Hi! I have a quick question?

[Fisherdashery]

So I have some new fish in my tank and almost all of them are tetra size except for one molly that i wasn't planning on getting but the shop gave me for free. He is super chill to all the fish except for on of my tiger endlers who he keeps trying to mate with. He is twice the size as the endler and I don't want it to get pregnant and not be able to carry the molly half of the crossbreeds. Is this something I should worry about or no? I don't have anywhere else to keep the molly and don't want to free it or flush it for obvious reasons. What should I do, if anything? Is the endler likely to survive? Thank you! Sorry if these are dumb questions I'm pretty new at this. ???

 

[Aiken Drum]

Molly/ guppy hybrids are possible. If you dont want to deal with hybrid offsping bag up the molly and return it to the store. Dont accept free fish you dont want again.

 

[Fisherdashery]

Oh I don't mind if there are babies i just don't want to lose the endler. But if it'll work out then I'm all for it! Thank you again! ?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Just be aware that livebearers will breed and breed and breed. The offspring will just build up and quickly overtake a tank. At least the hydrid offspring wont be fertile, so you dont have to worry about them breeding with each other, but as long as you have males and females that are compatible with each other you will have an overpopulation problem down the line.

If the molly is only interested in one of the guppies it might harass the fish too much as the attention isnt spread about.

 

[Andy Sager]

One of the downsides to a male molly and a female guppy/endler is that the fry can be too big for the female to birth. It's better to have a male Guppy/Endler mate with a female Molly. If your concern is not losing the Endler, I would not keep it with a molly of the opposite sex.

 

[Fisherdashery]

That makes sense. Andy, that was my main concern was losing the endler. I might need to remove the molly if it won't chill out. As far as breeding...I'm not sure how to keep that from happening since even when I ask for only one gender at stores i have breeding problems anyways. Thank you guys for taking the time to answer me. This has helped alot.

 

[Andy Sager]

That makes sense. Andy, that was my main concern was losing the endler. I might need to remove the molly if it won't chill out. As far as breeding...I'm not sure how to keep that from happening since even when I ask for only one gender at stores i have breeding problems anyways. Thank you guys for taking the time to answer me. This has helped alot.

Unfortunately, with livebearers, just because you ask for all females, does not mean they will be virgins. If they had been with a male, they are either going to be pregnant or holding sperm packets from the previous encounter so you are going to get fry whether you like it or not. The only way to get virgins is to separate male fry from their sisters as soon as they start to show a gonopodium. Females mature slower than males so you have a window to keep them virgins. IMO, it's better to keep all males than all females because males will tend to show their best colors and finnage so that when/if a female strolls by, they already have " the goods" to show them. Males will pick at each other a little but not really anything to worry about. It's only when there is a female in the mix that the aggression gets worse or concerning.

There are fish called Muppies and Gollies. The difference is which fish was the male and female. There are some good sized female Guppies that can handle molly fry. Endlers however are a smaller fish so not really a good choice to interbreed if it's the female.

 

[Fisherdashery]

I'm feel way better about this, thanks y'all!

Haha yeah, I really need to do more research on the differences because I thought I could tell but i ended up buying some girls anyways. I also sort of trusted the employee..maybe that was a bad idea lol either way if the lil guys breed Ill probably be able to find homes for the babies and I can probably find a place for the molly too. Anyhow, i think that about sums it up. I like this forum a lot and will definitely be back with more questions. Thanks again!! You guys are awesome!

 

[Andy Sager]

Haha yeah, I really need to do more research on the differences because I thought I could tell but i ended up buying some girls anyways. I also sort of trusted the employee..maybe that was a bad idea lol either way if the lil guys breed Ill probably be able to find homes for the babies and I can probably find a place for the molly too. Anyhow, i think that about sums it up. I like this forum a lot and will definitely be back with more questions. Thanks again!! You guys are awesome!