Inbreeding

[FishBrain]

Is there a way to tell if inbreeding has occured??

I know with swordtails they seem to get smaller as they mix but what happens with cichlids?? Do they loose colour?

Im just afraid that my peacocks might be inbreeding because i bought them at the same time. They were bought at the fall CAS Auction. two in the bag.

Same with the flamebacks that I bought there. There was three in the bag and i've noticed that one of the males hasn't grown. his colours come out when the large male is hiding but quickly pales out when it is swimming around. I just stripped 35 babies out of the female and if they are not going to grow as big I will just feed them to my turtle. But i would much rather not.

I got a new male from a dif. breed and am also wondering if the female would take to a new male?

Thanks in advance

Edited March 17, 2005 by Canadbis

[syno321]

Smaller size and less intense colors are more probably a sign that that particular male is sub-dominant, and will probably never exhibit the size and color of the alpha male until such time as the alpha male is removed from the tank. This is a general rule for most animals from which cichlids are not immune. Inbreeding amongst species who do not pair-bond for life is a very difficult condition to get, due to the randomness of the gene pool. Pair-bond animals in captivity can get to a state of inbreeding in a much quicker and easier way unless the keepers are diligent with the variety of their gene pool. Where inbreeding can occur with captive fish is when original stock is limited, and the gene pool has no chance to diversify.

[rahim101]

Really the only way to tell if inbreeding has occured is by the number of deformed fry that you get!!!!

Size and growth rate of fish has EVERYTHING to do with water conditions and supply of good quality food.

At this point, I am sure your fry are fine and that they will grow fine!!!!!

[AndyL]

Deformed fry come from a variety of causes... Inbreeding is only one of the many.

In reality, we tend to think of inbreeding as more of a problem than it is. Most of the best lines of fish are created through line breeding, which often invovles crossing an offspring back to its parent (or grandparent, or great grandparent). But yes there is a limit as to how much one can inbreed before problems start occuring - usually it starts appearing in the 4th-5th generation of line bred. Which is why most breeders outcross in the 3rd/4th generation to get back some "fresh" genes.

With few exceptions, slow fry growth poor health and size can be a sign of poor husbandry, rather than poor genetics.

Andy

Edited March 17, 2005 by AndyL

[RD.]

Inbreeding isn't necessarily always bad, it depends on the genetics of the fish you are inbreeding, as well as the species, as some species hold up better to inbreeding than others. Usually the more you inbreed the line, the more defects that are going to become dominant. Unless you know all of the genetics of every fish that you breed, it's almost impossible to determine if inbreeding your fish will have a negative effect.

On the flip side, even when introducing new blood to a strain to achieve genetic diversity, it's possible that you're also introducing unwanted recessive genes.

Sometimes you have to experiment until you find the right mix of fish to produce the results you're looking for.

[FishBrain]

Excellent, good to know.

All the fry that I have are growing fast and look very nice. Especially the Peacocks.

I WONT feed the Flames to the turtle then. I will watch a few and see.

AND so do you think the female will take to a different male??

Should I remove the dom. Male if I want to try this?