how to pick a pair

[Jessie]

Ok i feel pretty silly asking this lol. But how do you pick your pair? I am rather new to the hobby and I am really getting into cichlids. I have bred and raised a clutch (is that the right word) of Blue Ram fry and am hoping to add kribs and aspitos to that list. Everything that i have read says to get a bunch of juvnials and let them pair up. But when I go to the LFS to get my fish all the fish that are the same age/size all came from the same source and prob from the same spawn... wouldnt that create inbreeding? Other then getting one fish at one LFS and wait until you find another fish at some other LFS and HOPE they got them from different sources (I have found they use the same about half the time) I dont know what to do. I did that with my kribs and now I have 2 fish of different size and they are NOT getting along. So what else can I do?

Thanks
Jessie

 

[targaboy78]

Hi Jessie,

I don't have any experience with Blue Rams. However, I have had success breeding Kribensis.

I have found that the males are very territorial, so I let the female 'settle in' to her habitat before introducing the male to the tank. My tank has lots of live plants, drift wood, and a ceramic pipe so they have plenty of places to explore, hide or nest.

I generally purchase a male that looks strong, healthy and about 1/2 inch larger than the female.

I have also found that introducing frozen blood worms in their diet several days per week gets her 'in the mood'. Her belly color changes to a deep crimson and she really starts to 'show off' to her new guy.

Here's a site that you might find handy.
http://hjem.get2net.dk/Best_of_the_Web/Kribensis.html

I hope this helps.

 

[Jessie]

Thanks! That is a great site!

When you go shopping for a pair (of any fish) with the intent to breed them do you get them from the same source? My major concern is inbreeding. Seems to me all the fish of same age at same source is from the same parents. Or is this something I should not worry about?

 

[stik6shift98]

i would get a pair from a local breeder

 

[targaboy78]

Chances are good that the LFSs in your area purchase from the same suppliers anyway but I wouldn't be worried about inbreeding.

IMHO, with the enormous number of fish / tanks / fish farms / suppliers / potential mates / and other considerations, the odds must be pretty slim of the blood-line being that pure. (Same parents/same brood).

Besides, I am not even sure that inbreeding in fish causes any major abnormalities.

 

[Jessie]

Thanks for the replys! I feel much better now lol. I enjoy seeing my baby rams growing and I want to try with other cichlids! I just wanted to be sure I was making healthy choices for mates. I know that inbreeding with dogs creates major health probs... big weight off my shoulders!

~Jessie

 

[angelstiger]

I agree with Targaboy78. As a matter of fact it is through inbreeding that many strains of fish have been made more elaborate. Angels for example. veil tails were once a mutation that has been bred in as a trait. Without getting to technical. To set a trait you actually re-breed the mutant strain with the parents. There are some really good books out there on breeding. If your going to get into it seriously, and you want to make breeding choices that actually improve the strain. I suggest some good reference material.

 

[CRaZeeeBiTcHisH]

there are many mail order places that you can buy fish, guaranteed live delivery....doubt you would be getting the same batch then