What Are These Markings In My Comma Bar Tank?

So I've had a few surprises in my tank of N class comma bars. I'm wondering if an orchid female got mixed up in there. What do you think of these markings? I'm also perplexed by what looks like rows of stripes, especially on the 2nd guy toward the end who seems to have 3 stripes.

emeraldking I'm curious what you think.

 

it kinda reminds me of what aquatic arts calls blue star endler's.

 

it kinda reminds me of what aquatic arts calls blue star endler's.

I don't understand. These guys don't look at all like blue star endlers.

 

The reason I don't have a N class endler tank. The pure groups they offer all look different. I know no two fish will look the same buy I expect similar marking with a specific group. They sure are pretty.

 

The reason I don't have a N class endler tank. The pure groups they offer all look different. I know no two fish will look the same buy I expect similar marking with a specific group. They sure are pretty.

There are quite a variety of N class patterns out there. I prefer a more heterogeneous community up to a point as I find it more interesting to look at. However, my blue star tank is so far all blue.

 

I don't understand. These guys don't look at all like blue star endlers.

The one being followed in the video looks like a black bar endler, but I meant the comma bar ones reminded me of blue star because of the black patch.

 

The one being followed in the video looks like a black bar endler, but I meant the comma bar ones reminded me of blue star because of the black patch.

You have blue stars with black patches? I don't have very many at this point, and they all have a few random orangey red patches. The bellies are deep blue all the way to a bottom sword.

 

You have blue stars with black patches? I don't have very many at this point, and they all have a few random orangey red patches. The bellies are deep blue all the way to a bottom sword.

no, I was recently looking at the endler's on the aquatic arts site, is the blue star I was referencing. I'd love to keep endler's myself one day, but I'm not equipped for them yet.

 

I have a N class lime that I do not like at all. I think the orchids are closest to what I want.

 

no, I was recently looking at the endler's on the aquatic arts site, is the blue star I was referencing. I'd love to keep endler's myself one day, but I'm not equipped for them yet.

OK, now I see that faint black line that looks like the ones on my guys

Endlers don't require that much unless you want to breed them, and then a 20 or 29-gallon tank will suffice. I hope you can get some soon.

 

I have a N class lime that I do not like at all. I think the orchids are closest to what I want.

Awww, I find lime green Endlers very cute. I got a tank of them started a few months ago, and I've gotten some orange line on silver popping up as well as some commas. It's a very mixed group. I haven't found the orchids as exciting, but the line bred ones have some cool patterns.

 

Are you super sure these are N class?

 

Are you super sure these are N class?

I got them from a good source, but fish can jump

 

I got them from a good source, but fish can jump

Those look like wild guppy traits to me. Fin and body size/shape seem a little off for pure Endler. Maybe I'm wrong. My blackars have never thrown anything like that in the 6-7 years I've been keeping them. I've seen a lot of wild guppies with the spot pattern of the first fish.

 

OK, now I see that faint black line that looks like the ones on my guys

Endlers don't require that much unless you want to breed them, and then a 20 or 29-gallon tank will suffice. I hope you can get some soon.

I would, but I just don't have the room for another tank atm! I would love to keep yellow tiger endlers soon though.

 

Those look like wild guppy traits to me. Fin and body size/shape seem a little off for pure Endler. Maybe I'm wrong. My blackars have never thrown anything like that in the 6-7 years I've been keeping them. I've seen a lot of wild guppies with the spot pattern of the first fish.

It can be hard to tell some wild guppies from wild type Endlers. They key thing for me is the lack of pastels (namely pale pink, blue, and lavender) that I've mostly seen in Trinidadian wild reticulata. The first of the "throwbacks" has a faint white bottom sword, and the other actually has a faint top and bottom sword. I'm wondering if these will brighten up with time. They look a bit to me like the "original top yellow sword" on this page at swamp river aquatics.

