Pure Endlers

[kizno1]

i got a pair of endlers a few days ago there was hundereds in the tank that all looked pure but when i got mine home i noticed the males tail is a bit wierd the top sowrd only comes half way down the tail and the bottom one gose to the end of the tail and another half off the end. its like the tops been choped of and added to the bottom. dose that mean is not pure or could it still be pure? the female had 13 fry on the first night so if this male isnt pure i might see if any of the fry turn out to be normal and if they are keep them and get rid of the male

 

[OldMan47]

My first response to someone wanting pure endlers would be to stay out of pet shops completely. Some breeders, including me, take great care to keep our endlers separated from other fish but that is not always the case.
The color pattern on a pure endler can be almost anything. If it is not a developed recognized strain of endler, the color patterns are almost endless. Many of the developed and fixed strains of endlers, like tiger endlers, are definitely subjected to controlled breeding situations but are far from pure endlers. They are crosses with guppies that have been brought forward to exhibit specific color traits but an endler person would never call them pure in the traditional sense.

 

[helterskelter]

Where did u buy them from?

As 99% of endlers in shops are crosses to start off with.
If you can get a pic of both males and females, this would help.
However you already stared they have swords which is a sign of already being a guppy cross.

 

[kizno1]

i got them from a breeder just up the road from my he had hundreds. they all looked normal and i didnt notice the tails on any of the others and only realised this one did when i got home there was also a load of albino once in the tank is that means there more likely to be guppy crosses. ill try and get a pic but it wont be good coz i only have a 3mp phone camra and he never stops moving.

 

[OldMan47]

Although some swords are indeed the result of crosses, I have managed to select out a male with an extended sword color, the fin is really not a sword. When I put him with virgin females, you really need to find young females for this, I did indeed get some progeny that looked much like their sire. I only carried that group forward for 2 generations but got here with pure endlers, 1998 collection, as the starting point.

If you look closely, you can see that most of that sword is really just color in an otherwise almost clear caudal fin. There is a tiny, maybe 1/3 the length of the sword color, extension on the fin though.

 

[kizno1]

That ones tail looks exactly the same as mine so there is still a chance it could be pure then?

 

[OldMan47]

That one is in fact a pure wild type. In that sense he is pure but he will not "breed true", he may have any number of different colored fry.

 

[kizno1]

Well I got 14 fry of the female but they won't be his because I only had her for a day when she had them and she came from a tank with loads of other males that didn't have the tail so I'll see how the fry turn out and if there's a better male I'll keep that and get rid of this one. Thanks for the help