Metallic livebearer

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep them in a group with several females per male, in a tank of at least 40 liters, since males chase females hard and the extra females spread that attention out. They are mostly peaceful and sit in the middle of the water column. Aim for 22 to 27 C, medium-hard and alkaline water around pH 6.5 to 8, and stay on top of weekly water changes, because they handle nitrogenous waste worse than most livebearers. Feed flakes, small pellets, and frozen treats like daphnia or brine shrimp, and pick tankmates that also like hard or lightly brackish water. They breed readily and can build up a colony fast, so never release surplus fish into local waterways and check your local rules before rehoming.

In the wild

Metallic livebearers are endemic to Cuba, where they live in hard, alkaline freshwater that can run slightly brackish near the coast. Give them a tank of 40 liters or more with dense planting and some floating cover, since plants break up sightlines and give females places to rest. Keep the water on the harder, more alkaline side, around pH 6.5 to 8, and skip soft, acidic blackwater setups. Temperatures from 22 to 27 C suit them well.

Good to know

This is a livebearer in the family Poeciliidae. Adults reach about 6 cm, with females larger than the males, which carry the dark throat and belly stripe that gives the fish its black chin name. Females give birth to live young after a gestation of roughly 24 days, dropping broods of about 15 to 30 relatively large fry. Healthy adults live a couple of years.

Did you know

The males earn the black chin name with a dark stripe running from the throat down the belly, and they flash it during courtship as they shimmy in front of females. In a planted tank these fish breed on their own with no help from you, and because the fry are born large and grow quickly, a stable group will keep a small colony going year after year.

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