Buying Breeding Pairs Of Fish

[saz326]

When I bought a pair of cichlids that would be the feature of my tank - and I hoped would make babies for me, I had to stop and think.

The fish in the tank... are they from the same brood? Are all the fishies in the pot brothers and sisters?

If we are to breed our fish and have little fishy babies - should we source a Male from one shop and a Female from another. Or source them at different times?

Is it ethical to let brothers and sisters have babes' of their own?

Genetic flaws come about after repeated in-breeding (just look a pure breed dogs and their bad hips!), so should we be making sure that the genetic soup in our fish tank is well diluted?

 

[Schmill]

If you are buying to breed then yes, I would say buying at different times / different places is probably worth while.
Also if it was something like guppies then I imagine it would be worth doing a 50% fry swap with other people on here too.
I believe that is why 'wild caught' fish often demand a higher price than 'tank bred' as there is a better chance of genetic variety.

 

[Bigbadbaz]

If I was buying fish for a breeding programme I would sourse them from different suppliers, If they are just for a centrepiece I would not be too worried as I would let any fry do their own thing and let nature take its course.

 

[drobbyb]

Fresh blood is always a good thing. For most tropical fish, they are already inbred as the breeders usually do line breeding from wild stock. Initially the first few generations will be fine, but repeated line breeding will resuly in deformities.