Apache's Catfish Community Thread.

Putting the endlers back in the main tank now...

This situation is all a bit of a mess, isn't it?

If the endlers are in danger with the kribs (which they are, as you've sadly experienced), and you have angelfish (which again would put the endlers in danger, although they would have more places to hide in the bigger tank), then there only seems to be one logical conclusion as to what you should do, to ensure the welfare of the fish as it’s unlikely they’ll be happy in a tiny fry trap. Hopefully you have worked out for yourself what this logical conclusion is, but, if not, it is to keep the endlers in the small tank on their own (not in the fry trap where it's likely the stress of such a confined space will affect them negatively), and to put the kribs back in the main tank.

However, you mentioned the kribs fighting in their larger numbers but, in my opinion, this is likely to be better than certain death of the endlers in with the kribs or angelfish or stress being inside the tiny fry trap - Sue is probably best placed to advise which is the "best" of these difficult / bad situations, though, so maybe best to wait until she replies.

The "best" option all round is probably to buy a third tank (cheap, plastic ones can be bought in places like The Range), heater and filter, and move either the endlers or kribs from the small tank into that (after transferring mature media from the filter in the main tank into that new filter). However, you then run into the whole risky partial "fish-in" type of cycle situation again.

A responsible fishkeeper needs to be able to work out the sorts of issues above for themselves such as the most logical conclusion of where to place the fish in the circumstances but also a realistic one. If you haven't worked this out, then I don't think that you're ready to be able to take on more fish such as the panda cories you mention. I think you need to wait a few years when hopefully you'll be more mature and able to work these things out for yourself.

Hopefully you recognise that this is all a bit of a mess, and also that humans are not always that reliable (eg the people who were coming to take the kribs) and so you need to be able to plan for that possibility and have contingency plans in place.

How soon are the people likely to turn up who are getting the kribs from you? If they’re not reliable, then you might want to consider advertising on www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk – that will also increase the likelihood of them going to an experienced and, far more importantly than experience, a responsible fishkeeper.

Hope that helps.

hmmm i think its best to take them back to the pet shop or buy a female when the kribs ae gone (hopefully wednesday) for £1.75... thanks Sue and i saw your betta, i always wanted one but he is Nice

Got good news!
I now have a fully cycled tank!
Also Money can still be an issue but I have a paper round to pay for fish. Pandas in 2 weeks or in may at least
The remaining female endler turned into a male and now has bright colours.

Hopefully I can take one male back and get 3 females for a fiver. I can buy a cheap air stone for the fry tank. Link to the shop is in my other post.

Apache6467

Congratulations on your fully cycled tank. 
Also well done for taking on a paper round to earn money.
Best of luck with your current and future fish. 

on completing the cycle. Good luck with the next stage.

It is very unlikely that a shop will pay anything for fry. Most of them won't take fry at all, they will only take fish that are the same size as the ones they are selling. Most shops will not take fish of any species they can buy from the wholesaler for next to nothing. This will apply to endlers, but you might find the odd shop willing to take panda cories - but only when they are well grown. And very few shops will give you anything for them. If you are lucky, they might give you a credit note to spend on goods in that shop. But most shops will just take them off you hands for nothing, if they'll take them at all.
You will have to find somewhere to grow the fry on till they reach a size where a shop would take them, and that means another tank, big enough to take all those fry at adult size. The tank would need to be bigger than the one you breed the original fish in.

Spawning mops are only useful for fish that lay their eggs in clumps of feathery leaved plants, fish like the 'blue eyes', these fish.
Endlers just drop their fry in the tank, and cories lay their eggs on solid surfaces - glass, rocks, filter, leaves etc.

Breeding nets and boxes are not good for putting female livebearers in till they give birth. They are all very small and the mother will become very stressed. Nets are better for keeping fry in for a week but are also too small to keep fry in for longer than that. To keep fry to grow them on till a shop will take them you need a grow out tank.


Breeding fish is not a thing to do lightly. It costs money to provide the equipment needed to grow the fry on, much more money than you can hope to make by selling them.

Whilst on paper round I found a small but friendly LFS which had 3 pandas. I HAD to nag my dad and say I'd lone him on Saturday for them. My dads friend took the kribs  and the endlers set free in the tank. They are still settling in and now I have less of a chance of inbreeding!
 

 
The pandas and endlers are together
I got given the route and it was just a coincidence 

And because the shop owner doesn't import and get pandas very often I can sell the juveniles to him!