will P. reticulata and P. wingei actively crossbreed?

[Sgooosh]

Hi! i was wondering if endlers and guppy will actively crossbreed? I have pure wild guppies and I would also like to grow some endlers, however I was wondering if I have a large enough population of both in a very large tank, will they actively seek out and breed with each other?
I know things in the same genus (swordtails and platies, guppies and mollies) will not crossbreed unless there are no better options, dont know if this is the case for Endlers though.

 

[Innesfan]

Yes.

 

[GaryE]

This has been a major factor in turning most aquarium populations of endlers and guppies into mutts. If you are interested in wild forms, keep them across the room from each other! Or have the tanks in different rooms.

They hybridize easily. The on;y thing that keeps them distinct in nature is isolation - they have diverged in different habitats, but if they meet in the unnatural aquarium, nothing stops them from crossing.

 

[emeraldking]

As already been stated by my fellow members, they'll crossbreed for sure once kept together. You also have to know that both species are guppies. As I've written multiple times on this forum, guppies are divided into a small number of species:
Poecilia reticulata
Poecilia obscura
Poecilia kempkesi
Poecilia wingei
All Micropoecilia species

The only thing is is that the Poecilia reticulata is in free nature the most wide spread guppy species in the world.

 

[Back in the fold]

Now I know why the Endler’s Livebearer and Guppies look so much like the Guppies I first saw in the early 1960’s . Who really knows what I have in my aquarium today . The more I think about it the more I think I don’t know .

 

[Sgooosh]

Yes.

Thank you! I wonder what will happen once I introduce quarter-swordtails to my mostly wild swortails. I recently bought some "platies" which I realized had sword coloration, which is pretty cool actually

This has been a major factor in turning most aquarium populations of endlers and guppies into mutts. If you are interested in wild forms, keep them across the room from each other! Or have the tanks in different rooms.

They hybridize easily. The on;y thing that keeps them distinct in nature is isolation - they have diverged in different habitats, but if they meet in the unnatural aquarium, nothing stops them from crossing.

I see! I bet the ones I buy are already crossed anyway, so I guess I will just have a majority endler tank with a few wild guppies in it.

As already been stated by my fellow members, they'll crossbreed for sure once kept together. You also have to know that both species are guppies. As I've written multiple times on this forum, guppies are divided into a small number of species:
Poecilia reticulata
Poecilia obscura
Poecilia kempkesi
Poecilia wingei
All Micropoecilia species

The only thing is is that the Poecilia reticulata is in free nature the most wide spread guppy species in the world.

yes! I just saw that thread after posting, it is very useful. I hope to get the greenhouse up and heated so I will be able to keep more pure species.

 

[Malipipkin]

Yes, please do not breed them together…
If you want them, go to the feeder section of your LFS.
Breeding more of them waters down our profit as a store

 

[emeraldking]

If you want them, go to the feeder section of your LFS.

Actually, feeder fish can be every type of fish. When it comes to feeder guppies, they're Poecilia reticulata and not specifically endlers or other types of wild guppies. And most of the time, they're wild type guppies instead of wild form guppies. But again, they can also be goldfish for instance. For almost every type of fish is suitable to use as a feeder fish.

 

[Malipipkin]

I agree, I should have specified/ elaborated further. Thank you for clarifying my post.