So I lost all my endlers (12) in one day..everyone else in the tank is great...?

Question

..the corys...algae eaters...platys all seem fine. What happened? The regular guppies(female--no males cause I wanted a strain of pure endlers) also seem fine. I thought Endlers were tougher than that. ph is 7 ammonia/nitrites are 0...nitrates are low..temp=78..plant growth is great...partial (1/4) water change every week. HELP. I'm about to give up on Endlers.

no the algae eaters are just otocinclus--little guys...10 of the endlers came from the same source over about 3 weeks..I found most of the bodies..they looked normal...except that they seemed to be swimming close to the bottom with clamped fins just before they died...The other two I have had for about 4 months and they were really healthy..maybe just an endler's disease???

Answer 1

When all deaths are "by species" is start to suspect a water chemistry problem. The parameters you list are fine, but do you know your water hardness? Endler's need a moderately hard to hard water (KH >10) to thrive, and public water sources soften their water. I suspect this might be your problem, although I can't say why your first two lived up to now, except that they might have 1) been from another source, 2) were added when there were fewer fish and any calcium/magnesium in the water was used up and have adapted ove time, or 3) the water chemistry for your water source has changed.

Before getting more Endler's I'd invest in a hardness test kit. Do a test on your own water, then find out what the hardness is of the water where you're getting them from. If it's very different, you'll have to increase the hardness in your tank, or set up a species tank just for them.

http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/freshwater/livebearers/endler.html

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1584

Answer 2

sometimes you do have bad luck with some endlers, did they come from the same source? had you had them for a while? did you find bodies or did they disappear?

i had all but 2 of my 8 adult endlers, plus 3 babies, die from a suspected internal infection. which was strange as I got them straight from another breeder and she'd had nothing similar, i've now treated with an anti-internal med and haven't lost anymore. did you see any symptoms with your endlers?

i'm concerned you say algae eaters, do you know what kind? one particular one, the chinese algae eater or golden sucking loach, prefers to eat fish over algae!