# Endlers don't eat their babies - a myth :)



## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Hello,

I just wanted to share my experience with endlers as I finally got my first batch of babies on Saturday.
I had 3 small endlers in the same tank with the mom and all of the chased the fry. When mom was done, she started chasing them again and we saw her eat 2! We couldn't believe our eyes and got her out of the tank as well as other endlers that are bigger, but not adult yet. I am not sure if they are capable of eating fry, but I got worried.
Now babies are happy all by themselves (there are some shrimps though that enjoy the constant supply of food a lot  ) and are growing fast


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I think they are not as aggressive with babies as guppies, but I can't imagine them not going after the fry. But as with guppies, it's soon enough that you will wish they ate all their babies.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Hahaha, well, till the forum is full of people who love endlers, I think I'll be happy enough to save as many babies as I can and give them away.
But yeah, I was wondering how they won't eat their babies as once in the tank they become food. And mom was VERY hungry when she was done.


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

that's different. don't know about anyone else, but mine never went after fry. kinda wish they had- my colony just kept growing and growing and growing...
there are exceptions to every norm, and you seemed to have found one


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Interesting. Even the small endlers were chasing the fry. At first I thought they were playing or something, until we saw the mom eating one (I thought I saw wrong) and then another and I got them all OUT


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Perhaps your endlers are mixed? It's common for people to use Endlers males with guppy females for breeding, as Endler females seem to be rarer.


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## TCR (Jul 13, 2010)

I cant tell the differance


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## kelly528 (Apr 21, 2010)

I have seen the odd endler momma randomly open up her mouth and swallow a baby out of the blue but on the whole, no, you won't need to separate the fry and they will breed like rabbits. Or more accurately, rabbits breed like endlers.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

As far as I know these are pure endlers and haven't been interbred before.

Yeah, maybe it was odd and it won't happen again. Maybe it wasn't intentional, though all of the bigger once were going after fry.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

weird, i was hoping my guppies would feast on the fry, but there must be 15 surviving fry in a 10 gallon that had 4 adults (now 3, as one died giving birth). Guess the cover is the key.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

neven, that means the tank is OK now? So nice to hear!


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

yes it seems to be fine now, only the one female death lately, looked like she couldn't pop the babies out with how big she was. Some of the fry has been there 2 weeks now, so they'd have likely died if the ich was still there


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Yikes, how awful! Sorry to hear that.

I haven't seen any sign of that in my two endler tanks. There's a constant baby boom going on! Which is good, because I would have nowhere to put the fry if I pulled them out.

My Bolivian rams, on the other hand, keep eating their fry.

It's good news that your fish are all healthy enough again to be having babies & etc.


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## BigFatLyre (Apr 22, 2010)

This line should be pure, but I didn't have any problems with Endlers eating their fry but they cleaned clock on a large batch of jewel babies that were three weeks old and I was sure they could take care of themselves! (one survivor, as always)
I suspect hiding places and low lighting would help. A large tank should have had lots of room to run!


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## Nanokid (May 18, 2010)

interesting...i was told "pure" / wild type endlers were nearly impossible to get (nearly extinct in the wild due to habitat distruction), as 90% have been bred with regular guppies somwhere along the line.
anyways, i met someone who works for UVIC and they had a real endlers.(got them on a grant) i have never seen a single endler for sale that looked like them, not even on the net. anyways i was given some... i had so many, and not once did i witness cannibalism... a bit off topic but useful non the less


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

See, they are supposed to be pure. And I will make sure to never put them in one tank with guppies as I know how rare the pure endlers are (I very much appreciate BigFatLyre and Morainy's, all pure wild ones). I guess it was some VERY hungry and odd mom then  But just in case they are sharing a tank with my cheries now and seem happy and growing.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi InfraredDream, I don't know if you have any of my endlers left these days, but I can't promise that they are pure. I got them from Graham at Noah's Pet Ark. He carries different kinds of endlers, and I picked my endlers from a tank of endlers that he says he believes are pure; they have not been bred with any other fish for at least the past 4 years that he's been keeping them, either. But, there is no pedigree with these fish. Graham also has different endlers, very pretty, and he is not sure of their parentage.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

I still have 3 of yours, Morainy, but that mom wasn't from them. The only female that survived the outbreak is still a teenager.
Anyway, I guess she is just one weird mom  Or maybe because that was a bare bottom part of the tank and she was VERY hungry. 
I guess every fish is different after all


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