PineSong Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 I was not planning on adding any female guppies until spring outdoor tub time, but I was at the grocery store last month and saw these females in a tank with rams and having their tails bitten off, so I bought them. 4/5 survived, they even had a few fry in QT, and the ones with bitten-up tails have regrown them pretty well so far. The photo below was when they were new, and you can see the girl on the bottom has the worst damage. I have them in a tank with no male guppies right now, but in a few months, I will have fun deciding which of my male guppies or Endlers to add to which females. I have 4 or 5 tail shapes and as many colors to choose from. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 They are so pretty. I’m glad you rescued them 🥰 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted November 25, 2021 Author Share Posted November 25, 2021 Well, spoke too soon and jinxed it. I lost one of these females yesterday and another today. They appeared fine when I was watching the tank at mealtimes and then several hours later were belly up and floating, looking very bloated but otherwise intact. Not sure what happened. Water parameters are as usual and all other fish in the tank are acting normally. My guppy curse continues 😞 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 On 11/24/2021 at 8:00 PM, PineSong said: . . . My guppy curse continues 😞 If it makes you feel any better, it's not just you. I've rarely, if ever, been able to keep a commercially raised guppy alive for longer than a month. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted November 25, 2021 Author Share Posted November 25, 2021 On 11/24/2021 at 10:28 PM, JettsPapa said: If it makes you feel any better, it's not just you. I've rarely, if ever, been able to keep a commercially raised guppy alive for longer than a month. It definitely helps to know that this frustrating situation isn't just poor fishkeeping by me. I'm sad for the fish who are condemned to this reality and for all the people, especially kids, who are excited about getting their first fish tank and then traumatized as their fish die one by one. I was literally afraid to look in my tank this morning. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 This is definitely not you. One of my first posts on the forum was how to make my guppies stronger for this exact heartbreaking reason. I realized though fish farmed for profit are simply not given the love and dedication to help them be healthy and strong. They are fighting from the day they are born. They are often also raised in antibiotic soup so their immune system never develops. My heart is with you I went through this when starting with guppies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 On 11/25/2021 at 6:07 AM, PineSong said: It definitely helps to know that this frustrating situation isn't just poor fishkeeping by me. I'm sad for the fish who are condemned to this reality and for all the people, especially kids, who are excited about getting their first fish tank and then traumatized as their fish die one by one. I was literally afraid to look in my tank this morning. I always recommend getting guppies from local breeders, or a locally owned store that buys from local breeders, if possible. The other alternative is to see if you can find a female that's ready to drop fry. They're usually hardier. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted November 25, 2021 Author Share Posted November 25, 2021 Thanks. After my initial guppy tragedies back in July, I bought two breeding trios from a local club auction and ordered some from Aquabid. I have kept all of those alive with no issues. I bought these girls because I felt sorry for them at the grocery store, so I am reaping the results 😞 On the up side, there were some fry born while they were in QT and I found another fry today, so they will live on in my tanks in that way. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 Good job on rescuing them! I don't really think Grocery stores should carry fish just because of the lack of experience and the neglect. But sometimes there are people that work at the stores that know a bit about the hobby. Happy Thanksgiving! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 I'm glad you at least got fry, since they probably will be hardier. Problems with guppies is why I switched to endlers. Truth is, I like the look of guppies much more, but it was a trade for peace of mind. With endler health going super well, I am considering those "Japan blue" guppy-endler hybrids though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jawjagrrl Posted December 17, 2021 Share Posted December 17, 2021 On 11/25/2021 at 11:43 AM, CalmedByFish said: I'm glad you at least got fry, since they probably will be hardier. Problems with guppies is why I switched to endlers. Truth is, I like the look of guppies much more, but it was a trade for peace of mind. With endler health going super well, I am considering those "Japan blue" guppy-endler hybrids though. I got some assorted Male endlers from AH awhile back, and most seemed more like hybrids. One is that Japan blue and quite striking. Fun addition to my shrimp setup. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted December 17, 2021 Share Posted December 17, 2021 On 12/16/2021 at 6:59 PM, Jawjagrrl said: I got some assorted Male endlers from AH awhile back, and most seemed more like hybrids. One is that Japan blue and quite striking. Fun addition to my shrimp setup. Awesome that you scored a Japan blue! I also ordered assorted male endlers from AH, and I think most, if not all, were actually hybrids instead of what was advertised. Plus 8 of the 10 arrived dead. 1 that was alive had an interesting silvery area, and survived just long enough to breed with 1 of my females, resulting in 1 blue male fry that looks similar to the dad, so now I'm trying to breed the 1 fry with my females. (I actually gave away the other survivor because it looked so blah.