Endless Endlers, Round Tail Guppies, Scuds, Live Plants, Naja and More!!!
Topics about the care and breeding of Endlers
Recently I’ve had a few customers ask to see a few photos of Blonde Chili Endlers. These type of chilis resemble regular grey (blau) base colored chilis in size and care. The blonde phenotype seems to accent the metallic iridescence. Here a few very quick photos and video clips of them.
Videos:
Blonde Chili Endler Snapshots
Here is a photo of the gray bodied Ranbow Snakeskin Endler as a comparison…
The P Class Lime Endler is a wild Endler derived from the N Class Black Bar Endler, then line bred for the continuous Electric Lime Green bar which runs horizontally. These are more brilliant electric colored than the blue Cardinal or Neon Tetras. They are similar in size but much easier to maintain and breed. Always a favorite and available at LiveFins.
This strain was found in Kanal de Laguna de Los Platos. And brought to the German collector Dr. Wolfgang Staeck resident in Berlin back in 2004 which this strain was named after. And Dr. Fred Poser (Institute of zoology and taxonomy, Amsterdam) identified and classified this strain. In general Staeck Endlers are as hardy as any other Endler, maybe more so! They’re an attractive fish when it comes to their bold outlined spotted pattern which has a high-tech almost mechanical look. The group that I have came from a very good friend of mine in Germany who shares the same interest when it comes to wild endlers.
Staeck Endlers at Livefins Aquatics USA
Staeck Endlers at Livefins Aquatics USA 
The Endler’s livebearer (hereafter referred to as endlers) were initially discovered by Franklyn F. Bond in 1937 in the Cumana region of northeastern Venezuela.
Specimens ended up in the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology, but the discovery was never published and the fish never distributed.
It took until 1975 for the fish to be rediscovered, this time by Dr. John Endler.
He provided samples to Donn Eric Rosen, a noted Poeciliid taxonomist. Had Rosen been able to classify the fish before he passed away, much of the controversy might have been avoided.
Background Regarding the Endler Name and Scientific Nomenclature
Rosen did provide some of these fish to another friend of Professor Endler, Klaus Kallman, who was then of the New York Aquarium. Kallman introduced this fish to the German aquarium community under the name Endler’s livebearer.
He apparently intended the name as a surprise for Professor Endler. As it turns out, nobody told Endler, and he did not encounter the fish as his namesake until sometime in the early 1980s.
Official Classification
As the Endler made its way through the aquarium community in Europe and eventually North America, a behind-the-scenes battle raged between those who considered the endler a separate species and those who considered it simply a unique strain of guppy. Detailing this controversy would require a separate article, but suffice it to say that the disagreements got quite heated.
Finally, in 2005, Dutch ichthyologist Fred Poeser and colleagues Michael Kempkes and IsaÃc IsbrÃcker published a paper classifying the Endler taxonomically for the first time as a unique species.
They named the fish Poecilia wingei, to honor Dr Ãjvind Winge, a Dutch geneticist who performed significant early genetic work with guppies.
The classification was not without controversy.
Two years later, Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine ran an article by frequent contributor Ted Coletti adamantly refuting the classification.
While there remains considerable controversy among experts, the aquarium community at large seems to have embraced the classification P. wingei.
But Are The Endlers You purchase at a local fish store Really Endlers?
One factor that has complicated classification is the ability of the Endler to breed/hybridize with the guppy.
Cross-breeding is so rampant that almost all enders found in retail are hybridized with guppies unless purchased from a reputable breeder.
A Seller’s Reputation Matters!
Here are my definitions of the N,P & K-Class Endler Varieties based upon a summary of many years of research…
N-Class – Natural Random True (nearly identical in appearance to the untrained observer) Breeding Endler lines displaying correct documented wild coloration with a Native documented wild collection point location.
P-Class – Selectively Line bred and Pure Endler Genetics
K-Class – Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) /Endler (Poecilia wingei) Hybrids.
In this case, in order to be able to identify which of your Female Livebearers is the female Ginga Sulphureus, you’ll need to count the number of Anal Fin rays and compare them with a known female of the type of Endler or Guppy you presume the fish may be and a Ginga sulphureus female. Unfortunately I do not know the counts on these off the top of my head, but I believe they are different especially if you are dealing with an N Class Pure Endler as compared with a mostly guppy genetic line such as the Ginga sulphureus… That’s what I’d do to identify the fish in question. If they are the same then compare the dorsal fin ray counts as well.
As far as the Ender’s producing more females, I can only guess. Are you sure they are mature enough to be certain of the gender, are they gravid? Gender is genetically determined. I think that if there are excellent conditions in your aquarium, possibly pheromones are being released that cause you to get more females to build the population of a colony in order to dominate. I’ve noticed when only 2 fry are produced often they are 1 male and 1 female. The release of pheromones may have something to do with survival of a species as well as affect the fertility of male sperm. I’ve seen this with Livebearers as well as mouth brooding cichlids. I’ve read that a higher pH will yield more females. I’ve read that higher temps can reduce the survival rate of male sperm. There is a lot of anecdotal information out there. Just go with your observations. If you’d like to change the gender ratio then you’ll need to do something different with hardness, pH, temperature, lighting intensity as well as duration.
They are similar to care for as with guppies, I’m sure once they’ve adapted they will become extremely hardy and prolific for you. I usually try to feed new endlers/guppies that I receive at least an hour after completion of acclimating with mosquito larvae as a treat to trigger eating behavior in their new environment and to stimulate movement throughout their digestive tract. More importantly, this has a laxative effect for the fish to get them adapted more quickly and get their digestion back in order. You could use frozen as well, but preferably something live.
I raise these particular fish in a greenhouse in a 55 gallon breeder tank with some endlers and the water stays quite warm. 82 – 86 degrees this time of year. The pH is 7.6, source is unfiltered Florida well water which filters though a limerock aquifer, kH is quite high. The TDS measures 390. I raise plants with them, so the tank has Florida sandy soil as substrate and is heavily planted along with scuds, daphnia and cyclops cultured within same tank. This lessens aggression between males. I would not recommend placing all 3 of these in a bare tank or without females and lots of retreat area for the sub dominant males.
They were raised on daphnia, mosquito larvae, scuds, brine flake, earthworm flake, guppy flake millings, spirulina wafers, algae on the glass and plants, snail waste and golden pearls 100-250 micron size in an overgrown plant tank.