El Tigre Endler (Poecilia wingei)
El Tigre Endlers are active, hardy and adaptable. They are also straightforward to keep and breed, making them an excellent fish for beginner aquarists as well as a novelty for advanced aquarists. In addition, these Endlers are incredibly colourful and peaceful, and their small size makes them perfect for the nano or planted aquarium.
El Tigre Endlers should be maintained in groups as they feel more comfortable, leading to an attractive, exciting and more natural-looking display. You can house these Endlers with other small peaceful fish as long as they are not known to nip at fins. Adult dwarf shrimp also make ideal tankmates; however, Endlers may eat shrimplets. More significant, peaceful invertebrates can also make good tankmates, but much larger, more aggressive fish is not advised as they will probably see these fish as a snack.
Endlers typically occupy the middle to the top levels of the water column; however, you can often see them swimming and feeding in the bottom levels. These fish are not afraid to jump, so you should make sure your aquarium has a tight-fitting lid or at least a significantly lowered water level. El Tigre Endlers will not eat or bother plants.
You can distinguish El Tigre Endlers by distinctive lime green and orangy-red markings on their bodies contrasted by a horizontal black line as well as a black dorsal fin on their body.
El Tigre Endler (Poecilia wingei) Video
El Tigre Endlers
Photos
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Poecilia wingei |
| Other Names | None |
| Classification | Actinopterygii |
| Order | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family | Poeciliidae |
| Genus | Poecilia |
| Origins | Venezuela |
| Temperament | Peaceful |
| Aquarium Level | All Levels |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
| Shoaling | |
| Best kept as | Groups 6+ |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Reproduction | livebearer |
| Lifespan | 2 - 3 years |
| Water Parameters | |
|---|---|
| Water Type | Freshwater |
| PH | 7.0 - 8.5 |
| GH | 15 - 35 |
| KH | 4 - 6 |
| TDS | 50 - 150 |
| Temperature | |
|---|---|
| 75 - 86℉ 23.9 - 30℃ | |
Feeding
In the home aquarium, the El Tigre Endler will readily accept most good quality dried foods such as granules, flakes and sinking pellets. These modern food products have been developed to provide all adequate nutrition to maintain your fish's health and dietary requirements.
Providing additional foodstuffs such as live, frozen, and freeze-dried meals such as bloodworm, daphnia, and tubifex once or twice a week will provide additional benefits to your fish's health and well-being but is not a must for this fish.
It should be noted that bloodworms should only be given as an occasional treat and should not be used as the staple diet as they are difficult for fish to digest and can potentially cause blockages.
This fish is an omnivore in the wild, meaning it will consume some vegetable matter. Although most modern fish foods take this into account and include them in their products, you can still supplement your fish's diet with blanched vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, and zucchini. Ensure you do not overfeed your fish and remove any leftovers the following day.
Sexual Dimorphism
It is easy to differentiate between male and female El Tigre Endlers. The males are smaller and typically much more vibrantly coloured and patterned compared to the females. In contrast, the females grow larger than males are very dull and plain-looking.
Breeding
Endlers are the easiest livebearers to breed as they do not predate on their fry anywhere near the level of other livebearers. Though when the colony gets going with more mouths to feed, the yield of try will lessen, and the colony will balance itself out. From our experience in keeping and breeding endlers, it seems the first batch of fry is most likely to be predated on, and once the adults are used to seeing fry around, they tend to leave subsequent fry drops alone.
Female Endlers will drop fry every 26-30 days depending on temperature; higher temperatures will shorten the gestation period. Females can start dropping fry from 2-3 months of age, although the smaller and younger the fish, the less fry they will drop. Some first drops can produce as little as 2-3 fry, and mature adult females can typically produce 30-50 fry.
If you wish to maximise the survival rate of your El Tigre Endler fry, we recommend adding Guppy Grass to the aquarium. Guppy grass is a fast-growing and straightforward plant that provides a lot of coverage for the fry, which are most vulnerable for the first hour after being born before becoming free swimming. You can also use a cheap floating breeding Hatchery if you want to be sure no fry are lost but be prepared to be constantly diving into your aquarium to net out new fry every month.
In summary, the bigger question isn't how to breed endlers, but how do you *not breed* endlers :).