony does well in a 40-75 liter (10-20 gallon) planted tank, and even a well-maintained nano tank can house a small group. Provide dense planting (Java moss, floating plants, fine-leaved species) for fry refuge and grazing, a fine substrate, and a gentle filter such as a sponge filter that will not draw in tiny fish or fry.
Endlers prefer warm, hard, alkaline water: 24-28 C (75-82 F), pH 7.0-8.5, with moderate to high hardness (GH 10-30). They are sensitive to ammonia and nitrite spikes in small volumes, so a fully cycled filter and regular small water changes are important.
Substrate
Endlers do fine over any inert substrate, but a dark fine gravel or sand makes their iridescent greens and oranges pop. A bare or lightly planted bottom is fine; what they really want is dense plant cover (Java moss, hornwort, floating plants) to give fry refuge from hungry adults.
Equipment & setup
A 10-gallon-plus tank with a gentle sponge filter (air-driven keeps fry from being sucked up) and a heater set to 72-78 F. They tolerate a wide range but appreciate moderately hard, alkaline water (pH 7-8); standard LED planted lighting is plenty.
Diet
Endlers are micro-predators and grazers. Feed a finely crushed quality flake or small micro-pellet as a staple, plus frequent small live or frozen foods such as baby brine shrimp, microworms, daphnia, and cyclops, which bring out their best color. Some plant-based food and grazing on biofilm and algae round out the diet.
Their small mouths require appropriately small food particles. Feed tiny amounts once or twice daily; uneaten food fouls small tanks rapidly.
Behavior & temperament
Endlers are exceptionally peaceful, active, and social, and should be kept in groups. Males display almost constantly to females in a rapid courtship dance but do not harm them or each other. They are ideal nano and community fish with other tiny, gentle species, though they should not be housed with fin-nippers or large fish.
Enrichment comes from heavy planting, open swimming space, and the company of a colony. Note that Endlers interbreed readily with common guppies, producing fertile hybrids, so keep them separate from Poecilia reticulata to preserve pure strains.
Health
As small, fast-metabolizing fish, Endlers are vulnerable to the same diseases as guppies, including ich, fin rot, columnaris, and stress-related 'shimmies', all closely tied to water quality and stability. Their small body size means parameter swings in tiny tanks hit them hard.
Prevention centers on a stable, cycled, well-planted tank, a varied diet of small foods, gentle filtration, and quarantine of new stock. Maintain genetic diversity within a colony to avoid weakening from inbreeding. This is general care information for vet review and is not a substitute for diagnosis by an aquatic veterinarian.
Tips, DIY & hacks
Keep pure N-class Endlers separate from fancy guppies unless you intend hybrids, since they interbreed readily. They breed nonstop, so a heavily planted tank or a separate grow-out tank with moss saves fry for free; a turkey-baster makes spot-feeding crushed flake and baby brine shrimp easy.
