99 fish tank problems and Endlers...

Are every single one of them. (And probably quite literally as far as their numbers go.)

I started out with 7 males of mixed types that have hung out in the 45g. Eventually got 2 more males and 2 females from my LFS (they went in to a different tank than the 7), at the same time I got several of a different type from folks online.

I missed the memo about their breeding habits apparently.
There's 10-20 new fry in a 9g tank every 2-3 weeks now.

I figured everything would be ok between the two eventually adult (female only) tanks and 1 female only fry tank - all the males have gone in the 45g. Then I learned about Endlers retaining the ability to pop out more fry without a male even IN the tank. Fabulous.

"Don't worry! The other fish will eat the fry if you aren't able to pull them all out."

Except I don't have a single fish in any tank that will eat them even if I wanted that to happen. Only maim them, maybe. Definitely not down with that. Not the Bettas, nor the Angelfish, no Plecos raging, or Panda Garra hungry.

No big deal, I'll set up ANOTHER fry tank where they can all swim until LFS or local folks take them. Breeding to commence swiftly! (Pretty sure the males can breed by 2 weeks)

I got 2 beautiful Koi Endler females at about the same time I set the fry tank up, had to go in yet another new tank. Two days later I've discovered they are definitely pregnant as well! As there's at least one little Koi endler fry swimming around the quarantine tank..

So I now have 80-90 (it could be much higher) Endlers of varying ages and types in 7 tanks, and I'm not sure what to do with them. Someone on here will take a chunk I hope. LFS... maybe? Maybe just for bigger fish food though.
I wasn't going to get rid of all the females or main core of males but given the females ability to drop babies and the males propensity for utter swimming agitation (they aren't very personable to other fish or people just kinda do their own thing), I'm leaning towards other plans.

I have to travel for medical and work reasons often, even nowadays, having a bunch of fry tanks is not going to work well.

I needed to vent (feeling incredibly overwhelmed). And warn others. Beware the Endler propagation!!!

Oh, and if anyone in Oregon want's Endlers.. holler!

 

Definitely sell or give the fry away. I have issues with my 55g with platys (and tetras for population control). Nothing but females in there and they pop out a bunch of male fry that I have to catch and sell/give away to prevent inbreeding.
I'm down from like 6-7 to 1 whome I've dubbed Houdini because he is impossible to catch.

 

Definitely sell or give the fry away. I have issues with my 55g with platys (and tetras for population control). Nothing but females in there and they pop out a bunch of male fry that I have to catch and sell/give away to prevent inbreeding.
I'm down from like 6-7 to 1 whome I've dubbed Houdini because he is impossible to catch.

I am not looking forward to clearing out the 45g of the young male endlers, that Houdini ability is strong in them and I only realized after putting 15 or so in there how difficult it would be later on.

Not that the fry tank is great as they’re probably breeding by 2-3 weeks creating further issues.

Well now I know not to go with Platys then.

The never ending birth cycle is overwhelming.

On the plus side for Endlers is they’re incredibly hardy, super mellow with other fish and their bioload is almost non existent compared to many other fish, shrimp and/or snails.
Thank goodness for all that.

 

Buy a betta or angel to keep the population in check

 

Buy a betta or angel to keep the population in check

An angelfish will probably eat the adult endlers...unless you were talking to me. I have a school of black neons doing a pretty good job of population control, I'm down to only 2-3 surviving instead of like 20.
Not sure if a betta would get along with female endlers.

 

Buy a betta or angel to keep the population in check

An angelfish will probably eat the adult endlers...unless you were talking to me. I have a school of black neons doing a pretty good job of population control, I'm down to only 2-3 surviving instead of like 20.
Not sure if a betta would get along with female endlers.

That's the thing, I have 5 bettas and 2 angelfish.



Horus, as you can see he's living with a large group of endlers (fry too) and doesn't care at all.



Ra, really doesn't care about any of his tank mates, though he'd probably appreciate their departure and regaining 'quiet' tank mates like the clown killis.



Osiris, also living with several female endlers, and is the betta in the 'main' fry tank. He's had upwards of 30 fry in there and hasn't chased a single one.



Orion, also in with masses of fry as I moved them from Osiris' 9g. Really wishes I'd remove them but won't chase them or eat them or do anything but swim away from their antics.



Mickey, who's gotten bossy but not violent or hungry for live fish apparently.



