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Should you crossbreed your fish?

cross breeding?

6K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  whtroze 
#1 ·
i've heard a lot about crossbreeding with guppies mollies platies and swordtails. some people think that it shouldnt be done because it ruins the pure strains of the fish. i personally think that it would be okay to crossbreed for your own tank but they shouldnt be returned to the store. i have also heard that if you cross breed the fry will be infertile. is that true?
 
#2 ·
Cross breeding has it's places. In the home aquaria where the fish won't be sold is one of them. If you really want to have some fun with cross breeding then do it right. Cross breed the species, keep genetic records and do it right so when you are done you can introduce a new species.

After all, how cool would it be to have a tiger striped Platty! Just make sure that the breed you come up with doesn't have any major genetic throw backs. Last thing we need is another fish that can't close it's mouth and has to work 10x harder just to swim because it's fins are too small. Parrot fish are cool and all but they deserve better.
 
#3 ·
i agree completely. make sure when and if you cross breed that you dont create physical problems in the fish. they never did anything to you. :wink:
 
#4 ·
fish_4_all said:
Cross breeding has it's places. In the home aquaria where the fish won't be sold is one of them. If you really want to have some fun with cross breeding then do it right. Cross breed the species, keep genetic records and do it right so when you are done you can introduce a new species.

After all, how cool would it be to have a tiger striped Platty! Just make sure that the breed you come up with doesn't have any major genetic throw backs. Last thing we need is another fish that can't close it's mouth and has to work 10x harder just to swim because it's fins are too small. Parrot fish are cool and all but they deserve better.
yup that covers it for me.
 
#5 ·
good choice! :wink:
 
#6 ·
that sums it up nicely, and if we dont cross breed sometimes, possibly some species may get old
 
#7 ·
i agree with teh. we should cross breed sometimes (carefully!) or we will never have anything new!
 
#8 ·
I'm of the opinion that we dont need anything new. There are plenty of natural species already available.

That being said, I don't have a problem with it as such, as long as the fish are not deformed in any way, and resulting fry are kept at home rather than sold to a lfs until much more is know and documented about them.
 
#9 ·
The main problem is when the fish gtet back in the LFS, are sold in Auctions or local fish swaps. Some keepers thing theymight have a fish that is a pure strain but have not bred out the majority of the other fish genes or just don't care. Is like breeding dogs, cats or anything else. I know a lot of breeders that won't even depend on pedige papers for dogs but insist on blood tests and geneology before they will breed prize specimens.

Now with fish like sords, platties, guppies and others, there is very little attempt to keep any strains pure except by the most disciplined keepers. In all actuality I have never bought two live bearers that looked almost identical that didn't have many different colors of offspring telling me they were actually cross breeds slapped with a lable. For live bearers I guess this ok but do we want all of our fish to suddenly become "mutts" with the rarest exception of a pure breed?
 
#10 ·
yeah, if we sell the mutts to a store, that, to me, isnt a good idea as they may be very aggresive to other fish besides themselves, overeat and make the other fish starve, and problems like that. i think in the home aquari crossbreeding is fine, but with the occasional exception i think that if certain fish is sold to stores and are definitely safe to keep, i think go for it.
 
#11 ·
yeah i dont think any fish that has an aggressive problem or physical problem should leave the home tank. will stores even accept cross breeds? not the ones with guppies that you cant even tell are crossbreeds but ones that look different then normal fish?
 
#12 ·
The fact that the offspring is infertile just shows that they are genetically "incorrect." I agree that it does have its places, and that sometimes you can create something great by taking risks. However, sometimes the only thing you accomplish is a genetic mess.
 
#13 ·
that ends to be right, and sometimes we should let well enough alone, but crossbreeding has its ups and downs, and the downs are usually worse than the benefits, but on occasion crossbreeding can help a lot, like for example, if we could make a very hardy and strong neon tetra that doesnt get the neon tetra disease, it would be worth it
 
#14 ·
evolution

well we wouldnt be here would we. So if they choose to breed what is the problem. they made the decision to mate didnt they. tou cant force fish to crossbreed they just do. as they would in nature if they couldnt find a member of the same species. its called survival and evolution ( whichever why you look at it. otherwise it wouldnt be possible would it?
 
#15 ·
I don't think "survival" and "evolution" are terms that really apply in the home aquarium. You can prevent crossbreeding by simply not housing together species that will interbreed.

I have no problem with crossbreeding as long as it is done in the home aquarium. Personally I have a 10g tank that I use to breed livebearers for feeders for my Jack Dempsey. There are feeder guppies in there (many of which I think started as Endler's-guppy hybrids) but there are also fancy guppies and Endler's livebearers. I'm hoping to get some interesting looking crossbreeds, but as all of the fish are going to end up as feeders anyway, there's no real harm being done.
 
#16 ·
i agree that evolution and survival of the fittest dont apply to the home aquarium, but if they were in the wild it would be natural instinct to reproduce even if it isnt with the same species.

i think what batman is doing is a good way to see what different crossbreeds look and act like without causing a problem. because if there is something geneticly or physically wrong with them they will just end up being someones lunch anyway(i know that sounds mean but its the truth). and if you ever came across a breed that you liked you could keep it.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I'm am not a fish breeder by no means, however, I have worked in the veterinary field for many years and have seen what crossbreeding can do (good and bad). I agree that crossbreeding has a place and is part of evolution of a species. However, very stringent standards should be followed. In nature it is the survival of the fittest that controls crossbreeding faults and maintain the successes. But in a human controlled environment, humans sometimes help the ones that should have died survive, therefore causing problems. We must always consider how this "new strain" might survive in the wild. One should never breed just for appearance or entertainment when the potential cost could be to the health quality of the fish and also the primary pure species. We must be careful not to "wipe-out" the pure species by over crossbreeding. A new strain takes years to establish to ensure it is healthy and does not carry any genetic faults (both hidden and visual). If these faults occur, crossbreeding that stain should cease. As for selling to stores, a new strain should not be sold to stores until the strain is established to be genetically and physically sound/healthy, and then make it a point to the store that it is a crossbreed and that it is to be sold as such. Quality of life to the new life you are creating is the most important factor to consider when breeding. Maintaining a pure species is also extremely important. Remember that these wonderful creatures are innocent and did not harm to us, so we should not do harm to them. 8)
 
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