Guppies or Endlers

[1Brotherbill]

After reading some of the posts I have a question about my feeder fish population. Years ago I purchased some feeder fish that were labeled Guppies. I put them in with my Painted Mud Turtle. They were fruitful and multiplied. Now there seems like there are thousands and the turtle has given up on trying to catch any of them. The question I have is that since they have breed unchecked for years they have developed some interesting colors and fin variations. The colors are reds and really dark blues. The tail fins are long and v shaped. In the stores in the area the "Fancy Guppies" have nothing like what I have in my tank. Could these Guppies be Endlers? I can't get a good enough picture because there is no way they will sit still long enough for a clear picture. Looking online the Endler's pictures look kind of like mine however they are not that colorful. In the wild are Endler's plain of color?

[Sasquatch]

They could be Endlers ... without pics it's hard to say and even then. There are a fair amount of color morphs for the endlers now too.

There is still some debate about wether or not Endlers are even a seperate species. One article says they are, but a more recent one puts into question the conclusions of that article.

As far as "in the wild", the males will be fairly vivid. As normal for guppies, the females are pretty drab.

[country_boy454]

They are probably a hybrid of guppy and endler. They do this to make the guppy more colorful and give it traits like the endlers.

Here is a hybrid endler.
http://www.aquabid.com/uploads/fwlivebearers1213032613.jpg

[toddnbecka]

Also quite possible they're just wild guppy stock. Fancy varieties have been selectively bred for many generations, but less colorful stock would be culled for feeders. Wild-stock Endler's aren't known for variations in fin shape, just very vivid colors on the males.

[1Brotherbill]

The tails on the more colorful males look like the picture posted. I'm going to set up a 30 gallon tank that I just picked up and pull out some of the more colorful males. Either that or get a bigger tank and get some Oscars. The turtle isn't keeping the population low enough. They are breading faster than she can eat them.

[toddnbecka]

I can hook you up with a young pair of Honduran red points for guppy control in the 30, but then you'd need something to eat the excess cichlid fry...
Actually, an angelfish would be in heaven with a steady supply of guppy fry.

[1Brotherbill]

You would think mom and dad would take care of most of the fry. I was told once the adults get use to the fry being around they stop eating the fry.

[toddnbecka]

It seems to depend on how well they're fed. I've never seen any of my Endler's fry disappear (at least while there were still few enough to count.)