Old Age In Endlers?

Hello everyone! This is my first post ever, I believe, but I have read this forum daily. Particularly this sub-board. I had never heard of endlers until I came into possession of two, I thought they were a type of guppy when I got them (which I guess isn't entirely off-base!) but have since read every post here and I LOVE endlers. I can't believe it took me so long to discover them!

Anyway, as I mentioned I have two male endlers, Ptolemy and Pendragon. They are in a heavily planted nano 3 gallon tank. They are amazing. Since day one Ptolemy has been the ham and is always out, Pendragon likes to stay in the plants.

I've noticed lately that Pendragon has slowed way down. He's always been a hider so it's been hard to notice, but there's no denying it now. He comes out when I turn off the filter, for food or when I am cleaning-- all the fun times-- but you can tell it takes a big effort. He has to rest on the gravel all the time. After swimming a bit, his breathing looks a bit laboured. I have checked him out all over for disease, I can't see anything-- I find it hard to believe he would get something but Ptolemy would not! Nothing comes into the tank. Water conditions are fine. He's eating, but that's slowing down too, one or two bites and he's done. You guys known endlers-- they like eating!

Ptolemy in all of this has had no change. He is fully active, eating like a MONSTER (particularly because Pendragon is eating so little). When the filter is off and Pendragon comes out a bit, Ptolemy does his little sassy dance, which Pendragon used to do back at him, but doesn't anymore.

Anyway this is a lot of text, because I am just wondering if Pendragon's life is winding down? I know endlers are short-lived, 1-2 years. My fish have always lived to the outer-reaches of their life span (I had a single guppy in years past that lived over 5 years), so I thought for sure I would have these guys for least a year. I have had these guys 9 months. I have no idea how old they were when purchased. They were both full-sized, so they had to be a couple months old at least. So he's probably a year old at this point.

I am sorry this is such a huge novel, I think I am just looking for someone to say, "yes it sounds like your fish is getting old, it's going to be ok, just watch him" and to make there is anything I should do for him. The moment he looks like he's suffering or on his side or anything, I know the clove oil procedure. With my past fish they also died from being old, but it was clear-- like I said, that guppy was 5+ and he looked like Methuselah, there was no doubt and it was a slow decline. Pendragon seems more sudden but maybe this is how it is with endlers.

Again, sorry this is so long. I just love my two endler bbs so much, when you only have two tiny fish you get super attached. I want to make sure there's nothing else I should be doing. I spent all night getting up every 15 minutes to check on Pendragon and today I was like, "ok, to Fishlore, someone can help put your brain at ease."

To recap: Endler slowing down, eating less, resting all the time, hard time swimming in filter current, gets "winded" after effort. No discolouration, no redness, strange marks, weird poop. Is my endler sick or just an elderly gent and is there anything else I should be doing?

Thanks for reading this anxious post!!

 

Maybe try getting him a female friend might give him a spark back to life but to be honest it does sound like he's on his way out maybe try 10% water change every other day that may also help

 

I'm so sorry, honestly it does sound like old age. I'm not the most experienced, but there's not a particular disease I can think of. Just to be sure, can you post what your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are exactly?

 

Yes, as someone who's had Endlers for a while now, that does sound like old age for Pendragon, as the fish I've owned have always stopped eating, which is always suspicious with them because they love to eat. Just try to keep your water parameters good, more frequent small water changes and he should enjoy his aging. Also, if you want to or can buffer your filter flow with a bit of sponge filter, it might make swimming easier for him.

 

Yes, he's on his way out and doesn't have much longer. If you get a female and let them breed, you won't feel so badly when you lose them to a natural death of old age. They breed very quickly, and so live a shorter life. But having hundreds of them at a time takes away the pain

 

Thank you everyone for all these replies. I know it's silly to get upset over one little endler when I know people have tanks and tanks of them, but these are my special little guys.

I'll keep their water in tip top shape and keep my eye on him. I was thinking about the sponge filter when I began to notice he came out more when the filter was off.

Thank you so much everyone, hugs to each of you!

If you guys want to keep talking about old endlers, please feel free! This makes me feel so much better.

LOTS OF ENDLER LOVE.

 

endlercollector I didn't even see your comment while I was typing! I wish I had hundreds, that's my goal someday when I am not in a shoebox apartment. ;D

I hope Pendragon just goes easily, such a short life is so unfair when they are such sweet little spirits. Poor thing, I wanted him to make it to 2 years with me!

Thank you guys again so much, this is making me feel so much better.

