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Because Endlers are omnivorous they will eat both meaty protein and vegetable matter. Which means they’re happy to eat whatever food is available to them at the time.
Endlers enjoy eating live/dried/frozen meaty protein. So small insects/larvae such as brine shrimp, daphnia and bloodworms will be readily accepted. Endlers also eat green vegetables and a little algae alongside a good quality flake food. This versatility makes Endlers in the home aquarium easy to feed.
Any food that you feed to your Endlers needs to be small or broken down into tiny pieces so that they can manage it. But apart from a little crushing or chopping it’s easy to feed them a varied diet.
Let’s take a look at which foods you can offer to your Endlers at feeding time.
What Should I Feed My Endlers?
Endlers (Poecilia Wingei) are also known as Endler’s livebearers and Endler’s Guppy. But no matter what name you prefer to use they are the same fish with the same dietary needs.
Endlers are native to a small peninsula area in Venezuela where they typically live in shallow streams. In their natural environment they feed on small insects, insect larvae, plant matter and algae. This varied diet keeps them healthy and allows them to breed prolifically.
When kept in an aquarium Endlers do just as well if they are adequately fed and their environment is well maintained. Endlers are easy-care and make a great beginner fish.
Because they are not fussy eaters there’s lots to choose from when it comes to mealtimes for your Endlers.
And, just like most freshwater aquarium fish, flake foods are a good place to start until you’re ready to expand the menu.
Flake Food For Endlers
When it comes to feeding Endlers flake food Tropical Flakes (Amazon Link) are probably the usual choice. This is partly due to the fact that Endlers are most often kept in heated tanks. And often kept in a tank with other tropical fish. So it makes sense to choose a tropical flake.
However, Endlers are not always kept in heated tanks, or with other tropical fish. My Endlers, for example, live quite happily in an unheated indoor (temperate) community tank.
Alongside the variety of foods that I feed to my community of fish, shrimp and snails, I feed Temperate Flakes. My Endlers enjoy the flakes as part of their diet and do well on them. And to be honest I’m not sure that there’s a whole lot of difference between tropical and temperate flakes. But don’t quote me on that because I’m not a scientist! I can only go by my personal experience.
Note: One thing I do know though, is that when it comes to flake food the most important thing to remember is to choose a good quality one. You also need to take into account whether you’ve got an Endler only tank or a community tank of some kind. But as long as your community are not fussy eaters, and you give them a variety of foods, they will have a healthy and rounded diet.
The Easy Way To Feed Insects To Your Endlers
In their native habitat insects and their larvae form a big part of an Endler’s diet. Because they are protein packed, insects of many kinds, go a long way in promoting a healthy diet for these little fish.
And while flake foods contain protein amongst other nutritional things treating your Endlers to a little extra meat is a good thing. Particularly if you’re planning to breed a healthy stock of them.
Giving your Endlers a meaty snack isn’t complicated. In fact, it can be really easy.
There are lots of insects and insect larvae for sale at your local Pet Store, Aquatic Dealer and Online.
Here’s a few examples of insects/meaty protein that you can feed to your Endlers (the links will take you to Amazon).
- Micro Worms (a firm favourite)
- Bloodworms (often the larvae of midge flies)
- Daphnia (a minute freshwater crustacean)
- Brine Shrimp (newly hatched/young ones)
- Mosquito Larvae (worm-like larvae of the mosquito)
Endlers are also partial to Cyclops (aka Copepods/Water Fleas) and Banana Worms. So, as you can see, there’s lots to choose from when treating your Endlers to a meaty treat.
You can opt for live, dried or frozen ‘insects’ depending on how you feel about the way you want to feed your fish. If you prefer to feed dried granules and flakes to your Endlers then Fluval do a range of protein packed foods in their Fluval Bug Bites range (Amazon link).
If you’re interested in making your own live culture of Micro Worms and/or Banana Worms you will find the YouTube video link below helpful. In the video Cory from Aquarium Co-op demonstrates how easy it is to create a live culture and explains how to keep it going on indefinitely.
