Question re: BD quality

[jstavis]

I've read in many places that BD quality improves over successive generations of captive breeding. Does anyone have an explanation for this?

[T1KARMANN]

no idea why but it does seam to be the case it could be as a lot of people are feeding pellets now so they get a better grade of food in captivaty

[vamptrev]

Healthier adults = healthier babies

We keep all our rays very fat and healthy compared to rays in the wild that have to fight to survive

[spotfin]

When you ask about quality, are you refering to color/pattern of the offspring? Selective breeding.

[freshfishing]

Yes, as with any selective breeding program (cattle, dogs, flowers, etc.), the goal is to improve on the desired traits - health, look, reproduction, etc. You wouldn't purposely breed a skinny and ugly ray if you have a higher quality ray available. Also, through some natural selection the strongest and largest rays will likely breed first leaving the less healthy rays unbred. The best breeders have a strong understanding of genetics and and understanding of their livestock and they are able to produce outstanding results.

Some people are more lucky than good and that works too.

[Raymann88]

In the wild there is no selective breeding per say for rays with the most spots or best patterns. . Rays breed more by chance or availability. Since rays do not pair up like a lot of other fish do, they do not select their mate based on certain traits or qualities. If a mature male crosses paths with a female ready to mate, chances are they will mate. In captivity, breeders select rays with the most desirable traits and then breed their offspring with the best traits and so on and so on.