u/Shemar_Livebearers

Located in the Paria Peninsula, Venezuela. Males gets to around 0.7-1 inch and females 1-1.2 inches in size. Close relatives to P. reticulata, and P. obscura. Like their cousins males are highly polymorphic, and unlike their cousins they are more vibrant in color. The females lacks any colors, and are plain grey in color. They can readily hybridize with other guppy species, which in turns, created the strains of domesticated endlers we have in the hobby. But for this reason, N-class Endlers are very hard to come by, with some sources being dishonest about keeping pure specimens, handing out P-Class, and K-Class hybrid endlers as pure Endlers… Very few keepers stay true to source Like AdrianHD. He’s a credible distributor of N-Class endlers in the U.S. Anyways they are a beautiful Poecilia species. So many variations so here’s a couple nice ones.

Picture credits: “Campoma #8” Daniel Grummon (1), “Campoma #29” You Le (2), “Campoma #61” Wojtek Golianek (3), “Campoma - El Tigre” Unknown (4), “Campoma - Pantono” Robert Nicolas (5), “Campoma - Rio de Oro” Yohichi Baba (6), “Campoma - Puerto la Cruz 2011” Suzuki Nozomi (7), “Cumana - Black bar” AdrianHD (8), “Cu112 - Black bar 2016” Phanuphan Chaosukho (9), “Cu113” Wuttipong Saywuttinon (10), “Cumana - El Dorado” Unknown (11), Cumana - El Silverado” Latrell Shemar (12), “Cumana - Lime Green” Mirko Casali (13), “Cumana - Mint Top Yellow Sword” AdrianHD (14), “Cumana - Miyuki” Mirko Casali (15), “Cumana - Red Chest” A. Eywill (16), “Cumana - Orchid” AdrianHD (17)

Located on Grand Cayman island, where it shares waters with Limia caymanensis. Part of the Punctata complex with (G. punctata, and G. rhizophorae for example). They get around 1.75-2.5 inches in length. They have a pretty flat head, short penduncle, and sport a yellow to orange body while the color is more concentrated on the bottom of the tail fin.

Picture credits: By: Manfred K. Meyer - Lebendgebärende Zierfische Bande 1 Poeciliidae (1&2), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (3)

Located in the Yucatán peninsula. They are the biggest Molly species in the genus, Poecilia. Males and females can get up to 4-6 inches in length. They are stocky, with males having golden faces when active, and tall sails compare to other sailfin species. They have rows of lateral dots going across the body and fins. This species is also widely commercially available, with a ton of fancy strains, and hybrid strains.

Picture credits: Sonny Haase (1-3), “Albino” Sonny Haase (4), Aquaroum Glaser (5&6), Unknown (7&8)

Located in Cost Rica to Panama. Males gets to around 1.5 inches, and females up to 3.15 inches in size. Appearance wise they are grey in color with fins placed far back on the body, and males sporting a long gonopodium. What’s special about this species the females bear fry via matrophy (having a placenta and providing nutrients to developing fry), and superfetation (bearing fry from different broods, in different stages of the fry lifecycle). It’s the reason why the females of this species is twice the males size.

Picture credits: Samuel Valdes (1-3), Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (4), Andres Hagmayer (5&6)

Located in Colombia, males reaches about 0.78 in and females 0.98 in. They’re the smallest known Livebearers. Males in this genus can project their gonopodia to the right or the left of their body. While females are ovoviviparous via superfetation (holding different broods of fry at different stages of life, dropping them a few at a time and not all at once). Body wise they tend to be silverish on the chest portion of the body and having orange/gold and black alternating bars. Extremely peaceful and delicate, they make perfect nano tank fish.

Picture credits: Aquarium Glaser

Located in Tamesí River, Mexico. Males reaches 1.5 inches and females 2 inches in length. They are slightly robust, with an olive gray to silver-gray body. Only noticeable feature is their broad spot pattern on their body. They share waters with Poecilia mexicana and Poecilia formosa (which latipunctata is a sperm donor to formosa’s in the wild). And eventhough they have short fins they are part of the Sailfin species complex.

Picture credits: Kjell Nilsson (1), Unknown (2), "Rio Mante, Tamaulipas, Mexico" By: Manfred K. Meyer - Lebendgebärende Zierfische Bande 1 Poeciliidae (3), Michi Tobler (4&5), Heiko Bleher (6)

Located in Guatemala. Males gets to around 2.5-3.5 inches and females around 3-4.7 inches in size. They are elongated slender yet robust bodied specimens, with silver/olive gray base body, rows of lateral dots going across, pointed faces, and nice iridescence. They are part of the Mexicana complex, being close relatives to Poecilia limantouri, Poecilia thermalis, and Poecilia sulphuraria. They are suspected to be a natural hybrid species between sailfin complex and mexicana complex species. The confusion with this species is that it shared names with the sailfin species Poecilia kykesis, old name of Mollienesia petenensis, this species names was changed to Mollienesia gracilis. This current date and time it was validated by Fred Poeser as Poecilia petenesis, and the sailfin being called Poecilia kykesis.

Picture credits: "Lago Peten, Guatemala" - By: Manfred K. Meyer - Lebendgebärende Zierfische Bande 1 Poeciliidae (1&2), Unknown (3)

Located Les Cayes basin and Jérémie drainages in Haiti. They share waters with other Livebearers like Limia tridens, and Limia dominicensis. Males gets to around 1.3 inches and females around 2.2 inches in size. They are olive grey in color, elongated moderately robust bodies, rows of lateral dots going across, basically resembling G. punctata, hence the name Pseudopunctata. To add they are part of the Puncatata species group with other members like Beebei, Luma, Puncatata, Rhizophorae, Xanthosoma.

