wot_fan

I am in the process of setting up a planted 29 gallon tank (ordered a bunch of stuff from Big Al's yesterday) and would like to get some Endler's Liverbearers. The only place I have seen them for sale is AquaBid. LiveAquaria has only males. Can anyone recommend a breeder or website that sells them?

I was originally planning on using the tank for guppies, but ELs have caught my eye. I plan on splitting the tank so I can raise the fry away from the parents. I may throw a few Otos in to get the algae under control, but nothing else.

TIA for any help .

heartsongsinger

To bad your in Chicago. I know where there are some in MI

Autumn8504

I have some, but I'm in Louisiana I got mine from a local aquarium group member. Perhaps you can see if there is such a group in your area...or you can join a yahoo group (if you have an account), such as giveandreceivefreefish and see if anyone will send you some...most of those people only ask for shipping payment! I hope this helps.

BTW, you probably don't need to separate the tank for fry...it is debatable whether or not they eat their young, however they breed like crazy...so chances are you will never have a shortage!

wot_fan

heartsongsinger: Unfortunately I am not willing to move to MI (for an reason) . BTW, great avatar.

Autumn8504: Thanks for the info. I will look into it. BTW, I bought a divider for my new tank. Do you think the fry will be able to get through/around it? Also, do the fry tend to settle to the top or the bottom of the tank? I am picking out plants now and want to make sure I give the little guys good hiding places. .

wot_fan

heartsongsinger

I don't blame you. I wouldn't be here either (climate reasons) and I'm not leaving here until at least after college

Autumn8504

I have a divider as well, but haven't used it yet...I don't think that they would slip through the holes, but they may be able to slip through any gaps in the edges. They are rather tiny. In the tank by my house I have noticed that the males sleep on the bottom and the females sleep on the top, however, in my boyfriend's tank their is no rhyme or reason to it. Kinda strange really. The fry in his tank pretty much go wherever the other fish go...I haven't noticed them hiding on the top or bottom, but they do stay close to the java moss on occasion when they feel threatened. If I were you I'd get a variety of plants for all tank regions. In the end, I think it all depends on how they are raised. My fry prefer eating floating food, while his prefer sinking food, for example. You'd do best trying different things and seeing what works best for your fish...or better yet ask the person that you get the fish from. I hope this helps. Good luck!

wot_fan

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.

I had planned to use the divider to separate the adults from the fry. If the adults aren't a threat to the fry, I can use the divider to keep the males and females apart. That would let me pick which male is the father of the next batch of fry. I think it would be fun to do some selective breeding.

Thanks again for your help

SammyJ

I have 6 coming in tomorrow. I ordered them online. The shipping is a bit high but in my obsession with live bearing fish I got a few to put in my invert tank. I am anxious to see what they actually look like. They will round out my collection of guppies, swords, g affinis, and now Endler's.

If you get out to Northern VA in a month or so I can prolly get you some baby Endlers

wot_fan

I was able find two different breeders (AuqaBid and Swamp River Aquatics) with Black Bar Class N Endlers. I ordered 3 pair from each so I should have good stock to start with. The ones I won on AuqaBid will be here tomorrow. Just like you, I am really anxious to see them in person. All the photos I have seen look awesome. I will post some pics as soon as they get comfortable in their new home. I would love to see pics of yours too.

Good luck with your shipment .

namehater

i recently got some from a local aquatic club member. she knew i was wanting some, but never told me she had 2 29g tanks absolutely full of adults/fry. when i stopped by her house to pick up a new pleco, she handed me a bag with roughly 15 adult males, 10 adult females, and 10 1/8" fry. i was estatic, especially when she wouldnt let me pay for them!

they look great in person btw, the males are gorgeous and i love their schooling. good luck with all your endlers!

wot_fan

Thanks namehater

Well they arrived today and they are as cool as I had hoped. The colors on the males look like they were added with a tiny spray paint can . I am really looking forward to having fry and watching them grow.

I started a thread in the pic forum with some snap shots. Here is the link. Not the greatest shots, but the best I could do tonight considering how small they are and how fast they move .