Re: missing thread

["Andrew Broome" <A.Broome at fonterraresearch_com>]

Jeff said...

> .... that's three lost messages... 

I certainly saw your message in the DIGEST (V4 #610).

> So, ideally, the way I would go about this is say, (1) get a 
> batch of eggs of T. dolichopterus from breeder A, (2) get a 
> batch of T. dolis from breeder B, (3) try to incubate them 
> around the same time, (4) breed males from A with females 
> from B, then (5) trade these eggs with another T. doli breeder,
> preferably that isn't breeder A or B.
>
> Is that how it normally goes?

This may represent the ideal (and is more or less how many of
the species maintenance groups work).  In practice, it's a little
more tricky.

For a start, you need to be sure you're all working with the same
population of T. dolichopterus.  Secondly, this is not generally
considered an easy species and so you may have some difficulty
finding one person to supply you with eggs, let alone several.
Then you've got to breed them reliably yourself once you've raised 
the initial fry to adulthood...  All this is a relatively small window,
this species being an annual.

There are various other factors that make the above plan
a bit of a logistical exercise, this is not to say that it's impossible
or not worth attempting.

One thing to bear in mind is that by their very nature, many of
the killies we keep are severely inbred.  This does not have to
be the end of the world since, in clones that have been around
many generations, most of the dangerous genes will long since
have disappeared.

As as example, I recently obtained some albino Fp. gardneri
(a much easier fish to work with than Terranatos, and being
an albino not something I'd usually work with).

They've been in NZ for 12 years with no new blood.  The
original importation was only of a few fish (a couple of pairs,
tops) and they have severely bottlenecked at several times 
since then (down to a pair or two).  The fish themselves 
appear identical (in size, colour and vigour) to the ones I had 
back in 1990 and are producing many fry.  When I got them, 
the total population in NZ was 2 males and a female.  A
couple of months later, there are significantly more again in
the hobby here - now I just have to find someone else here who 
wants to breed them...

> Also, what do breeders normally look for in potential parents? 

I try and pick healthy individuals that look to me as close to
the originals as possible.  Several breeding groups are ideal
if you want to maintain diversity.

> Can you breed for temperament?

No idea, I've never thought of killies as having much variation
in this regard.  Certainly fish that have been in captivity for
many generations have been selected for 'being in captivity'...

Just my thoughts and limited experience.

Andrew.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Andrew Broome.
Fonterra Research Centre, 
Palmerston North
New Zealand.

"A complex system that does not work is invariably found 
to have evolved from a simpler system that worked perfectly."




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