Care Guide for Endler’s Livebearers – The Guppy’s Little Cousin
Livebearers (or fish that bear live young) like guppies and mollies are always popular fish at pet stores because they’re so colorful and quick to make babies. There has been a lot of breeding to make specialty colors. This can sometimes lead the to weaker or less hardy strains. Endler’s Livebearers is a great choice for beginners as it is an entertaining and energetic nano fish.
What is an Endler’s Livebearer?
Poecilia wingei was named after Dr. John Endler. He rediscovered the species from Venezuela and brought them into the pet market. Males reach up to 1 in (2.5 cm), are slim and feature vibrant colors and patterns. Females can reach 1.8 inches (4.5 cm), have a rounder abdomen, and are usually tannish-silver in color.
The male endler is bright and slim, while the female endler is silvery tan and has a round abdomen full of babies.
What are the types of Endler’s Livebearers? This article focuses primarily on purebred Endler’s Livebearers or classN endlers. However, care requirements for Endler Hybrids are quite similar. Endlers and guppies have been crossed to make hybrids. Common types of Endler’s livebearers and Endler hybrids include black bar, tiger, cobra, El Silverado, and lime green endlers.
Are Endlers identical to guppies, No. However, they are closely related and can spawn together to produce fertile offspring. Poecilia wingei, an Endler’s livingbearer, Poecilia reticulata, is a guppy. An Endler guppy is a mix of both.
Endler’s livebearer (left), Endler hybrid guppy (middle), guppy (right).
Are Endlers a good choice for beginner fish? Wild Endlers can already be very colorful and didn’t need as much line breeding to produce beautiful strains. Therefore, we find them to be very hardy beginner fish that are easier to care for than guppies and many other types of livebearers.
How to Set Up an Aquarium for Endlers
When we say the Endler’s livebearer is a hardy species, we mean that they can live in wide range of water parameters that might be considered nonideal for other aquarium fish. For example, you can keep them at room temperature in an aquarium without a heater. They are tolerant of pH levels ranging from 6.5-8.5 and nearly any water hardness (or GH). Of course, this is not to say that you can completely neglect their husbandry because like any fish, they can be prone to bacterial and fungal infections if the pH becomes too acidic or the nitrate level is extremely high. However, if you stay on top of their tank maintenance as you would with any other fish, they are very easygoing and will reward you with many babies.
How many Endlers are allowed in a 5-gallon aquarium? We recommend getting larger tanks for the large number of fry they will produce. For a 10-gallon aquarium, start with a trio of one male and two females. For a 20-gallon aquarium, buy six to nine of them. It doesn’t take many Endlers in order to grow your population. All you need is the right environment with no predators.
How many Endlers need to be kept together? They are more comfortable being with other Endlers and would prefer to be kept in a group. We recommend that one male be kept for every 2-3 females due to their intense desire for mating. This will give the girls a break from the constant attention of the boys.
Males can be tireless in courting women, so try to get more of them.
Can Endlers live with other fish? Endlers can get along with any peaceful fish in a peaceful community, including smaller tetras, cory catfish, and danios. If the Endler population grows out of control, add African dwarf fishes or other predatory fish to eat the fry and leave the adults alone.
What do Endler’s Livebearers eat?
They don’t have to be picky about what they eat and will eat any food that fits in their mouths. They are great at scavenging for food all over the aquarium, both at the water surface and substrate level, and have even been known to pick at algae if they’re hungry enough. Keep in mind that they need to be fed a variety foods to get the nutrients they need to grow strong coloration and boost their immunity system.
How to Breed Endler’s Livebearers
Babies should appear every 23-30 days depending on temperature. The parents are not above eating their own offspring, so to increase the fry survival rate, provide lots of cover in the form of aquarium decorations or dense plants such as water sprite, wisteria, Pogostemon stellatus, and guppy grass. You can also cover the filter with a sponge filter, or a pre-filter sponge to keep the babies from being sucked in. After they have grown to about 0.5-1in (1.3-22.5 cm) in size, you might consider selling them to a fish store or giving them away to your friends who are starting fish keeping.
Baby Endler’s livebearers are usually not very bright at first, so they blend in with the surroundings and can escape predation.
Endler’s livebearers are an excellent pet for both new and experienced hobbyists because of their easy care, amazing colors, and lively personalities. Check out our recommended vendors for more information about buying live fish online.