will different species of poecilia crossbreed in same tank?

[Sgooosh]

Hello
I am wondering if different types of poecilia will crossbreed if there is enough both males and females of their own species. will they stay to themselves?
I want to keep poecilia wingei with my poecilia reticulata, but I want them to be seperate strains

 

[connorlindeman]

Hello
I am wondering if different types of poecilia will crossbreed if there is enough both males and females of their own species. will they stay to themselves?
I want to keep poecilia wingei with my poecilia reticulata, but I want them to be seperate strains

Yes they will interbreed.

 

[Sgooosh]

Yes they will interbreed.

thanks, I have seen my male guppy try and breed with the giant swordtails... sadly they cannot hybridize

 

[Essjay]

Most of the endlers in shops are wingei/reticulata hybrids so they obviously cross breed easily.

 

[Sgooosh]

Most of the endlers in shops are wingei/reticulata hybrids so they obviously cross breed easily.

yep, I was just wondering since someone said that if there are both female and male mollies with guppies, they won't cross.
I will just use another tank for pure endlers instead.

 

[Essjay]

If you have pure endlers I wouldn't let a female anywhere near a guppy, male or female (as female guppies can give birth to male fry and before you know it, the fry are mature enough to breed).
Male endlers with female guppies isn't as much of a problem as the males will still be pure endler, but the babies a female guppy gives birth to could well be hybrids with a male endler in the same tank.

 

[Sgooosh]

If you have pure endlers I wouldn't let a female anywhere near a guppy, male or female (as female guppies can give birth to male fry and before you know it, the fry are mature enough to breed).
Male endlers with female guppies isn't as much of a problem as the males will still be pure endler, but the babies a female guppy gives birth to could well be hybrids with a male endler in the same tank.

I will make sure that the endlers in the shop are not mixed with guppies
are hybrid endlers still as hardy as pure?

 

[Essjay]

They are reputed to be hardier than guppies, but I don't know if hybrids are hardier than pure endler.


If the endlers are in a shop they will be hybrids. You have to go to a specialist breeder to get pure endlers.

 

[Sgooosh]

They are reputed to be hardier than guppies, but I don't know if hybrids are hardier than pure endler.


If the endlers are in a shop they will be hybrids. You have to go to a specialist breeder to get pure endlers.

that is cool, i thought guppies were the hardiest out there!
I have never ordered online before, so i will probably just stick to guppies, I know somewhere where i can get wild type guppies too

 

[Essjay]

With guppies, it's the inbreeding using any fish regardless of health and the conditions at the fish farms which make them less hardy than they used to be. Endler hybrids haven't reached the same state from farms, yet.
But pure endlers should be healthy as they can only be bought from private breeders rather than farms in the far east.

 

[Sgooosh]

With guppies, it's the inbreeding using any fish regardless of health and the conditions at the fish farms which make them less hardy than they used to be. Endler hybrids haven't reached the same state from farms, yet.
But pure endlers should be healthy as they can only be bought from private breeders rather than farms in the far east.

yep, the mutt guppies and other local bred fish are a LOT hardier
usually in the shops if they all look the same they will be weaker

 

[emeraldking]

Hello
I am wondering if different types of poecilia will crossbreed if there is enough both males and females of their own species. will they stay to themselves?
I want to keep poecilia wingei with my poecilia reticulata, but I want them to be seperate strains

In general, there are certain livebearer species that are able to crossbreed with another and there are lots of livebearer species that are not able to cross with another. Not particular that it concerns another genus but more because of the fact that their sexual organs should be compatible. Otherwise, no natural mating is possible.
Within the Poecilia family, guppies and endlers can crossbreed and have healthy and fertile offspring.

yep, I was just wondering since someone said that if there are both female and male mollies with guppies, they won't cross.

Very close related species won't bother to hesitate to mate with another, like platy x swordtail, endler x guppy or limia x molly. But when we're dealing with livebearer species that are less related but their sexual organs are compatible with another, they can cross as well. The fertility of such crosses can be fertile or infertile. But such less related species kept together in one tank with the presence of both genders of both species, the first choice will be that they'll mate with a specimen of the other sex of their own species.

I will make sure that the endlers in the shop are not mixed with guppies
are hybrid endlers still as hardy as pure?

A lot of socalled endler strains in the commercial world are already hybrid strains between endler x guppy. With endler hybrids it's always a guess wether they tend to have more endler or guppy traits. Especially, the really mixed ones. So, you can not always say that a pure endler will be stronger than an endler hybrid. Or the other way around.
Endlers and endler hybrids are in general stronger than fancy guppies with large fins. Short finned fancy guppies are also quite hardy.

You have to go to a specialist breeder to get pure endlers.

That's indeed the best thing to do...

But pure endlers should be healthy as they can only be bought from private breeders rather than farms in the far east.

Most fish farms that breed endlers will focus on endler hybrids. This is simply because they can create more colorful specimens by working with hybrids. Such hybrids are commercially more attractive and are worldwide easier to sell.

 

[Sgooosh]

In general, there are certain livebearer species that are able to crossbreed with another and there are lots of livebearer species that are not able to cross with another. Not particular that it concerns another genus but more because of the fact that their sexual organs should be compatible. Otherwise, no natural mating is possible.
Within the Poecilia family, guppies and endlers can crossbreed and have healthy and fertile offspring.

Very close related species won't bother to hesitate to mate with another, like platy x swordtail, endler x guppy or limia x molly. But when we're dealing with livebearer species that are less related but their sexual organs are compatible with another, they can cross as well. The fertility of such crosses can be fertile or infertile. But such less related species kept together in one tank with the presence of both genders of both species, the first choice will be that they'll mate with a specimen of the other sex of their own species.

A lot of socalled endler strains in the commercial world are already hybrid strains between endler x guppy. With endler hybrids it's always a guess wether they tend to have more endler or guppy traits. Especially, the really mixed ones. So, you can not always say that a pure endler will be stronger than an endler hybrid. Or the other way around.
Endlers and endler hybrids are in general stronger than fancy guppies with large fins. Short finned fancy guppies are also quite hardy.

That's indeed the best thing to do...

Most fish farms that breed endlers will focus on endler hybrids. This is simply because they can create more colorful specimens by working with hybrids. Such hybrids are commercially more attractive and are worldwide easier to sell.

thank you, where do you get your limia?

 

[emeraldking]

thank you, where do you get your limia?

I'm keeping limia species for years now. I got my limias from my international network. Sometimes limias are offered at a store but to the commercial world, limias belong to the rare livebearers.

 

[Sgooosh]

I'm keeping limia species for years now. I got my limias from my international network. Sometimes limias are offered at a store but to the commercial world, limias belong to the rare livebearers.

the rarest live bearers i have seen in a store is a silver colored halfbeak baby
limias and goodeids are on the top of my list