Endler Guppies

The natural distribution area of the Endler Guppies ( Poecilia wingeri ) is located in northern Venezuela: “Laguna de los Patos” and in the waters near the city of Cumaná. They live near the shore of calm flowing waters with muddy subsoils and also brackish water. They are colourful schooling fish, which are also suitable for beginners.

Guppies are peaceful, adaptable and sociable water dwellers. They are viviparous and reproduce rapidly.

They are not very shy and are easy to observe if there is enough distance between the tanks. Especially the males are an eye-catcher with their colourful outfit.

The physique is slender and elongated and reaches a length of 3 to 4 cm.

The young fish are all coloured in neutral grey. The females remain greyish and are metallically shiny. The males colour correctly at sexual maturity. They show themselves in bright red, blue, more rarely in yellow and with many spots and bands. However, there are increasing breeding forms, whose colouring deviates strongly from the wild form.

Dorsal and caudal fins of the males can be very long.

There are no known special requirements for the water values:

The difference between the sexes can be seen in size and colour. The females are with 4 cm clearly bigger than the males with about 3 cm. Their fins are not undressed.

Remarkable is the bright colourfulness of the males. In contrast the female shows a simple beige-grey with a metallic shine.
Adult females have a striking pregnancy spot.

Like all viviparous fish, the guppies show a distinctive hunting behaviour and pursue their prey. They are omnivores but need vegetable food every now and then:

For better digestion, it is best to feed small amounts 2 to 3 times a day.

Endler Guppies are double sword guppies. The caudal fin of the male is roundish shaped and has an intensely colored pattern of a double sword. The upper sword is slightly smaller.

Since Endler Guppies prefer to swim horizontally, they feel comfortable in a large tank with at least 60 cm edge length. There should be densely planted areas as well as free areas for swimming. They prefer to move in the middle and upper area. A light water current is recommended. Root as well as dense plant growth are suitable for hiding.

Guppies need a group life of at least 6 and even better 10 conspecifics. They are very peaceful fish, but they like to harass females and in case of emergency they will also recruit males. To avoid stress the ratio of males and females should be correct. To restart a Guppy – keeping two to three males and six females is a good start.

The socialisation works well with Corydoras catfish, but also with characins, bearblings, dwarf gouramis or cross-banded pikelets and shrimps.

Endler Guppies can reach an age of 2 years if kept in a species-appropriate way.