Female Endler Develops A Large Gonopodium !

[clare0116]

I was thrilled to buy a pair of tiny Endler livebearers from a quality aquarium shop with neon orange and green splashes contrasting nicely with black and white. The 1 inch female looks like a pale yellowish small guppy. Now the pair have grown since I bought them, he is 1 inch long, has developed a striking 'flying' dorsal fin and long forked tail. She has developed the male sex organ (which may explain why the pair seem uninterested in each other lol). 2-3 weeks ago, she had a small black gravid spot but I didn't find any tiny fry in my well-planted 10 gallon community tank. I think it unlikely the pair will breed now and as female Endlers are so scarce to buy, this may be why she was sold to the aquarium shop. Since I'm limited for space and have a passion for breeding colourful guppies in the same tank, I may have to find her another home. I also have a much inferior Endler male bought previously. He is a tiny, just over 1/2 inch long, no 'waving hankie' dorsal fin, short fork on his tail and not so well marked. Has anyone else in the United Kingdom managed to find female Endlers for sale or have spare fish? For those as new to these little fish as I was 6 weeks ago, they are the original wild species of guppy found in Venezuela.

 

[helterskelter]

Sadily 99% of fish in shops are guppy crpsses and it sounds like that's what these are as you say the have forked tails.

Your female sound like whats called a "Mule", basically it a female but the hormones mucks up and male hormones start to be produced causing male chartists to develop.

Here is one i had a while ago
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBgXuNLVP1w

Their are a few true endlers around but where abouts in the UK are you?
I know fish48 has both true and crossed endlers and is the only person on here i would trust for true endlers.

 

[OldMan47]

A colored female is a definite sign of a guppy / endler cross. I do keep pure endlers and have never seen any color, except the basic gray body, on an endler female. A forked tail on a male also smells of a guppy cross although some development has been done by people like Adrian Hernandez using the pure class N, natural, endlers. I am also a registered class N breeder but a bit far away for a person in the UK. Having no females available means the market is being controlled artificially. I have just as many females as males from a small original breeding colony.

 

[mattbond]

where abouts are you? ive got a few you could have if your not too far away?

 

[clare0116]

Thanks for all replies (especially so quickly after I posted my naive enquiry). Endlers with forked tails, waving 'hanky' dorsal fins and coloured females seem fish to avoid in future. It is strange to see a hermaphrodite of both sexes (likely to be infertile). I live in Leicester (Central UK) and have now made contact with other Endler/Guppy breeders in my local area through this excellent forum. Thank you for all the help, info, photos. I tried taking my 1st fish photos last night at 4am, as I waited for a guppy female to give birth. Fish just don't keep still, lighting gives white glare patches, glass and a perspex breeder box all blurred my photos. The fish and I are still practising.