But it's the black striping on the second one that has mostly caught my eye. I'm debating putting him in an Evolve 8 for a few weeks with some young females to see if I can emphasize that pattern in the tank. But maybe it's not worth the effort

 

So I've had a few surprises in my tank of N class comma bars. I'm wondering if an orchid female got mixed up in there. What do you think of these markings? I'm also perplexed by what looks like rows of stripes, especially on the 2nd guy toward the end who seems to have 3 stripes.

emeraldking I'm curious what you think.

When it comes to the males, I do see some black bar endlers and two wildtype guppies. The one with the monocles on the side and the male with that triangular blotch on both sides are no endlers. The last one mentioned has got stripes on its chest and that does show up with some wildguppies. It could be that a guppy female was (or still is) in there and dropped fry which turned out to be males like these.

 

When it comes to the males, I do see some black bar endlers and two wildtype guppies. The one with the monocles on the side and the male with that triangular blotch on both sides are no endlers. The last one mentioned has got stripes on its chest and that does show up with some wildguppies. It could be that a guppy female was (or still is) in there and dropped fry which turned out to be males like these.

Oh, no! What to do next? I've got way too many Endler hybrids from people who didn't know what they had. I don't have the time and space to figure out which girl is the wild reticulata, and I'm sure these boys have sisters.

I could

1) throw them all in the random hybrid tank that I have and tear this one down (which I've been meaning to as there's something going on with a section of the substrate that I don't like). Then I'd either a) get comma bars from another source or b) give up on that pattern and just do something else with that tank.

2) pull out all the guppy-looking boys, throw them in with my Girardinus Metallicus, and then euthanize all the girls (which would be very sad and painful). Then I would buy some N class girls from a different source to throw in with the remaining male comma bars. (I'd probably throw the remaining boys into a smaller tank and tear this one down anyway.)

3) just learn to accept their questionable spotty background and live with whatever happens in that tank. This is very hard to accept, being such a control freak with my fish.

Sigh.

 

I know it such a shame when you had the intention to have a pure strain in your tank. But these two males just ain't endlers by all means. And yes, if they do have sisters, it's a bit hard to tell which is a wildguppy female or an endler. A pure wildstrain endler doesn't have the same number of finrays as a pure guppy. But that's a bit hard to see, because of their size. And the other thing is, is that a wildguppy female almost has the same body build as a pure endler female. Female fancy guppies however are in general more stretched.
Also when it comes to the gonopodium of a pure wild strain endler and a wildguppy, the number of hooks at the end of their gonopodiums differ. If it's a hybrid, it's hard to tell if this feature is more guppy- or endlerlike. But both species are still compatible to crossbreed with another.

Well, it's up to you what you gonna do about it...

 

I know it such a shame when you had the intention to have a pure strain in your tank. But these two males just ain't endlers by all means. And yes, if they do have sisters, it's a bit hard to tell which is a wildguppy female or an endler. A pure wildstrain endler doesn't have the same number of finrays as a pure guppy. But that's a bit hard to see, because of their size. And the other thing is, is that a wildguppy female almost has the same body build as a pure endler female. Female fancy guppies however are in general more stretched.
Also when it comes to the gonopodium of a pure wild strain endler and a wildguppy, the number of hooks at the end of their gonopodiums differ. If it's a hybrid, it's hard to tell if this feature is more guppy- or endlerlike. But both species are still compatible to crossbreed with another.

Well, it's up to you what you gonna do about it...

Yes, their gonopodiums do look different! I've got the monocle and striped boys (turned out there were 4 of them!) and tossed them in with my Girardinus Metallicus. They were already aggressively chasing the girls in the original tank--and they don't do the cute backward dance that the Endlers do. Sigh.

OK so how many finrays are on a wild guppy female? Not that I'll know what to do with them. But it would be good to know

In the meantime, I've contacted the person I got them from, and he was surprised. He says that he's had them since 2004 without anything other than a comma bar showing up. So now I'm thinking of looking elsewhere...