Can endlers survive in a ph of 6?

[Obsessed with fish]

I have a 23 gallon aquarium, it is heavily planted, it is currently stocked with 4 neon tetras, 5 corydoras, 3 otocinclus and 2 honey gourmais. The ph is 6, could I add endlers.

 

[emeraldking]

From experience, endlers should be doing fine in a pH of 6 like most short finned guppies. In the wild they occur in both soft and hard water. There are more livebearer species that live perfectly in soft water. Livebearers needing hard water is just a general statement. It doesn't cover the needs of all livebearers, tbh...

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Live bearing fish are generally hardy, but they really don't care much for acidic water. Endlers are likely not one of the best live bearing fish to keep in acidic water. But, if that's the water you have and you want Endlers, then give it a try.

10

 

[GaryE]

@emeraldking is the voice here for livebearer keeping expertise - but with a lot less experience, I also expect endler's would be okay. Last summer in Gabon, Central Africa, in very soft water, we saw invasive guppies in urban waterways. They were introduced to eat mosquitoes in the 1960s, and were outcompeted in that role by native fish, outside of the cities. Their tolerance for pollution lets them do well in the urban ditches.
Commercial Endler's are often crosses with short finned guppies, and they share similar needs. They really adapt well.

There are a number of softwater livebearer species. The very old info about livebearers not liking soft water still circulates, but out of the hobby mainstream, there are cool softwater livebearers as well. They just aren't the mostly North and Central American ones we see in box stores.

 

[emeraldking]

There are a number of softwater livebearer species. The very old info about livebearers not liking soft water still circulates, but out of the hobby mainstream, there are cool softwater livebearers as well.

This is exactly what I try to say quite often overhere. Too many people hold on to the generalization. And yes, when it comes to wild guppies, they also occur in both hard and soft waters.
Another fact is that short finned mollies also occur in soft waters besides hard water environments.
If we would keep all possible livebearer species in hard water, I can say for sure that a number of them will die in there. So, I'm with you that not all livebearer species need a hard water environment by all means...

We as being serious aquarists should be careful to state that when we speak about livebearers, that they always need hard water, that they're beginner's fish, that they're easy tio maintain, that they're very prolific and that they're always tropical. For a decent number of them are quite the opposite.

 

[GaryE]

One of our problems is the meaning of "livebearer". It doesn't mean much. Our last winner of a livebearer competition was a rainforest freshwater ray, after all. Livebearing has evolved several times in a number of different, unrelated groups.
You won't see softwater livebearers in a Petco - that's for certain. But if you go beyond the basic species, diversity strikes again. @emeraldking , I would love to be able to see the kinds of livebearing fish Netherlands fishkeepers breed.

Back to the question though, we have an example of a fish that adapts well. Try the same thing with most molly species and you'll see shimmies followed by death fairly soon. You can't generalize in any direction in this hobby - rules without research are our nemesis.

 

[Colin_T]

@emeraldking do you have a list of hard water vs software livebearers, or is it on your website?

Xiphophorus 1 | emeraldking-aquatics

www.emeraldking-aquatics.com

 

[Naughts]

I have a 23 gallon aquarium, it is heavily planted, it is currently stocked with 4 neon tetras, 5 corydoras, 3 otocinclus and 2 honey gourmais. The ph is 6, could I add endlers.

What is the GH? This is said to be a more important parameter and would clarify exactly how soft your water is.
Interestingly Seriously fish advises pH 7-8.5 (basic side of neutral) and GH 15-35 (hard to very hard).

Poecilia wingei – Endler’s Livebearer — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[Obsessed with fish]

What is the GH? This is said to be a more important parameter and would clarify exactly how soft your water is.
Interestingly Seriously fish advises pH 7-8.5 (basic side of neutral) and GH 15-35 (hard to very hard).

Poecilia wingei – Endler’s Livebearer — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Water is soft

 

[GaryE]

The rule of thumb for softwater vs hardwater is most Carribbean , and USA to Costa Rica livebearers need or prefer hard water. The terrain there is raised old sea bed, with limestone everywhere, and the water is rich in minerals. By the time you reach Colombia, you start getting the rarer in the hobby softwater ones. It's a vague overgeneralization though, as how close the fish occurs to the ocean can affect the habitat. I used to sometimes receive livebearers I couldn't find info on, and work it out with maps and later, Google Earth.

My Micropoecilia branneri, a guppylike beauty, were found in blackwater with no measurable hardness and a pH below 6. They were a side catch when the fishers were looking for Apistogramma njisseni. Livebearers like that are rarely exported as they travel badly. If you ever get them, you'll learn a lot trying to have success with them. They are a challenge.

If it's in a regular, non specialist store with mass produced fish, it is a hardwater livebearer. In a real quality store, or in a fish club, you'll find the occasional rarity that will leave you scratching your head for info as you try to keep it.

 

[Naughts]

Water is soft

What is the GH? This is said to be a more important parameter and would clarify exactly how soft your water is.

We need a number to make it meaningful.