The kids have been bugging me to get fish for some time. I have wanted to get some fish, but have nowhere to put them. I have also thought of doing a simple aquaponics set up, but that is a different type of fish altogether and the kids would most likely not be allowed to go near this.
Then our pet turtle died, we had him since before the kids were born. I dont know what went wrong. The kids and I were upset. We miss out turtle friend.
A few days later we happened to be going to Orange for something so I decided to get some fish as a surprise for the kids. I considered getting gold fish as they are hardy and indestructible, but they are also very messy, and they do not breed easily in a tank. I decided to get something that would breed without much work on my part, something like a guppy.
Then our pet turtle died, we had him since before the kids were born. I dont know what went wrong. The kids and I were upset. We miss out turtle friend.
A few days later we happened to be going to Orange for something so I decided to get some fish as a surprise for the kids. I considered getting gold fish as they are hardy and indestructible, but they are also very messy, and they do not breed easily in a tank. I decided to get something that would breed without much work on my part, something like a guppy.
Some of my fish - the guppy hybrids. You cannot see the true deep colours in the pictures |
I have liked guppies since I was a child, but a few years ago I learned about a fish called an Endlers livebearer. It is uncertain if this is a type of guppy or a different type of fish. They are prettier, hardier, and all round better than guppies. I wanted to get some Endlers, but it is unlikely that we would find them out here, and they can be very expensive so if I did find some I did not like my chances of actually buying any.
My fish look similar to these but mine have deeper colours - picture by Silvana Gericke http://abilo.piranho.de/aquaseite/aqua |
They have had baby fish for us a few times, many of which appear to be surviving to maturity. It is difficult to count them as the tank is large and has plants and other places for them to hide. Unfortunately I have too many males, or not enough females, so I have separated all of the non-endler male guppies from the main breeding tank. In this way the colony will end up as all endlers. Every baby fish from now will be either an endler or at least 50% endler. In a few generations if I cull hard I should have all endlers, or at least fish that look very much like endlers and carry a high percentage of ender genes. It will take some work, especially considering how speedy these little fish are and how difficult they are to catch, but it will be worth it.
Endler/guppy hybrids - poor colouration due to stress |
Some culls |
Some more culls |
In the wild they lived in Laguna de Patos in Venezuela, they may be extinct in the wild, or they may have crossed with guppies in the wild (essentially becoming extinct in their pure form), or they may have some small remnant populations somewhere. Many people who have recently caught wild Endlers have fish that are clearly wild guppy Endler hybrids. Many of the recent expeditions have not turned up any Endlers, and the site they they used to reside is heavily polluted, so it is difficult to know if they still exist in the wild for sure.
The Endlers livebearer was first discovered by Franklyn F Bond in 1937, these fish were then pickled, sent to a museum, filed away safely, and then forgotten about. In 1975 Professor John Endler rediscovered these amazing little fish, he sent some live fish to a friend who named them after him and introduced them into the aquarium trade. From there they have spread across the world through aquariums. In Australia they seem to be rare, probably due to how recently they have been introduced to the country but also because of how easily they hybridise with guppies.
They are a beautiful and lively little fish, the males have vivid metallic colours while the females are plain. They are very similar to the fancy guppy in a lot of ways. Many of the modern fancy guppies have some degree of Endler blood in them, and likewise many (if not all) Endlers in Australia have guppy somewhere in their heritage.
Endlers differ from guppies in a few ways that are noticeable for the average fish keeper:
- They can be smaller than guppies;
- They have a shorter gestation period than guppies;
- The females are not interested in eating the new born fry, whereas guppy females are notorious fry eaters;
- New born fry seem larger and more agile than newborn guppy fry;
- They do not jump out of the water, unlike guppies who are well known for being suicidal jumpers;
- Their colouring of the males is amazing and unique;
- Females have no real colour;
- They have a slightly different shape to the guppy;
- They prefer water that is more alkaline and harder than guppies;
- They prefer warmer water to the guppy, which is good for me as my tank is outside in a sheltered position and the water temp often exceeds the lethal temp for guppies;
- Males display for the females, rather than harass them;
- They behave more like a wild fish than a pet fish - if you get some endlers you will know what I mean...
Endler male, I would cull him as mine look much nicer than this one - picture by Marrabbio2 |
I have learned a few things about expensive guppies and "pure" endlers from my little tank. Some of the expensive guppy types are in fact hybrids with endlers, I have had a few Japanese neon blue guppies and a few other noticeable types appear in my tank. Some of the pure endlers that I see for sale overseas that have been collected from the wild, are in fact hybrids. I assume that they hybridised naturally prior to being caught by people, but the fact remains that they are not pure endlers. Again, in my little tank, I have had a few peacock endlers and some other things show up. Some of these fish are truly beautiful and it would be simple enough to line breed them for a few generations so that I had several exotic types that breed true to type, but I have no interest in them. The natural beauty of the wild type endlers has captivated me and I am culling hard to remove anything that is not close to a real endler.
At this stage I have no plans on sending live fish through the post, so if you would like to get them from me feel free to contact me through my for sale page but you would have to pick them up.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar