Can Endlers Work In This Tank?

[tylerv9]

I've kept community tanks for quite some time, but never with livebearers. I don't know much about livebearers so I'm looking for some help.

I'm redoing my stocking in my 55 gallon community tank - moving some fish to other tanks.

I plan on having:
- 2 keyhole cichlids
- 5 rainbowfish
- 6 cardinal tetra
- amano shrimp

Would it be okay if I put a few endlers into this mix, and if so how many and M:F ratio? I don't really want them to mate so could I keep just males, or too much aggression?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[LauraFrog]

I don't know very much about keyholes, but most 'community' cichlids (like kribs and angelfish) are not suitable for keeping with very small fish, and I would be worried about combining them with cardinals, endlers or shrimp.

If you have done your research and you're sure that the keyhole cichlids will not bother the endlers, the endlers are compatible with the rest of the fish in that tank. If you don't want fry, keep all males. There is generally very little aggression between male guppies or endlers without females present, this is a myth formulated by pet stores to sell females. There is almost never aggression between males, the problem with keeping more males than females (or equal numbers of males and females) is that the males all try to assure that as many fry as possible are theirs and drive the females to mate constantly, resulting in both sexes being extremely stressed and permanently exhausted.

In the wild, a female not interested in mating could choose to leave, but in captivity, confined by glass walls and weighted down by excess fins, the female guppies have little choice over when or with who they mate. The harassment of the males drives them crazy, especially when they are close to dropping fry.

If you provide plenty of hiding places in the tank and ensure that all of the endlers are male (it's very easy to tell once they are old enough) you should be fine, but I'd do a bit more research on the keyhole's eating habits.

 

[tylerv9]

Thanks LauraFrog! Its not that I neglect to do research I was just asking for advice since I don't have any experience with livebearers. Keyholes are fine with cardinals and shrimp and keep to themselves (I have the keyholes, cardinals, shrimp, and rainbows in the fish already with a school of rummy nose tetras - which I plan on relocating)

 

[OldMan47]

Pure wild type endlers are very fast and nervous seeming fish. My wife describes ours as being like guppies on speed. Even given that, I would hesitate to place them in an environment where their survival depends on them eluding predators.

 

[LauraFrog]

Like I said, I know zip about keyholes, so if they are un-cichlid-like in their behavior, they should be fine to keep with endlers. Some of the true dwarf cichlids are - apistos are fine, and so are rams and bolivian butterfly rams - but kribensis and angels are generally out.

Endlers are compatible with the rest of the fish on there so I'd go ahead and put them in, if keyholes are okay with cardinals and shrimp they should be fine with endlers.