Nut, might get some female endler companions shortly - mostly because I need them somewhere and because they are less flashy than the males Nut may be less likely to chase them to their death beds. I don't think she'd eat them, I think she'd play with them before they died of their injuries. (She destroyed crystal shrimp this way, hunting them down and eating them in sections)



Bat, the other maimer of fish. I'm not sure they'd eat the endler fry either, but they have taken bites out of other fish and bitten me when I clean out the tank and don't feed them first. They try to chase the male endlers now but aside from a couple 'lucky' maiming nips that only left the fish injured and not dead, they haven't been successful. I think they're more annoyed by the male endlers than hungry as they've changed behavior only since the numbers in the tank increased.


I'm sure a couple of fry have lost their lives to some hungry fish, but it hasn't been happening on a scale that will keep the Endler numbers in check by any means.

 

I love the Egyptian god names

 

Hum. Interesting. I have 4 females betta in my guppy tank and they get tired of the guppies taking all the food so they go after the frys. I do have to admit that the swordtails in the tank got tired of chasing the frys and now just ignore them.

 

I have had runaway population growth with wild type guppy Endler mix feeders. I gave some to a friend, others to LFS for their feeder tank.

I considered creating a predator tank to feed the excess too, but I decided that would not work for me.

I did not like giving them to the LFS for feeders. Made me sad. I liked giving them to my friend better. But they came from a feeder tank. I believe some of them were breeder culls. So I made peace with giving them away as feeders. I hope my friend will tank more, but if not, the LFS gets some more feeders.

 

Hum. Interesting. I have 4 females betta in my guppy tank and they get tired of the guppies taking all the food so they go after the frys. I do have to admit that the swordtails in the tank got tired of chasing the frys and now just ignore them.

I put 4 female 'fry' (younger than 2 months) in with my female Betta earlier and she's chasing them but not yet hunting them. The male bettas never even did more than a flare or two and then gave up. Too fast and too annoying maybe for them.

I have had runaway population growth with wild type guppy Endler mix feeders. I gave some to a friend, others to LFS for their feeder tank.

I considered creating a predator tank to feed the excess too, but I decided that would not work for me.

I did not like giving them to the LFS for feeders. Made me sad. I liked giving them to my friend better. But they came from a feeder tank. I believe some of them were breeder culls. So I made peace with giving them away as feeders. I hope my friend will tank more, but if not, the LFS gets some more feeders.

I know what you mean. It was hard enough plopping them into the tank with the angelfish and the female betta, not sure I could get a fish just to feed it these Endler babies. Not to mention that would be yet another tank and I'm already back up to 8.

Even if I manage to give away 80+ in the next week or two, if I don't get rid of the females I will have plenty of babies going forward, infinitely.

 

The first batch I gave to the LFS were all my largest females. At the time, my thought was that I would give away the biggest and try to turnover generations as quickly as possible. The smaller females have fewer fry. I figured population growth would be easier to manage and it would be interesting to watch the evolution of the population. But catching the particular fish you want to capture is really difficult. So I am phasing out.

 

The first batch I gave to the LFS were all my largest females. At the time, my thought was that I would give away the biggest and try to turnover generations as quickly as possible. The smaller females have fewer fry. I figured population growth would be easier to manage and it would be interesting to watch the evolution of the population. But catching the particular fish you want to capture is really difficult. So I am phasing out.

Phasing out endlers or female endlers?

I read an article, that is obviously wrong, saying that the females often died shortly after giving birth so you didn't have to worry about their longevity (which sounds horrible to me). I'm not sure what was wrong with their females but I haven't had a single such issue. My eldest females have given birth 3 or 4 times in as many months and are still going strong.

 

Too bad you aren’t near me! I’ve been looking for three males and all of the fish stores around me haven’t been able to get shipments in because of the riots.

 

The first batch I gave to the LFS were all my largest females. At the time, my thought was that I would give away the biggest and try to turnover generations as quickly as possible. The smaller females have fewer fry. I figured population growth would be easier to manage and it would be interesting to watch the evolution of the population. But catching the particular fish you want to capture is really difficult. So I am phasing out.

I'm also trying to phase out my platys but by getting rid of the males. They stress the females too much and I want the females to live out the rest of their natural life in my big tank.
I agree, catching ones that look identical is hard.

I read an article, that is obviously wrong, saying that the females often died shortly after giving birth so you didn't have to worry about their longevity (which sounds horrible to me). I'm not sure what was wrong with their females but I haven't had a single such issue. My eldest females have given birth 3 or 4 times in as many months and are still going strong.
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Sometimes livebearers can have a difficult pregnancy and not make it but it's rare.