Poecilia wingei

Alternative names

 * Endler's Livebearer,

Sexing

 * Males are very brightly coloured, with varying patterns of orange, black, green and blue. Females are slightly larger and broader than males, and are pale green in colour. Aside from colouration, sex can also be determined by the presence of the gonopodium organ. Mature females also have a dark gravid spot near their vent.


 * Juvenile males develop their gonopodium often before their colouring develops.

Tank compatibility

 * Endler's are best in species tanks, purely for their adult size as they are tiny. Most other fish wouldn't think twice about swallowing one. They can however be kept with other small peaceful fish such as Otocinclus Catfish and Dwarf Corydoras.


 * Endler's are a wild equivalent of the Guppy, and can therefore hybridise, these hybrids are not as sought after as pure Endler's, so keeping the two species together is not recommended.

Diet

 * Endler's are omnivores and will eat algae-based flake food, freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp, small pellets and flakes. When feeding flake or pellet food make sure it is small enough for these fish to eat.

Feeding regime

 * Feed once to three times a day in small amounts.

Environment Specifics

 * This fish appreciates a spacious planted tank with excellent water quality. Keeping plants such as Java Moss will mean that any babies have places to hide.

Breeding

 * Like Guppies, these guys are very highly sexed. A female kept in a tank with males is almost guaranteed to be pregnant. They are livebearers and give birth to small batches of live young after about 21 days of pregnancy. It's best to keep them in a strict ratio of 2-3 females per male. Unlike other livebearers, Endlers will not eat their young.

Behaviour

 * A docile and curious little fish. It is reactive to the goings on outside the tank and will gather when it's feeding time.

Identification

 * A small fish, much smaller than Guppies, the males are brightly coloured and the females plain pale green. Watch out as females can look almost identical to baby Guppies. And when they're babies they're almost impossible to tell apart from Guppies.
 * Hybrids can easily told apart from pure Endlers as they will have elongated tails or "swords", elongated dorsal fins and guppy-like patterns. A true Endler will have a rounded caudal fin and short dorsal fin.
 * Due to selective breeding from dedicated Endler fans, there are now lots of different named colour types available, and many more still being created.

Links

 * The Endler Shop - The Endler Shop
 * Endlers Guppy Profile & Video
 * BreedInUSA.com - USA Endler Breeder & Seller
 * BreedInUSA.com - USA Endler Breeder & Seller