[tomfromstlouis]

I have a starter colony of ~20 black bar endler livebearers. I do not know how much genetic variation I would get by acquiring or trading for another 10-15 black bar endlers, but it seems like a good idea to me sooner or later. I hope to get my population up to 100-200 for a large mass of color in my 75.

Anyone know anything about the genetics of this species (the pure strain, no guppy mix)? What deformities are clues that inbreeding is getting out of control? Is there enough variation in the stock of pure endlers to make sense of occasionally trading some with another owner? Or does it not matter for many generations? How many generations would you let them stay together without injecting some fresh blood?

 

[shloken38]

Good question! I have endlers as well, and I just had my first batch of fry. I currently have 1 male and three females in the tank (plus the fry). They are black bars. I also have a black bar male in another tank that I will introduce at some point.

I am looking forward to hearing some responses on this.

 

[amphirion]

Dangers of inbreeding occur when you have a dramatic reduction of breeding individuals along with a low rates of reproduction and offspring. Lower rates of reproduction means lesser chance of mating a between different individuals (one male mates with 5 females vs one male mates with one female). Number of offspring ensures genetic buffering slowing the process of genetic drift. (Smaller amounts of offspring = small gene pool, especially if filial pairings). Genetic defects often start with spine and head deformations but can also include missing fins.

that being said, the chances of your endlers going into inbreeding anytime soon are pretty slim since, 1) they have a high rate of reproduction (females can store sperm of multiple males), 2) endlers are notorious for releasing large amounts of offspring, and 3) you've started off with multiple adults rather than just from 1 pair.

 

[Diana]

I have had Black Bar Endlers for about 6 years now, and the only problem that I have seen is that the distinct black bar is no longer so prominent.