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"Endlers" were found in a small lake called Laguna de Patos, near
Cumana, in the hot dry coastal desert area of north-eastern Venezuela,
and were rumoured to be in another lake nearby. The Laguna is a warm
(81°C) marsh, with hard brackish water, and is green with unicellular
algae. It is only two miles from the city dump, and Dr. Endler speculated
in 1995 that the fish may be extinct in the wild by now. I have also been
told that a resort has recently been built in the area and that the lake has
been filled in.
The female is larger and looks like a female guppy, but the male is a
very unusual looking little jewel of a fish, with iridescent metallic green,
orange, gold and black blocks of colour, a white dorsal fin and a red
forked tail. The markings are unusually laid out: if there is such a thing
as an "Art-Deco" fish, this is it! The water in which they were found was
so green with algae that it is supposed that the bright colouration
evolved as the only way a female could see a prospective mate! As with
many other fish, the most dominant males are the brightest coloured,
which is believed due to hormones in alpha males. The intensity of the
colour patches also varies according to the conditions this fish finds
himself in, and what is more, even in the wild, there were further variations in colour between individuals (e.g. 10% of males had black pectoral fins).
Endlers are active fish that swim at all levels and eat and breed readily,
and should be happy wherever you might otherwise keep guppies.
History text from: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/
norfolk_3livebearers.html
THREE UNUSUAL LIVEBEARERS by Howard Norfolk
First published in The Vancouver Aquatic Hobbyist Club newsletter
Aquarticles