Livebearers are hardy, active freshwater fish that give birth to free-swimming fry rather than laying eggs. This collection focuses on livebearers outside of Guppies and Endlers, including favourites such as Platies, Swordtails, Mollies and other less commonly seen species.

Why You'll Love Livebearers

• Hardy, colourful and active community fish
• Excellent choice for beginner and family aquariums
• Breed readily in healthy aquariums
• Available in many colours, body shapes and fin types
• Great for planted community tanks

Creating the Ideal Home

Tank Size

Smaller livebearers such as Platies can be kept in aquariums from 60 litres, while larger or more active species such as Swordtails and Mollies are better suited to aquariums of 90 litres or more.

Temperature

Most livebearers thrive between 23–27°C with stable tropical conditions.

Water Quality

• Ammonia: 0 ppm
• Nitrite: 0 ppm
• Nitrate: ideally below 20 ppm
• pH: 7.0–8.2

Livebearers generally prefer clean, stable water with moderate hardness. They should only be added to fully cycled aquariums.

Filtration

Moderate filtration with good biological capacity is ideal. Livebearers are active fish and benefit from clean, well-oxygenated water.

Aquascaping

A planted aquarium with open swimming space works very well. Floating plants, mosses and dense stem plants provide shelter for newborn fry and help reduce stress.

Feeding

Most livebearers are omnivores and benefit from both protein-rich and plant-based foods.

• Premium tropical flakes
• Small community pellets
• Spirulina flakes
• Blanched vegetables
• Frozen bloodworms
• Brine shrimp and daphnia

A varied diet helps support strong colour, healthy growth and regular breeding.

Suitable Tank Mates

Livebearers are generally peaceful and mix well with many community fish that enjoy similar water conditions.

• Corydoras
• Rainbowfish
• Peaceful Barbs
• Danios
• Peaceful Gouramis
• Otocinclus
• Snails

Avoid aggressive fish, fin-nippers and very soft-water species that may not suit the same conditions.

Popular Livebearers

• Platies
• Swordtails
• Mollies
• Variatus Platies
• Limia species
• Goodeids
• Halfbeaks

Livebearers FAQs

Are Livebearers good for beginners?

Yes. Platies, Swordtails and many Mollies are excellent beginner fish when kept in a cycled aquarium with stable water quality.

Do Livebearers breed easily?

Yes. Most livebearers breed readily, and females can give birth to free-swimming fry every few weeks under good conditions.

Should I keep males and females together?

If keeping mixed sexes, aim for more females than males to reduce stress from constant chasing. A common ratio is one male to two or three females.

Can Livebearers live with shrimp?

Adult shrimp may be fine with smaller peaceful livebearers, but baby shrimp are likely to be eaten. Dense plants and mosses improve shrimplet survival.

Are Guppies and Endlers included here?

No. Guppies and Endlers have their own dedicated collections, so this Livebearers collection focuses on other species such as Platies, Swordtails, Mollies and similar livebearing fish.