Lotus,
Very good thread you've got going here---In fact, you've once again inspired me to get back into keeping and breeding platies! I can't wait. *BOUNCINGS
And what you said here:
Excellent observation to point out to people who are new to breeding live-bearers.
When I first reared platy fry, I had probably 15-20 survivors (fry that grew beyond half an inch or so) out of about 30-40+ of the original tiny little fry.
After some weeks and months, I began noticing some poor little platies with deformed spines.
It was really a shame, because many of these deformed ones had some very unique color-combinations...I was sad to lose even the ones that looked like "little runts" too, of course---wish I had pics.
I thought that maybe I had done something wrong at the time that led to this spine curvature problem---when in fact it was merely poor genetics on the part of the fish.
Now that I've got a crayfish, my plan will be to feed these deformed fish to him as a "treat." After all, it comes down to a choice between culling them (a.k.a. 'freezer method') and feeding him to the cray anyway.
I don't believe in keeping deformed fish. An eye missing from an "accident" is one thing, but a genetically-weak, 'unsuitable for breeding-fish' is another matter altogether.
Just my 2 cents.
Big Vine
Very good thread you've got going here---In fact, you've once again inspired me to get back into keeping and breeding platies! I can't wait. *BOUNCINGS
And what you said here:
Lotus said:
Many livebearers are raised in intensive breeding conditions, leaving some livebearers unhealthy and generally weak. A lot of interbreeding and lack of natural selection has not been good for livebears, and it is not uncommon for females to die soon after giving birth or to have fry with genetic defects like bent spines.
Excellent observation to point out to people who are new to breeding live-bearers.
When I first reared platy fry, I had probably 15-20 survivors (fry that grew beyond half an inch or so) out of about 30-40+ of the original tiny little fry.
After some weeks and months, I began noticing some poor little platies with deformed spines.
It was really a shame, because many of these deformed ones had some very unique color-combinations...I was sad to lose even the ones that looked like "little runts" too, of course---wish I had pics.
I thought that maybe I had done something wrong at the time that led to this spine curvature problem---when in fact it was merely poor genetics on the part of the fish.
Now that I've got a crayfish, my plan will be to feed these deformed fish to him as a "treat." After all, it comes down to a choice between culling them (a.k.a. 'freezer method') and feeding him to the cray anyway.
I don't believe in keeping deformed fish. An eye missing from an "accident" is one thing, but a genetically-weak, 'unsuitable for breeding-fish' is another matter altogether.
Just my 2 cents.
Big Vine