Poecilia wingei

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Endler's livebearer or Endler's guppy

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cyprinodontiformes
Family:	Poeciliidae
Genus:	Poecilia
Species:	P. wingei

Binomial name

Poecilia wingei
Poeser, Kempkes, & Isbrücker, 2005

Poecilia wingei, known to aquarists as Endler's guppy or Endler's livebearer is a species of fish in the genus Poecilia, native to the Paria Peninsula, Venezuela. It is a colorful fish, similar to (and closely related to) the guppy. It has been collected by a small handful of people over the years, including John Endler, whose stock was the first to make it to the aquarium trade. Though it is rare in pet shops, it is still seen from time to time today in the aquaria of enthusiasts.

They are prolific breeders like their guppy relatives. They can be crossed with guppies, but the hybrid offspring are fertile and considered to dilute the gene pool and so this is avoided by fish breeders. Many fish sold in pet stores as Endler's livebearers are actually these hybrids.

Endler's livebearers give birth to live young approximately every 28 days. They are hardy and undemanding in the aquarium though they prefer hard, warm water. The warmer the water, the faster they will grow; however this also seems to wear them out faster and they do not live as long. They can be kept at 18–29 °C (66–82 °F), but their optimum temperature seems to be 24–27 °C. This is slightly higher than their guppy cousins which prefer 23–25 °C. They do best if kept in tanks with plants (preferably live, but fake will do) to give them hiding places and (although unlike guppies they tend not to eat their own young) give the fry a better chance at survival.

Although not yet taken up into the IUCN Red List of endangered species, they are in danger of extinction as humans enter their natural habitat, polluting and destroying it.