Keep Endler Guppies in the Aquarium

Endler Guppies are small, South American miniature fish. Thanks to their very interesting behaviour, their easy breeding success and their special robustness against typical German water parameters, it is no wonder that the Endler Guppy is so popular in German aquariums.

But how many Endler Guppies can you keep in your aquarium and what do you have to consider when keeping Endler Guppies in your aquarium? We will tell you in the following aquarium guide article about Endler Guppies.

Endler Guppies in the aquarium: the most important in brief

• Endler Guppiesare South American small fishes that are closely related to the Guppy; however, there are differences in colouring, size and behaviour
• The male Endler Guppies grow just 2cm tall and bribe with their especially splendid coloring; the females grow with 3-4 cm clearly bigger and fuller
• The animals should always be kept in the harem, whereby more females than males are used – optimal are for example 2-3 males on 5-8 females
• Pregnant females can be easily recognized (as with other Guppy species as well) by the black pregnancy mark on their anus
• Endler Guppies are very peaceful and robust – they make few demands on the water.
• The breeding of Endler Guppies is so simple, it is almost inevitable. Some aquarists even use the animals as a source of live food
• Endler guppies are omnivores. They can be fed with granules, flakes or dry food and of course frozen and live food

Where are Endler Guppies found in nature?

Endler Guppies are found in Venezuela in the Campoma Lagoon and in waters around Cumané. The native waters of the animals are characterised by a slow current and a muddy, dark bottom. However, the animals have also been discovered in brackish water, which again underlines the robustness of the Endler Guppy.

Which water parameters do Endler Guppies prefer?

As already described, Endler Guppies do not make great demands on the aquarium water. Endler Guppies feel particularly comfortable in the following water values:

Total hardness	2-28° dGH
Carbonate hardness	–
pH value	6,0-8,5
Temperature	21-28° Celsius

The preferred water parameters of the Endler Guppy can often be achieved without problems even with German tap water. The water temperature should be between 21°C and 28°C. A pH-value between 6.0 and 8.5 is most tolerable for the animals, whereby the water may have a total hardness of 2 to 28°dGH.

How do you keep Endler Guppies in an aquarium?

The keeping of Endler Guppies in the aquarium is certainly not witchcraft. The animals are very peaceful and do not make great demands on the water, as already described above. Therefore it is not surprising that the animals are mostly offered as beginner fish in pet shops.

We would also agree, because especially for beginners in aquaristics it is certainly a pleasure when the animals grow and prosper and even reproduce in their own aquarium.

Which aquarium size for Endler Guppies

The small Endler Guppies can already be successfully kept and bred in small 54 litre aquariums. Although you can read on the internet that they can also be kept in smaller nano aquariums, we find that the edge length is simply not sufficient.

Like most ornamental fish, Endler Guppies also feel a strong urge to swim. A nano aquarium with an edge length of just 30 centimetres or less cannot do justice to a swimming drive of 5-6 animals.

A 54 liter aquarium has an edge length of 60 centimeters and is much better suited for keeping the animals and the associated reproduction.

Endler guppies and what fish?

Endler Guppies is a very peaceful inhabitant of the tank and can be easily socialized with most ornamental fish.

It should be noted that you should avoid socializing with species that tend to nibble the fins of other tank inhabitants – barbels, for example, are predestined for this. Furthermore, the small size of the animals should not be overlooked: larger cichlids would easily consider Endler Guppy as a food source.

Quiet schooling fish such as Red Neon or Ember Tetra are ideal for socializing with Endler Guppy. But also South American dwarf cichlids, such as ram cichlids or cockatoo cichlids can serve as company in larger tanks.

However, if one wants to breed the animals and thus actually raise the offspring, one should refrain from socializing with other species. The offspring is eaten by almost all South American ornamental fish – some of them even suffer from cannibalism.

The perfect tank for Endler Guppy

The optimal aquarium for keeping Endler Guppy should in any case have some hiding places: With the help of decorative objects such as bogwood roots or stones, this can be remedied. It is also important to have dense (edge) planting, as this is the only way the animals are able to protect their offspring in the community tank.

Although the home waters of the animals have almost no current, Endler Guppies can be kept in aquariums with a moderate current without problems.

How many Endler Guppies are kept in the aquarium?

How many Endler Guppies you can keep in your aquarium depends on many factors: For example, we do not know the rest of the stock, nor the structure of your aquarium – all essential characteristics that directly influence the total amount of Endler Guppies.

For an overview you will still find a table below, which shows how many Endler Guppies can be kept in common aquarium sizes. If your aquarium offers only few hiding places, only few delimitable territories and no particularly dense planting, you can subtract a few animals from this value – whereby the minimum quantity must remain at 5 animals (i.e. 2 males and 3 females).

Basin size	Quantity of Endler Guppies
60-80 litres	2m-3w
100-120 litres	3m-5w
180-240 litres	5m-9w

What does the Endler Guppy eat?

Just as undemanding as the animals are with regard to keeping, they are also undemanding with regard to eating behaviour. Endler Guppy is omnivore. They can be fed granulated and flake food without any problems, but of course they should have a varied diet of frozen and live food. More information about the different types of food in the aquarium can be found here. If the animals have no food in sight, they even graze on algae in the aquarium – a true omnivore.

How to breed the Endler Guppies in the aquarium?

Breeding the Endler Guppy in the aquarium is actually so easy that it is almost unavoidable. It is not for nothing that guppies are also called million-fish. Once sexually mature animals have been used in the aquarium it is only a matter of time until they multiply exponentially. Neither the water parameters nor the feeding play a major role.

The animals are bred as follows: Every 4 weeks the females give birth to 25 young viviparous toothcarps. These become sexually mature after about 3 months and the cycle closes.

Much more difficult than breeding is the task of raising the young animals in the community tank. In most cases a large part of the young animals is eaten by the rest of the stock. If you want to increase the chance of raising the offspring in the community tank, you should definitely choose a very dense planting. In this way the animals are able to hide from the other inhabitants and possibly survive until they are big enough not to be afraid anymore.

More facts about the Endler Guppy:

Endler Guppy is closely related to regular Guppy. In fact, the species are so similar that breeders keep trying to crossbreed the two species. This leads in the long run to the fact that the coloration of the animals, as you would find them in the wild, disappears more and more. In order to preserve the gene pool, organizations have already been founded that are dedicated to this important task.

Endler Guppies were discovered by Professor John A. Endler in 1975, from whom Endler Guppy inherited her distinctive name.

Conclusion: Keep Endler Guppy in the aquarium

Endler Guppies can be used without hesitation as beginner ornamental fish in your own aquarium. Neither their demands on the water nor their behaviour require a deeper understanding of aquaristics. Even with typical German tap water the animals get along without any problems and if you follow aquarium stocking suggestions, there will be no unpleasant surprises.

In addition, there is the willingness of the animals to mate. Especially young aquarists or aquaristic beginners enjoy it especially when the stock feels particularly at home in the aquarium and even produces offspring.

Of course it is important to have dealt with the animals in advance and to be prepared for the problem of offspring. Especially in small aquariums the weekly partial water change becomes an absolute must, when 20-30 young animals thrive in the tank.

Do you already keep Endler Guppy in your aquarium and are you satisfied with them? Write it in the comments.