Bazouteast
New Member
Since retiring and returning to fish keeping/breeding I have noticed trends that suggest bad practice by some commercial breeders/suppliers, possibly with the acquiescence of some retailers. We know the appalling practice of artificial colouring but points raised here make no direct accusations and only present my experiences. I would simply like to get to the real story and perhaps hear experiences of others.
With tanks ready first I returned to Zebra Danios. My first hatch produced 100+ fry but very soon it was clear many had physical defects - mostly spinal distortion, though some had deformed gill covers, some had distressing deformities such as intestine or other organs protruding from the vent. Another proportion of fry perished when unable to reach the surface to compete for food – I suspected swim bladder-related defects. A few showed erratic movement which I suspect were nervous system-related. Of the fish grown on, about 20% developed mild physical deformities - mostly slight spinal distortion - but not enough I felt, to warrant termination, but breeding stock they are NOT. So about 15 quality fish from a brood of 100+. My fish-keeping goes back a long way and I think (and hope!) I did not introduced deformity-inducing factors in my methods but I was upset by the outcome and spoke to the retailer - a long-established local dealer. He suggested it might be caused by incessant in-breeding by commercial suppliers. He said "How hard can it be to introduce new stock now and then?". Any geneticists out there able to comment?
More recently I returned to another favourite – small Gouramis – such lovely fish and fascinating breeding behaviour. I had tanks ready for fish that pair, but obtaining male AND female fish is difficult. I visited two aquarium shops today and both said they no longer stock female Dwarf or Honey Gouramis, claiming there is only demand for the colourful males. Similarly their stock of Guppies was exclusively male. So other than females they use for breeding stock, what happens to the remainder? Can it really be true there is no demand for females? Or could it be an attempt to put off small UK breeders like me?
Doubtless there are rouges in commercial fish breeding as there are in any other business. But to avoid incorrect assumptions and inaccurate conclusions can any commercial suppliers respond to these points and perhaps corroborate or tell another story? Perhaps other fish keepers have similar experiences?
Hope this doesn't sound like a rant. Thanks for reading.
With tanks ready first I returned to Zebra Danios. My first hatch produced 100+ fry but very soon it was clear many had physical defects - mostly spinal distortion, though some had deformed gill covers, some had distressing deformities such as intestine or other organs protruding from the vent. Another proportion of fry perished when unable to reach the surface to compete for food – I suspected swim bladder-related defects. A few showed erratic movement which I suspect were nervous system-related. Of the fish grown on, about 20% developed mild physical deformities - mostly slight spinal distortion - but not enough I felt, to warrant termination, but breeding stock they are NOT. So about 15 quality fish from a brood of 100+. My fish-keeping goes back a long way and I think (and hope!) I did not introduced deformity-inducing factors in my methods but I was upset by the outcome and spoke to the retailer - a long-established local dealer. He suggested it might be caused by incessant in-breeding by commercial suppliers. He said "How hard can it be to introduce new stock now and then?". Any geneticists out there able to comment?
More recently I returned to another favourite – small Gouramis – such lovely fish and fascinating breeding behaviour. I had tanks ready for fish that pair, but obtaining male AND female fish is difficult. I visited two aquarium shops today and both said they no longer stock female Dwarf or Honey Gouramis, claiming there is only demand for the colourful males. Similarly their stock of Guppies was exclusively male. So other than females they use for breeding stock, what happens to the remainder? Can it really be true there is no demand for females? Or could it be an attempt to put off small UK breeders like me?
Doubtless there are rouges in commercial fish breeding as there are in any other business. But to avoid incorrect assumptions and inaccurate conclusions can any commercial suppliers respond to these points and perhaps corroborate or tell another story? Perhaps other fish keepers have similar experiences?
Hope this doesn't sound like a rant. Thanks for reading.
