Colony Breading

[Tuna Howard]

I wish to start a colony of endlers.  I figure I would start w 2 makes and 4 females.  How  large a tank should I set up for the long run?

[Zenzo]

Anything from a planted 10 gallon tank and up should do well. 

[Torrey]

On 10/7/2021 at 12:44 PM, Tuna Howard said:

I wish to start a colony of endlers.  I figure I would start w 2 makes and 4 females.  How  large a tank should I set up for the long run?

My original 6 have overpopulated the turtle pond, and figured out that if they dive bomb the turtle's head, **en masse** they can drive the turtle out of it's own pond.🙄

So, I took the most beautiful ones, and put a half dozen in my spouse's 4' tank, once it was ready. I also put some in the outdoor phytoremediation pond, to control algae and mosquitoes. 

I took 2 bags of 20 endlers each to my local club, I took 80 culls as feeders to my lfs, and I probably still have over 200 in between the 4' tank and the prolific breeders in the turtle pond because no matter how hard I try, there are always a few babies I miss.🤷‍♂️

 

[CalmedByFish]

On 10/7/2021 at 1:44 PM, Tuna Howard said:

How  large a tank should I set up for the long run?

It might help to ask yourself how many adults you want to keep for the long run.

Then you'd pick a tank size based off of that number. When you do that math, factor in that an adult female is 2-3 times the bioload of an adult male, and that the females need to outnumber any males they live with so the males don't pester them to death.

Examples based on my tanks: 30 adult males in a 20 gallon with a medium sponge filter, or 30 adult females in a 29 gallon with 2 medium sponge filters.

Also have a plan ahead of time for what you'll do when there are (inevitably) too many fry. 

On 10/7/2021 at 10:55 PM, Torrey said:

My original 6 have overpopulated the turtle pond, and figured out that if they dive bomb the turtle's head, **en masse** they can drive the turtle out of it's own pond.🙄

I so want to see this! 😂

[Torrey]

On 10/7/2021 at 10:33 PM, CalmedByFish said:

so want to see this! 😂

When I figure out how to upload video from the GoPro to the forum, I will make sure everyone can see it, lol

I need to look through my phone  and see if I ever got video of the turtle 'fishing'

Karma would take turtle pellet, and wedge it into the side of the pond.

Then, when fish would come to investigate, Karma would eat as many as she could catch.

[lefty o]

when it comes to guppy's, and endlers you have to decide how many of the babies you intend to keep. if you want to keep most of them, you will need a fairly large tank. well that or many smaller tanks. i personally would start with as large of an aquarium as you have room for, and can budget for. you can fit a ton of endlers in something like a 75 gallon.

[OnlyGenusCaps]

Keep in mind that if you want a specific variety of Endler's or guppy, that you will have to maintain them to keep them looking like that.  As a colony they will tend to drift in form if you do not, and you may, or may not, like the result.  It can several generations depending on how stable the line is when you get it.  If you go with an unselected N-class Endler's strain then, you can do a lot more ignoring them and they'll tend to keep looking like wild strain.  Just stuff you might want to consider.

[StockEwe49]

Yes @OnlyGenusCaps is right it is important to know from the beginning if you want to cull and maintain a line or if you just want to let nature take its course 😆. The alternative to maintaining the line is just keeping whatever endlers you like and they will just breed together. Whatever you enjoy the most is the best for you!

[Tuna Howard]

On 10/10/2021 at 6:43 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Keep in mind that if you want a specific variety of Endler's or guppy, that you will have to maintain them to keep them looking like that.  As a colony they will tend to drift in form if you do not, and you may, or may not, like the result.  It can several generations depending on how stable the line is when you get it.  If you go with an unselected N-class Endler's strain then, you can do a lot more ignoring them and they'll tend to keep looking like wild strain.  Just stuff you might want to consider.

 

Good advice thank you.