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted December 18, 2021 Author Share Posted December 18, 2021 On 12/16/2021 at 8:06 PM, CalmedByFish said: Awesome that you scored a Japan blue! I also ordered assorted male endlers from AH, and I think most, if not all, were actually hybrids instead of what was advertised. Plus 8 of the 10 arrived dead. 1 that was alive had an interesting silvery area, and survived just long enough to breed with 1 of my females, resulting in 1 blue male fry that looks similar to the dad, so now I'm trying to breed the 1 fry with my females. (I actually gave away the other survivor because it looked so blah.) Argh, I am sorry to hear that you had such rotten luck with that order... so frustrating and sad. It's disheartening to get to the point in the guppy world where we feel "lucky" if you get one fry from a shipment to use as breeding stock. I had two of my big girl guppies left and the tequila sunrise-looking one gave me a scare, looking washed out and top-sitting. I hospitalized her (salt and maracyn 2) and she pulled through. After a week I put her back in and she has been fine since, but that means this fish has had 2 rounds of Paracleanse and 2 of Expel P in 30 days in QT, she had salt and antiobiotics for her bitten-off tail in that QT, too. That's a lot of propping up for a long, straight-bodied fish with straightforward dietary needs. I'm hoping the fry from these big females will be my bullet-proof breeding moms. They are born nearly too big to eat and by day two or three swim boldly around in the community tank, very confident and fit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 On 12/17/2021 at 7:58 PM, PineSong said: That's a lot of propping up for a long, straight-bodied fish with straightforward dietary needs. I'm hoping the fry from these big females will be my bullet-proof breeding moms. They are born nearly too big to eat and by day two or three swim boldly around in the community tank, very confident and fit. That is a lot of propping up! I hope the fry turn out hardier. Your description of them sounds promising. I'm starting to think toward breeding for hardiness and best color. I've always just let my fish have babies, simple as that. But now I have too many endlers! So I've set aside about 20 males that I'll try to find a good lfs to take to, and before long, I'll probably do that with females. Plus, I have about 50 endler fry too tiny to sex, let alone know the colors of. So months from now, I'll likely be doing Round 2 of "culling" to a lfs. I also like the idea of putting some of the males in an outdoor pond in a few months to see if that makes them "color up" more. I hear tale it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted December 18, 2021 Author Share Posted December 18, 2021 On 12/17/2021 at 9:10 PM, CalmedByFish said: I also like the idea of putting some of the males in an outdoor pond in a few months to see if that makes them "color up" more. I hear tale it does. I am definitely doing a pond next spring; it was my original goal for getting guppies and platies. I am going to buy some more from Aquabid in April so they will be QTd by May when it is time to put them out where I live. I'm really looking forward to it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonBFree Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I have been raising Endlers for a couple years now. I started with pair of Scarlet Reds in a planted 20 gallon tank They have reproduced like crazy. Some of the offspring are Black Bar Endlers but most are Scarlets. I take the Black Bars out of the tank and move them to another 20 gallon to breed. They seem to be quite hardy and as far as I can tell they don't eat the fry. I recently took 36 pair of each to a local aquarium store and bartered them for store credit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 On 12/20/2021 at 4:33 PM, RonBFree said: I have been raising Endlers for a couple years now. I started with pair of Scarlet Reds in a planted 20 gallon tank They have reproduced like crazy. Some of the offspring are Black Bar Endlers but most are Scarlets. I take the Black Bars out of the tank and move them to another 20 gallon to breed. They seem to be quite hardy and as far as I can tell they don't eat the fry. I recently took 36 pair of each to a local aquarium store and bartered them for store credit. My French blue star endlers finally produced their first batch of fry yesterday after three months of my waiting and I'm very excited to see the fry develop--they are tiny! But 36 pair, wow! That's a LOT. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jawjagrrl Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 (edited) On 12/16/2021 at 8:06 PM, CalmedByFish said: Awesome that you scored a Japan blue! I also ordered assorted male endlers from AH, and I think most, if not all, were actually hybrids instead of what was advertised. Plus 8 of the 10 arrived dead. 1 that was alive had an interesting silvery area, and survived just long enough to breed with 1 of my females, resulting in 1 blue male fry that looks similar to the dad, so now I'm trying to breed the 1 fry with my females. (I actually gave away the other survivor because it looked so blah.) Mine seemed to be hybrids as well - the largest was almost 2" long! Way too big for a 2.5gal tank and I was expecting 1" max. If I could start over I'd have the chili rasboras in with the shrimp. I lost 1 in ship and two more have died in the weeks since, but everyone else seems good. The one with the blue also has traces of another variety I got 3 of, forget the name though. He does have a complete tail, much of it is completely transparent. Edited December 21, 2021 by Jawjagrrl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 On 12/21/2021 at 8:34 AM, Jawjagrrl said: Mine seemed to be hybrids as well - the largest was almost 2" long! Way too big for a 2.5gal tank and I was expecting 1" max. If I could start over I'd have the chili rasboras in with the shrimp. I lost 1 in ship and two more have died in the weeks since, but everyone else seems good. The one with the blue also has traces of another variety I got 3 of, forget the name though. He does have a complete tail, much of it is completely transparent. Yeah, a 2" long male is not fully endler. The one with blue looks like a "Blue Star" to me, but one that hasn't gotten all of his color yet. I'll PM you a link to good pictures of blue stars so you can compare the markings. Sorry some of your fish weren't healthy or fully endler. That stinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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