Picture credits: Unknown (1), Martin Reith (2-5)

Located in Central Mexico. Close relatives to Xiphophorus pygmeaus. Both male and females stays around 0.75-1.45 inches. They are small, slender with an Olive body, and mid section lateral stripe going across the body. Males swords are pretty short, and gets at most 1mm in length. And females have a noticeable gravid spot area.

Picture credits: Aquarium Glaser

Located in Tecolutla (Necaxa) River system, central Mexico. They are apart of the Southern platy lineage being close relatives to X. milleri, X. variatus, and X. xiphidium. Males gets to around 1.5 inches and females around 2.3 inches in size. They are moderately robust with olive gray bodies, over arching backs, small faces, yellow finage, slight speckling and sporting vertical bars on the body.

Picture credits: Aquarium Glaser (1&2), Emerald King (3), Xipho.org (4&5)

Located in Mexico from southern Tamaulipas to northern Veracruz. They are part of the Southern platy lineage, close relatives with X. andersi, X. evelynae, and X. xiphidium. Males gets to around 1.6 inches and females around 2.3 inches in size. Like their name says this species has a ton of locale morphs/phenotypes. Because of this they are so wide spread in the hobby leading to plenty of fancy forms, and hybrids with other xiph species particularly with X. maculatus, and X. hellerii. It’ll be hard to describe what they look like but they can range in finage colors, pigmentation on their body, and body shape based on their local type. The pictures of them speaks for itself.

Picture credits: Michi Tobler (1&2), “Arroyo El Zarco” Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center (3), “Encino” Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center (4), “Huextetitla” Bryce Martin (5), “La Laguna” Aquarium Glaser (6), “Puente Escalanar” Aquarium Glaser (7), “Rio Nautla” Aquarium Glaser (8), “Rio Pantec” Aquarium Glaser (9), “Tampico” Aquarium Glaser (10)

Located in Guatemala to Panama. Close relatives to G. hubbsi, and G. manni. Males gets up to 1.2 inches and females 1.6 inches in size. Appearance wise it looks similar to both sister species, but males have a more arched back, and females getting moderately robust shaped.

Picture credits: E. Pürzl (1), Unknown (2&3), Eric Van den Berghe (4)

Located in Colombia. Males gets to around 1.2 inches and females around 1.6 inches in size. They have a stretched out cream-gray colored body, with a nice thick chest, long faces, and blue iridescent sheen to them. A simple and beautiful Gambusia species, but not much info out there about them.

Picture credits: O. Böhm

Located in Mexico. Males gets to around 1.6 inches and females around 2 inches in size. They look identical to P. olmecae with their robust gray colored body specimen, with faint blue eyes, yellow/golden undersides, and translucent yellow finnage. A nice looking species.

Picture credits: Wikipedia (1), Lemi Hacioglu (2), Aqualog (3)

Located in two interconnected springs in the Ixtapangajoya River drainage, which is part of the larger Grijalva River basin, Mexico. They’ve adapt over thousands of years to thrive in very acidic/toxic sulphide springs. Males gets to around 1.5 inches and females around 2.5-3 inches in size. They are robust shaped fish with silvery metallic scales broad heads and large bellies, with males showing yellow trimmed fins hence the name They are a sister species to Poecilia sulphuraria. Both species are heavily studied by Dr. Micheal Tobler. I provided a link source to his Lab site. A super cool species I want to obtain someday!!!!

Picture credits: Michi Tobler

Located in Mexico, Lake Catemaco and tributaries of the lake and the Río Grande de Catemaco above the falls at El Salto de Eyipantla. They’re a sister species to Pseudoxiphophorus bimaculata. All members in this genus was originally placed as Heterandria (with Heterandria formosa). Males gets to around 1.5-2 inches, and females 2-3 inches in size. They are slender, olive gray-tan in color, with black reticulations between the scales giving them the dark appearance, short penduncles, with narrow faces, and a black spot on the base, of their tail fins.

Picture credits: jeff.dubosc

US native species, located on the East coast, from North Carolina, down to south Florida, around the Gulf of Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. Males can get up to 3-5 inches and females 3-4 inches. They have a range of phenotypes. They are robust, thick penduncle, large sailfin, lateral dots running across the body, and dominant/courting males, faces turns a golden orange. They are one of the few species of mollies that has been domesticated to fancy forms, and hybridize with other specimens, we see in the hobby. They prefer brackish conditions but can tolerate full fresh to full salt water conditions.

Picture credits: tmenut (1-3), Eric C. Maxwell (4-6), hylajwhite (7), Latrell Shemar (8-12)

Located in Cayo Macal River, Mt. Pine Ridge, Belize. Males gets to around 2 inches and females 2.5-3 inches in size. Teresae is part of the Mexicana complex, and is one of the more endangered species of Unicuspid mollies. From what I can find this species they are almost like a dark gray-black!and very robust. I do wish there was updated media on this species, because I can tell they are a pretty.

Picture credits: Unknown

Located in upper Rio Panucho system in Mexico. They share waters with other members (pygmaeus, and variatus), but are separated into different niches. Also this species is close relatives to X. birchmanni, and X. malinche. Males gets to 1.2-1.5 inches and females 2 inches in size. Apparence wise they looks similar to X. malinche, but having a more rounded body shape, longer swordtails, a large spot on their tails and bigger dorsals.

Picture credits: Michi Tobler (1-3), Aquarium Glaser (4-6)