Gollies

[bluesword23516]

Hey! So another new tank idea I had was hybrid fish!!! I have bred guppies for about 3 years now, I have tried breeding balloon mollies but can't get fry because the male is so fat he can't breed right.  But I do have a pretty good knowledge of livebearers.  Lots is just from watching my fish.  What do you think would be coolest crossbreed!?
 
I am going to try male guppy and female molly.  I have heard the bigger the female the better because she should be able to drop the fry easier.
 
Male Guppy:  Lyretail, one with a red tail,  blue tail,  black tail, yellow tail
Female molly:  Sailfin, black, silver, dalmation, or possibly a small chested balloon 
 
Let me know what you think!

 

[CoryFever]

I think there is already a hybrid of a guppy and molly. It's called the "muppy."

 

[the_lock_man]

 
Guppy/molly hybrids aren't the easiest, I believe that any offspring that do occur are infertile, and no-one wants to buy them.
 
If you want to have a bit of fun with breeding livebearers, why don't you try some of the rarer types of poecilids? Limia species, Girardinus species, etc. Whilst these aren't as overtly colourful as your standard guppy or platy, you can get some nice colourations, and you'll be doing your bit to help prevent these species becoming extinct. Which, IMHO, is pretty darn cool.
 
 
This is (or rather was) my male Limia Tridens - can't say he's not colourful.

 

[bluesword23516]

I know they already exist an they are fertile. I have done live bearers before but this is another idea I have for my 30 gallon. I am not going to spend $10 on a rare fish if its that expensive. I'm only in high school so I can't afford it.

 

[fluttermoth]

Or, if the rarer livebearers are out of your league at the moment, why don'y you try creating your own strain of one of the commoner, cheaper ones? A new colour or shape of tail, or special markings?

 

[bluesword23516]

I don't really like selective breeding.  I am planning a molly tank, but this is still a big option.
The thing about selective breeding is you often have to inbreed, but if I do Gollies I would obviously choose fish I like, but they are infertile so they can't be a new strain.

 

[fluttermoth]

But all breeding is selective breeding, unless you just put the fish in a tank or pond and let them get on with it 

 
Inbreeding, if the breeding stock is chosen carefully (as it should be in all breeding programmes), is not a problem in fish. Many strains of fish have been inbred for generations without causing any issues. The laboratory zebra danios have been so inbred they're very nearly genetic clones (which is part of what makes them so useful, of course).
 
Can I ask what experience of breeding any lifestock you have?

 

[bluesword23516]

Well I'm not going to choose one specific male for a specific female. Inbreeding can be good, but it is also really bad in some cases. Fish can become deformed or be more likely to get a disease. I have bred guppies for a number of years about 3 I think. I had balloon mollies but the females never had fry the male can't breed with them successfully

 

[antoniolee]

I've been searching videos and pictures about them last month,because they intrigued me and I think guppy and molly hybrid offspring are always male and sterile. 

 

[bluesword23516]

I know and I am ok with that, I have done a lot of research for about 2 months now.
 I am thinking of doing two things to my tank.  
start with gollies (muppy) and then introduce the opposite gender for each species.  I may or may not do female mollies, I already have lots of females from my last batch of fry. (guppy) But chances are I will also get a few males.  But I can also garuntee the females not being bred if I do female guppies.  
 
Has anyone crossbred these two before? 

 

[the_lock_man]

Well, it looks like you've made up your mind, so if that's what you want to do, go for it.
 
My only other word of warning is what happens to the fry - it is hard enough finding new homes for "normal" livebearer fry, it would be even more so for an unpopular hybrid fry. It would be sensible to only use a single female in this project. As you know, livebearers drop dozens of fry at a time, and can have 4 or 5 drops from a single mating. I don't think you will have nearly so many fry in your project, but you should bear in mind that it's a possibility, and you don't want yourself to become overrun with them.
 
Good luck.

 

[fish48]

Why are you  so concerned about inbreeding fish. When you are trying to bread deformed balloon mollies and without any success  Why give up? mollies are simple to breed You need to learn and understand more about  fish that you are keeping if you can’t Successfully breed mollies why try crossing them. Many people believe that they only need to do is put one type of each to gather and let them get on with it and expect  to get results straight away.  well  it is not as easy as that you  really need to  Know what you are doing  I personally believe that you would be wasting  your time trying to create another unwanted fish.

 

[bluesword23516]

My concern for inbreeding is bad fish. Balloon mollies can already be hard to breed because of their shape.  It isn't my fault they don't breed. I have bred fish before so I know what I am doing.  And the fish wont be unwanted, I would want them. 
 
As for females, I was just saying for the guppies (if I chose them for a female) I would have a variety to pick from.  I could choose a big healthy female.
 
Edit: Also I have had some inbreeding in tanks, but I still introduce new males or females to help with that.   

 

[9murphy9]

So if your choseing a "big healthy female" isnt that selective breeding ? And inbreeding is much safer for a species than hybridsing as if your churring out fish it could eventually dillute the etire gene pool of either species.and even tho your intetions are good and you would want them how can you possibly acomedate all those fry when you can afford a $10 fish ? When i read this back it sounds harsh but im just making a point and im curious about your progress ??