Skip to Content

Everything You Need To Know About The Endler Molly Hybrid!

Although endlers are still a relatively niche fish to keep within the fish keeping hobby, the molly just keeps on going from strength to strength with no signs of their popularity slowing down.

With breeding hybrid livebearers being very popular right now, it was only a matter of time before we noticed people asking for advice on breeding a endler molly hybrid.

We already have an article going over the guppy and molly hybrid (muppy) so we thought that we would publish this article going over a endler molly hybrid to try and answer some of the questions that we have seen people asking.

Please note, we don’t recommend that you intentionally breed hybrid fish as they are very difficult to sell meaning that you may be left with a huge number of fry or baby fish that you need to house and feed.

Can Endlers Breed With Mollies?

Endlers can breed with mollies as they are both from the Poecilia Genus of fish meaning that their chromosome count matches up and allows the two species to crossbreed and produce viable fry.

Keep in mind that both endlers and mollies are live bearers so the fish does not lay eggs to be fertilized they will hold the eggs internally until the fry are ready to be birthed.

Due to the difference in size between an endler and a molly, it is usually advisable to use a male endler and a female molly if you are looking to breed hybrid fish from the two. The larger size of the molly makes it easier for her to carry hybrid fish to term and birth them without issue compared to the smaller female endler.

Is It Easy To Breed Endler Molly Hybrids?

Yes, it is actually very easy to breed endler molly hybrids and the fry will often grow up to be healthy adult fish just like any other livebearer would.

The hard part about breeding these hybrid fish is the size differences between the two but the males of both species can still quickly work out how to impregnate the females of the other species.

As we mentioned before, it is best to use a male endler and a female molly as the fry have a much better chance of surviving when birthed by a larger fish.

What Do Endler Molly Hybrids Look Like?

The endler molly hybrid will usually look similar to an endler or standard guppy rather than a molly but in some cases, the fry can take on the features of the molly.

When it comes to color, there is a good chance that you will just end up with wild type fish meaning that they will revert back to their native colors before all of the selective breeding was implemented often resulting in a dark color, usually a shade of brown.

In some situations though, you can end up with a brightly colored endler molly hybrid but this tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

Are Endler Molly Hybrids Hardy?

Endler molly hybrid do tend to be a hardy fish and are often hardier than both parent species due to all of the inbreeding that many fish breeders implement to try and maximize the chances of the baby fish having a set color, pattern or tail style.

This tends to weaken the fish over multiple breeding cycles but if you breed an endler with a molly, this is reset and the fry have a brand new set of genes to blend with making the baby hybrid fish surprisingly strong.

This is a similar advantage to what we explained in our article on mutt guppies and how they are usually much more robust than line bred guppies making them a better option for beginners.

More and more people are trying to keep livebearers in saltwater tanks these days too and although it can be done, it is a challenge and it is not a beginner friendly process. We have this guide on going through the process with a guppy but you essentially use the same process for endlers and mollies too so their hybrid fish should also use the same acclimatization process.

Due to their hardy nature, we do think that a endler molly hybrid will be better at the acclimatization process than the average endler or molly.

What Is The Survival Rate For Endler Molly Hybrid Fry?

The survival rate for endler molly hybrid fry is actually quite high and you can often expect most of the fry that are born to survive into adulthood provided you protect them from their parents as both endlers and mollies will eat their own babies.

We have our own article going over caring for molly fry that should be able to help you increase the survival rate of your endler molly hybrids too.

The short version is, if you are using a correctly setup breeding tank then you should have a high endler molly hybrid fry survival rate, if you are using a breeding box in your main aquarium then you will have a moderate survival rate, and if you are just leaving your endler molly hybrid fry in your main community tank, most will end up eaten by their parents and the other fish.

How Can I Prevent Endlers And Mollies Breeding With Each Other In My Tank?

If you keep endlers and mollies in your normal community aquarium without intentionally wanting to breed them then it is extremely difficult to prevent them from breeding.

The only real method that can work is what we suggest for stopping guppies breeding and that is to keep and all male or all female tank of endlers and mollies to reduce the chances of them breeding.

We stay “reduce the chances of them breeding” because even experienced fish keepers can accidently add one female or one male to a tank resulting in fry. It is very rare that you will be able to setup a 100% male or 100% female tank without making a mistake.

Is There A Market For Endler Molly Hybrid Fish?

There is not a very strong market for hybrid fish in general but there is a small amount of people that do like to buy them to use as feeder fish for larger fish that they keep.

Many people are against the idea of feeder fish though and refuse to sell to someone who plants to use the fish as feeders.

When it comes to actual fish keepers, it is going to be very difficult for you to be able to sell your endler molly hybrid in general, never mind to make an actual profit.

The vast majority of chain pet stores and local pet stores will already have agreements with breeders and work to their own supply chains.

This is why we said that you should not try to breed endler molly hybrids in your tank back at the start of the article. It is very likely that you will just end up with a bunch of fry in your tank that you have to feed and house.