Feeding Vegetables To Your Endlers
Plant matter is a food type that Endlers eat in their native habitat. Which means they will appreciate a vegetable treat in an aquarium. Vegetables, especially the green variety, are also good for your Endlers digestive system and overall health.
Some of the green vegetables you can offer to your Endlers include:
- Spinach
- Peas (shelled)
- Courgette/Zucchini
- Cabbage (eg Savoy)
- Broccoli
- Kale
There are lots of other green vegetables that you can offer to your Endlers, So it’s worth experimenting to see which ones they prefer. My Endlers are partial to Brussel Sprouts as are the other fish, shrimp and snails in my community tank. It just goes to show you never know what they will take a fancy to.
Tip: You need to soften the vegetables before offering them to your Endlers. You can soften them by either steaming, simmering or microwaving them. Then leave them to go cold before adding them to the tank.
Remove any uneaten vegetables from the tank after a few hours to reduce the risk of fouling up the water with rotting vegetables.
How Much Should I Feed My Endlers?
You should feed your Endlers at least twice a day. It’s best to only feed small amounts at a time to reduce the risk of overfeeding and fouling up the tank with excess food.
A general guide is to feed your Endlers as much as they can eat within 3-5 minutes without any leftovers. I know that some fish keepers say 1-2 minutes but I personally think that’s not enough time to chase your food and eat it too.
The main point is not to have leftover food messing up your aquarium. It’s a bit trial and error at first but you’ll soon get to know when enough is enough.
Do Endlers Eat Algae?
Endlers will eat a small amount of algae both in their native habitat and also in an aquarium environment. Because they are opportunistic feeders they will eat whatever is available at the time. However, Endlers are not big algae eaters so they won’t help you to solve an algae problem in your tank.
That’s not to say they won’t nibble at the algae in your aquarium, it’s just that they’re unlikely to make a big impact on it. If your Endlers are in a community tank, and you often feed Algae Wafers (Amazon link) to your other tank inhabitants, your Endlers will eat some of it. But it’s likely to be only a small amount.
Taking all this into consideration, you wouldn’t add Endlers to your aquarium as an algae eating fish.
Do Endlers Eat Aquarium Plants?
Even though Endlers in their natural environment will feed on plant matter they’re not generally considered destructive when it comes to aquarium plants. You may see them picking food, algae and microorganisms off your plants, but they’re unlikely to be eating the plant itself.
Although, I do appreciate that personal experience can vary.
My Endlers haven’t eaten my plants despite picking stuff off them. But that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that yours won’t. It’s a case of keeping any eye on things, particularly if you suspect that they are damaging your aquarium plants.
Tip: If you find that your Endlers are eating your aquarium plants to the point of destruction try changing the plants for different ones. If you go for tougher, courser, less juicy plants, your Endlers may be less inclined to nibble at them.
A live planted tank helps to create a healthy environment for your Endlers, and also hiding places for baby Endlers (fry). So it’s worth trying out a few different plants if your Endlers are being destructive to the softer, juicier plants in your tank.
What Do Endler Fry (Babies) Eat?
Just like their parents Endler fry like plenty of protein in their diet. But it’s important to provide them with a variety of foods to promote optimal growth and good health. All foods for baby Endlers need to be extremely tiny so that can manage to eat them.
Here are some of the foods that your Endler fry will enjoy:
- Micro Worms (protein food)
- Banana Worms (protein food)
- Brine Shrimp (protein food)
- Powdered Down Flake Food (a complete food)
- Micro Powdered Fry Food (a complete food)
- Liquid Fry Food (a complete food)
The foods on the list above may be available at your local Pet Store or Aquatic Dealer. Or you can order them online. This link will take you to Amazon (UK). The page is full of fish foods, a lot of which are suitable for Endler fry.
Whatever combination of foods you choose to feed your Endler fry make sure the food is small enough for these tiny fish to eat. Because at around less than 4 mm at birth they only have the smallest of mouths.