Mr. Gerry Hawksby , an Honorary Member of several Aquarium Societies, is a much
respected figure in the Yorkshire Association of Aquarist Societies. Although killifish
are Gerry's 'first love' he has a longtime interest in livebearing species and wrote the
following article for use in both Ryedale Reporter and Viviparous magazine.
POECILIA SPECIES 'ENDLERS'
By Gerry Hawksby
Aquarticles
On a recent visit to my home, David Marshall asked if I would write an article for his
Ryedale Reporter on my experience with the 'Endlers' (Englers) livebearer. I suppose
David's request was understandable as I had not kept them previously and it was he who
provided me with my initial stock. I could tell that David was interested to record my
thoughts on and experiences with these particular fish so here goes: -
I have to admit to knowing very little about this specie beforehand as I had never seen
them for sale in any aquatic retail outlet or found any reference to them in any of my
textbooks so assumed that, more than likely, they were either a newly discovered specie
with any published material yet to catch up with the fish's availability or merely a
hybrid variety of the Double Swordtail Guppy?
David however assured me that this was a specie in its own right and one that bred true
to type. That being so the hybrid theory could be disregarded. Any lingering doubts I had
were dispersed when I subsequently read a very informative article on this fish which was
written by Mr. Howard Norfolk * for the Aquarticles web-site and then downloaded by
David for use in the January 2003 issue of Ryedale Reporter. I now had all the background
history of this colourful little gem.
Howard's article informed readers that Poecilia sp. 'Endlers' was first
collected in 1937. That being so why hadn't any reference to its existence been included
in any textbooks or magazine I had in my possession and why had it taken a lifetime before
it appeared locally? Maybe it had been looked upon as being one of the poorer examples of
the known populations of the guppy as I suggested earlier and, as such, a fish which would
be overlooked by most fishkeepers visiting their local dealer. If we reach a point where
there is no demand for any specie then dealers will not stock the specie in question thus
the average aquarist will not be aware of its existence. It is the stalwarts, and species
specialists, of our hobby who keep the lesser-fancied species going.
So what of my experiences? During the several years I have now kept this specie, I have
found them to be one of the most undemanding aquarium fish ever to grace my tanks. They
appear happy in the more usual aquarium conditions i.e. gravel base, plants either plastic
or live and normal tap water with simple filtration. Because of their size they should
only be kept with smaller growing species otherwise their larger cousins will look upon
them as a quick snack. Under no circumstances should they be mixed with guppies or any
other poecilia species otherwise they will interbreed thus the true specie will
be lost.
Personally I've found them sufficiently rewarding as to warrant a tank of their own.
From my original three pairs I have gone on to fill 2 two feet and 1 three feet tanks with
these charming little ovoviviparous fish, they are so prolific.
Obviously not all fishkeepers have the space or desire to accommodate such numbers of
fish, but any surplus can easily be disposed of amongst society members or in auctions at
open shows with many livebearer specialist groups, such as Viviparous, running market
place columns in their members magazines. You may even persuade your local dealer to take
some off your hands. Most of the dealers I have come in contact with have been willing to
come to some arrangement either by offering cash or kind. Homebred fish are often much
sought after.
An interesting feature appeared in one brood of fry when I noticed that three males
stood out from the rest as they developed. Instead of them sporting the usual black spot,
centrally placed on each side of the body, these spots virtually became a black lateral
line extending into the caudal peduncle. I was in two minds as to whether I should
segregate these males or not. Two factors presented themselves: - 1 - Was I already too
late for perhaps one or more of these males had already impregnated some of the females? 2
- Could the females from the brood be carrying the genes for the anomaly, which would show
through in future offspring? I would, therefore, have to attempt the impossible by
isolating the whole brood. This presented me with another problem - I did not have a
suitably sized tank in which to house 30 or so young fish. In the end I did nothing and to
my surprise, and I suppose relief, none of the subsequent offspring have shown these
characteristics which prompts me to suspect that the genes which prompted the abnormality
were in fact recessive.
I can truly say that my experiences with this particular specie have been productive
and, more importantly, most interesting.
Finally, I have heard this fish referred to as the 'Endless' livebearer by some
fishkeepers who obviously misheard the common pronunciation. In one respect they are
absolutely correct for mature females will produce substantial broods of fry at regular
intervals, in all other respects they couldn't be further from the truth as they do sport
a colourful and attractive caudal formation.
* For another article on Endler's
Livebearers see: Norfolk/Three
Unusual Livebearers |