First personal attempt at acclimating k-class endlers (and mts) to reef

[Leo1]

Recently, I started up a reef tank on a previously freshwater planted fluval edge. The tank is about 2 weeks old, but I attempted to help it cycle by the introduction of rocks from my other system.

I also added some corals mainly as a warning system in case the tank didn’t cycle properly. First, a small gsp frag, then zoas and a leather, and then the entire gsp colony. So far, it’s been doing well, and all the corals are open. (Closed in this shot because i was moving the colony around)

I had trouble deciding on what to stock the tank with, since 6 gallons isn’t a lot of space. Until i read recently that livebearers are capable of living in a fully marine environment. I think the best livebearer for my system would be the endler, since they’re the smallest of the livebearer species and least bottlenecked/inbred.

Bought 2 male endlers today. K-class most likely, but it should be fine. I added them in a tupperware with airline tubing. Also added some malay trumpet snails because wikipedia said they’re capable of living in marine sg. Brought the sg up to 1.006. Will be going 1.010 tomorrow, then 1.015, etc.

Added a drop of prime so the ammonia doesnt burn their gills. Will be adding one drop every 24 hours and possibly a 50% waterchange.

Unsure how it’ll work out, but it should be fine. This will be a personal documentation of my attempt at acclimating endlers into full marine.

 

[ndrwater]

This sounds interesting. Keep the updates coming!

 

[Leo1]

Endlers are at 1.010 now. They seem to be doing alright. Made a waterchange and they are active. One of three mts is possibly dead. Unsure when it happened, but it was inactive all throughout yesterday. Could’ve possibly been dead in the other tank but i might’ve not noticed when i grabbed it. Other two mts are active and doing well in 1.010.

 

[Leo1]

I’ve put the inactive/dead mts back into freshwater. Unsure what happened to it.

Lowered the bubble rate of the air tube, as it seemed like the endlers were having trouble with the flow.

 

[Silver14SS]

Cool build, I wasn't familiar with Endlers. One internet rabbit hole later and I've learned something about them and their classing!

 

[Leo1]

Holy **** what the ****. Turns out male endlers are territorial and aggressive to each other. I’ve separated the two males because one was nipping at the other, which seemed lethargic for some reason.

After separating them, it looks like the male being attacked is back to normal albeit still somewhat lethargic. Could be sick? Unsure. The other male is fine.

Will have to wait and see

 

[Leo1]

The endler that was being nipped had died overnight. Have no clue why. Maybe stress or acclimation time too quick or it was originally sick to begin with. The other endler is doing well, even trying to feed. Mts still alive.

 

[bluprntguy]

Holy **** what the ****. Turns out male endlers are territorial and aggressive to each other. I’ve separated the two males because one was nipping at the other, which seemed lethargic for some reason.

After separating them, it looks like the male being attacked is back to normal albeit still somewhat lethargic. Could be sick? Unsure. The other male is fine.

Will have to wait and see

I had about 20-30 endlers in my planted aquarium for years. Never had any territorial issues. I did always keep at least one or two females.

I tried acclimating some to salt water years ago. Didn’t go well. I did the slow increases as well. I think I read it’s actually better to do large leaps instead of slow changes with endlers. They are used to moving between areas of different salinities.

 

[Leo1]

I had about 20-30 endlers in my planted aquarium for years. Never had any territorial issues. I did always keep at least one or two females.

I tried acclimating some to salt water years ago. Didn’t go well. I did the slow increases as well. I think I read it’s actually better to do large leaps instead of slow changes with endlers. They are used to moving between areas of different salinities.

Hmm interesting. How long did you try acclimating them for? Several days? It’s kinda hard to tell what’s the right procedure because there’s so few documentation of people actually doing it.

 

[Leo1]

Update: at 1.020 now. Endler and mts seem fine.

 

[Leo1]

Most likely final update unless something else happens. Endler and mts are in the reef tank at 1.023. A little bit low for a reef, but things are open and fine, so not too bad.

Endler seems extremely active and accepts food, which is a good sign. When i first put him in, he tried to eat the gsp polyps, but ofc stopped after a couple tries.

I will attempt to add 3-4 females later on and document it as well. Hopefully all of them will make it next time.

 

[Leo1]

Endler got stuck inside a hole on live rock and died

 

[flchamp89]

One of my favorite fish. Have owned many of these. What are your future plans now?

 

[Larry L]

Interesting experiment, I know people have mollies in their saltwater tanks but have not seen anyone try Endler's before. I'm not sure if all livebearers are capable of living in saltwater, or just ones that originate somewhere near brackish waters. Keep us posted if you try more Endler's!

 

[bluprntguy]

Interesting experiment, I know people have mollies in their saltwater tanks but have not seen anyone try Endler's before. I'm not sure if all livebearers are capable of living in saltwater, or just ones that originate somewhere near brackish waters. Keep us posted if you try more Endler's!

According to what I’ve read, endlers did originate in brackish waters. This is what the endlers shop says:

“‘In their native Venezuelan coastal lagoons, Endlers were often exposed to salt water from the nearby sea, so evolved to tolerate and even thrive in salt water environments. In fact, there have been reports they can withstand salinity levels up to 150% of normal seawater. And they can breed in both fresh water and marine conditions.”

FWIW: the endler shop is a great place to get some of the different grades of endlers if anyone wants to try acclimating them to salt: https://care.endlers1.com/

 

[Leo1]

One of my favorite fish. Have owned many of these. What are your future plans now?

Second attempt at doing this. I think this time around may be a success. It’s only been 2 days, so I’m unsure how they’ll react in the long run.
Here’s a link to the new attempt

Success(?) at second attempt acclimating endlers to reef salinity

Previously about a few weeks ago, I documented my attempt at acclimating two male endlers and a couple malaysian trumpet snails to my new reef aquarium. You can find it on my posting history, but essentially, it was mostly a failure. First endler died mid acclimation for some unknown reason...

www.reef2reef.com