[Killietalk] Aquarium Strains ??? !

["Roger L. Sieloff" <isodox at sbcglobal_net>]

This evening I bred some A. biv "tiko green". The original trio was gotten
during the 2008 "killie karnival" in northeast Indiana. The fish bred well
the following summer and then a combination of a cold basement and what has
been descibed as "killifish AIDS" eliminated about half the fish. The
remainder of the population matured this summer and this evening I picked
the two best males to continue this strain.

Just when does a wild population become an "aquarium strain"? Most killie
keepers reserve this term for accidental crosses of related strains  whose
prodgeny do not breed true. Fp. gardneri is the best example, and in fact I
now have a nice tank full of "Aquarium strain" gardneri which, after being
liberally fed the best of foods and given plenty of room to grow, are only
half the size of their parents a year and a half after they hatched. In
fact, a pair sold at a local auction after a couple old breeders could not
identify the strain and surmised this may be "Fp. gardneri mammyjammer".

The tiko green are, and will always be "tiko green", despite the fact the
two studs I used half an hour ago could concievably win best BIV in
Cincinnati next year. The eggs I hopefully collect tomorrow will not be
exactly the same fish I carried home one icy February in 2008. They resist
the pathogen that killed off the original fish and they are far prettier,
too - but are these fish worthy of "tiko green" status? They are obviously
in the process of evolving from "African ditch minnows" to "American show
winners".

Guess I'd raise angels too, if I could. Then I could waste my mind trying to
figure out how many could dance on a pinhead ...


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