Omnivore (micro-flake, crushed pellet, live foods)
Time
10 min daily; weekly water change
Cost
Low
Overview
Endler's livebearers are a close relative of the guppy from the warm coastal lagoons of Venezuela, with males showing orange, green, and black metallic patterning on a small body.
Pure strains are conservation-sensitive and worth keeping unmixed.
They are hardy, active, and smaller than guppies, which suits nano and planted aquariums.
Like all livebearers they reproduce quickly, so single-sex groups or population planning are wise from the start.
Housing
A cycled, heated tank from 38 litres (10 gallons) suits a colony, held at 22-28C (72-82F) in slightly hard, alkaline water.
Dense planting shows off their colours and gives fry refuge, while a gentle filter keeps the small fish from being buffeted.
Endlers stay near the surface and mid-water and tolerate a range of conditions, but appreciate stable parameters and low nitrate.
A lid is sensible, and avoid housing pure Endlers with guppies if you wish to preserve the strain.
Diet
Omnivorous and undemanding, Endlers take finely crushed flake or micro-pellets as a staple.
Supplement with spirulina, blanched veg, and small live or frozen foods such as daphnia, microworm, and baby brine shrimp, which improve the males' colours.
Their mouths are tiny, so grind dry food finely and feed small pinches once or twice daily.
Remove uneaten food promptly, as overfeeding a small, heavily stocked tank quickly degrades water quality.
Health
Endlers are robust when given clean, stable water.
The usual livebearer troubles, ich, fin rot, and internal parasites, tend to appear only after chilling, crowding, or poor maintenance.
Quarantine newcomers to protect an established colony.
Because they breed so freely, inbreeding can weaken closed colonies over generations, so introduce fresh, healthy stock occasionally.
Watch for wasting, clamped fins, or white spots and respond early with corrected parameters and appropriate treatment.
Temperament
Peaceful, lively, and constantly active, Endlers do best in groups where males display their colours.
They are too small to harass tankmates and make good peaceful community fish alongside other gentle, small species.
They are prolific breeders, and a mixed group will produce a steady stream of fry that adults may eat without plant cover.
Keep males only to avoid a population explosion, or provide dense planting if you want them to raise young.
A good fit for
Nano and small planted aquariums
Beginners wanting a colourful small fish
Peaceful community and shrimp tanks
Keepers interested in preserving pure strains
Common mistakes to avoid
Crossbreeding pure strains with guppies
Rapid overpopulation from mixed-sex groups
Overfeeding fouling a small tank
Inbreeding weakening closed colonies over time
Is your enclosure big enough?
Minimum volume38 litres (10 US gallons)
CompanyCannot be kept alone. The minimum is 3, and the space above is for that group.
In a fish tank the patient is usually the water. Test before you treat — dosing a healthy tank for a disease it does not have makes things worse.
Go now
Any detectable ammonia or nitrite in a stocked tankLarge water change now with dechlorinated, temperature-matched water. Stop feeding. Test again in 12 hours. Both are directly toxic. How toxic the ammonia reading is depends on pH and temperature, so the same number can be harmless or lethal.
Now
Fish gasping at the surface, or crowding the filter outflowIncrease surface agitation immediately, then test the water. Either the oxygen has crashed or the gills are being chemically burned. Both are hours-scale problems.
Now
Sudden deaths, more than one fish in a dayTest ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and temperature before doing anything else. Do not add medication yet. Multiple simultaneous deaths point at the water or the equipment, not at a pathogen.
Now
Today
Flashing — repeatedly scraping against decor or substrateTest the water, then look closely for parasites. Irritation is either chemical or parasitic; the test tells you which before you medicate.
Today
White salt-grain spots over the body and finsBegin the appropriate treatment today and check the temperature. The parasite's life cycle is temperature-driven, and it multiplies with every cycle you wait.
Today
Soon
Clamped fins, hiding, or refusing food for more than two daysTest the water and review recent changes. Usually the earliest visible sign of a parameter drifting.
A few days
Never add a new fish to a tank that is not fully cycled, and never treat blind. A test kit is cheaper than the fish.
This is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it — and the time to find one is before you need one.
What it really costs
Setup, monthly, first year and across a whole life, itemised and with the electricity worked out from the actual wattage. Published figures for the same animal disagree by a factor of four, so the calculator shows ranges rather than picking one.
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