 

Thank you everyone for all these replies. I know it's silly to get upset over one little endler when I know people have tanks and tanks of them, but these are my special little guys.

I'll keep their water in tip top shape and keep my eye on him. I was thinking about the sponge filter when I began to notice he came out more when the filter was off.

Thank you so much everyone, hugs to each of you!

If you guys want to keep talking about old endlers, please feel free! This makes me feel so much better.

LOTS OF ENDLER LOVE.

Hey, it's absolutely not silly, not in the slightest. You're entirely justified in how you feel. Heck, I get upset when my snails die, my mystery snails have similar lifespans to enders, and they act like yours does, a bit more lethargic, not eating, for 2-3 months before they pass. You may still have that much time with your boy.

 

Thank you Rtessy! I hope he wants to stay around that long.

I did a small water change a bit ago and he was out having fun without the filter running, so I've left it off for a while and he's having all sorts of great (albeit slow-paced) fun swimming around. So now I am thinking some sort of baffler in the filter like lizcateyes mentioned might be a must if that allows him to come out and peck around some more!

 

Yes, he's on his way out and doesn't have much longer. If you get a female and let them breed, you won't feel so badly when you lose them to a natural death of old age. They breed very quickly, and so live a shorter life. But having hundreds of them at a time takes away the pain

... as I learned, all it takes is 2 happy and pregnant girls to have a hundred endler in 3 months
I run sponge filters in all my endler tanks (all 4 now), and they seem to love it, especially the fry. They pick at the sponge between feedings because there is always something trapped there--food or algae.
re: Old age in endler--they develop at different rates based on temperature and amount fed, with the higher the temperature equating to the faster they mature...and the shorter they live. In a lot of commercial farms they move the males to higher temperature water to have them color faster (and therefore be able to be sold faster) and so the first generation straight from the breeder might not last as long. And as you say, you don't know how old they were when you got them. I hope you have a few more happy months with your Pendragon, and thank you for giving them a wonderful home to live out their natural lives in!

 

It's not strange, the fish are your pets and it's normal to get attached to them! Part of the joy of keeping fish is getting to know their individual personalities as they live out their lives with us

 

Sorry about Pendragon, it's always rough losing pets, I know how u fell, I think my hamsters gonna go very soon

 

Thank you everyone for still commenting! Lacey D I have repeated that temperature fact to many people now, who probably never wanted to know the details of my little fish life!

Pendragon is still going! I got some extra sponge to baffle the output, it slowed things down CONSIDERABLY-- but I think Pendgragon was too trained to hide when that motor is on, because the second it sounded, he went to his favourite place under his driftwood. So I've just turned that back to normal and let him hide as he likes.

Today I came home and he was lying in the plant rhizomes and wasn't coming out-- could just see his tail. I was like, "Oh no. He can't even rise to the occasion of the lights turning on. I should have worked harder to find clove oil," I can't find it anywhere in-stores! "This is it," I really thought, "He's gone." Then I left the room came back and he was swimming through his plants. The spirit packed into such a tiny package is amazing!

But he definitely isn't long for the world. I have been smooshing those tiny New Life Spectrum pellets with tweezers and putting them right by his mouth to eat. He might not really be swimming, but he ate those pieces! Endler to the end! (Unfortunately it looks like Ptolemy thinks tweezer food is WAY MORE FUN then normal food, so I may have created a future situation for myself.)

When you have a little fish like this, who isn't really suffering in a pain/sickness way-- but is just SEVERELY AGED, do I just let him keep declining until he goes? Is getting that clove oil and seeing him out the better thing to do? I have gone to several drugstores with no luck and will just have to order online. Is there something else should do if it doesn't come in time?

If he just wants to lay on the gravel, flap his fins and eat what I put by his face-- that's fine, I am just so worried this situation will slide further and he'll end up suffering, which I don't want at all.

ANOTHER NOVEL ABOUT A SMALL FISH, brought to you by Lostsailors.

 

It doesn't matter what kind of animal it concerns, a person can become attached to it. As long as a human being has got feelings, there will always be the "risk" of attachment involved...
Well, about the age of an endler... Between 6 months and two years is the most common lifespan I know... Depending on the circumstances they're kept.

 

Little Pendragon went today, I helped him on his way because the clove oil arrived. He wasn't eating his little bites and couldn't even do his gravel swimming anymore. I hope I made it easier on him and he didn't suffer. I feel so sad and poor Ptolemy is by himself in there now.

Thank you everyone for helping him!

 

I'm so sorry. At least he passed peacefully with you by his side

 

So sorry!