More or less. I guess.
Genetics doesn't quite work that way. XD Genes code for a bunch of different molecules, such as proteins, silencing RNA, cofactors and the likes. All these come together to create a working organism. Traits are essentially different cogs in the machine that we can identify, essentially phenotypes - these include things like tail color, fin shape, body length, maximum size and the likes. All these have an underlying genotype, or genotypes in some cases, which are basically the states of the alleles of genes that together, produces the effect seen. For example, a phenotype (trait) of a convict could be stripy (as opposed to 'pink'), but it's genotype can either be homozygous for the stripes-producing allele (or two of the same version of the gene), or heterozygous (two different versions of the gene).
How a genotype determines the phenotype varies depending on the gene in question. Let's take Convicts as an example, again. As we all know, there are two duplicates of each gene in a typical fish (animal, in general, actually). The stripey allele (the version of the gene that codes for stripes) will always produce a necessary amount of gene products to fully express stripes. Hence, doesn't matter if you have two of the stripes-producing allele or just one, you will always get a striped Convict. However, if you have two of the non-stripe-producing allele, then none of the gene-products that make the stripes are present, and hence the convict will not have any stripes. This is the simplest 'version' of genetics, where one allele is dominant whilst the other is recessive. This is the same for true albinism in pretty much everything. Some things are more complicated, such as the electric blue gene in EBJDs. These are not alleles that produce nothing, but rather alleles that produce a... let's call them 'defective' version of the 'normal coloration' allele. In this case, a jack dempsey with two 'normal coloration' allele will produce gene-products that produce the normal coloration. A heterozygous jack dempsey, one with both a 'normal coloration' allele and a 'electric blue' allele will produce two types of gene-products from the alleles - however the gene-product from the 'normal coloration' allele will mask the 'defective' gene-product produced by the 'electric blue' allele, and hence you will still see the normal body coloration. However, when the jack dempsey has two 'electric blue' alleles, it will only produce 'defective' gene products, which produces the electric blue coloration.
Then there's co-domination. These tend to be related to things that can sort of have intermediaries - the alleles associated with these genes produces products that are essentially as powerful as each other. Some flowers, for example, have 'red' alleles and 'white' alleles. When they have two of the same version, they produce either red or white flowers. But when they're heterozygous (has one 'red' and one 'white' allele), they'll produce both types of gene products, which we will see as a mixture - i.e. pink. Sorry I dunno the analogue in cichlids.
Of course, that's the simple genetics. Some traits are determined by multiple genes, and some genes determine multiple traits, directly or indirectly. Body coloration in mice for example, can be determined by a number of different genes together (see this for some examples: http://www.thefunmouse.com/varieties/selfcolors.cfm).
How hybrids can occur, is that when the parental genes come together, they align well enough to produce viable fry. Some genes do not have a counterpart, and may be fully expressed, or masks itself (such as through methylation), or may actually be excised (though generally won't happen, masking is enough). Over generations of continued breeding, something might form in place. Either way, you will have chromosomes with certain genes in one, and no working copies of it in the other. Let's call these w-chromosome and n-chromosome respectively.
Why certain purebreed genes will dominate when crossed with a hybrid, is because of how genes are passed on.
Each offspring accept half of its genes from one parent, and half from the other. If the hybrid parent passes on the w-chromosome, then the offspring will have the gene in question. What happens when the purebreed genes are added, is another story. Loooooong story. Now, if the hybrid parent passes on the n-chromosome (assuming it has it), then the offspring will not have the gene in question - and henceforth will not produce the phenotype, whatever that is. Hence why sometimes when you breed hybrids and purebreeds, you will see the offspring not develop particular traits that the hybrid parent displays in full, and why the purebreed's trait seems to mask the hybrid's. Also why you tend to get such a weird mix of offsprings when you breed hybrids. There's just so many combinations of so many different random genes that... yeah.
Short version of genetics at work.
Genetics doesn't quite work that way. XD Genes code for a bunch of different molecules, such as proteins, silencing RNA, cofactors and the likes. All these come together to create a working organism. Traits are essentially different cogs in the machine that we can identify, essentially phenotypes - these include things like tail color, fin shape, body length, maximum size and the likes. All these have an underlying genotype, or genotypes in some cases, which are basically the states of the alleles of genes that together, produces the effect seen. For example, a phenotype (trait) of a convict could be stripy (as opposed to 'pink'), but it's genotype can either be homozygous for the stripes-producing allele (or two of the same version of the gene), or heterozygous (two different versions of the gene).
How a genotype determines the phenotype varies depending on the gene in question. Let's take Convicts as an example, again. As we all know, there are two duplicates of each gene in a typical fish (animal, in general, actually). The stripey allele (the version of the gene that codes for stripes) will always produce a necessary amount of gene products to fully express stripes. Hence, doesn't matter if you have two of the stripes-producing allele or just one, you will always get a striped Convict. However, if you have two of the non-stripe-producing allele, then none of the gene-products that make the stripes are present, and hence the convict will not have any stripes. This is the simplest 'version' of genetics, where one allele is dominant whilst the other is recessive. This is the same for true albinism in pretty much everything. Some things are more complicated, such as the electric blue gene in EBJDs. These are not alleles that produce nothing, but rather alleles that produce a... let's call them 'defective' version of the 'normal coloration' allele. In this case, a jack dempsey with two 'normal coloration' allele will produce gene-products that produce the normal coloration. A heterozygous jack dempsey, one with both a 'normal coloration' allele and a 'electric blue' allele will produce two types of gene-products from the alleles - however the gene-product from the 'normal coloration' allele will mask the 'defective' gene-product produced by the 'electric blue' allele, and hence you will still see the normal body coloration. However, when the jack dempsey has two 'electric blue' alleles, it will only produce 'defective' gene products, which produces the electric blue coloration.
Then there's co-domination. These tend to be related to things that can sort of have intermediaries - the alleles associated with these genes produces products that are essentially as powerful as each other. Some flowers, for example, have 'red' alleles and 'white' alleles. When they have two of the same version, they produce either red or white flowers. But when they're heterozygous (has one 'red' and one 'white' allele), they'll produce both types of gene products, which we will see as a mixture - i.e. pink. Sorry I dunno the analogue in cichlids.
Of course, that's the simple genetics. Some traits are determined by multiple genes, and some genes determine multiple traits, directly or indirectly. Body coloration in mice for example, can be determined by a number of different genes together (see this for some examples: http://www.thefunmouse.com/varieties/selfcolors.cfm).
How hybrids can occur, is that when the parental genes come together, they align well enough to produce viable fry. Some genes do not have a counterpart, and may be fully expressed, or masks itself (such as through methylation), or may actually be excised (though generally won't happen, masking is enough). Over generations of continued breeding, something might form in place. Either way, you will have chromosomes with certain genes in one, and no working copies of it in the other. Let's call these w-chromosome and n-chromosome respectively.
Why certain purebreed genes will dominate when crossed with a hybrid, is because of how genes are passed on.
Each offspring accept half of its genes from one parent, and half from the other. If the hybrid parent passes on the w-chromosome, then the offspring will have the gene in question. What happens when the purebreed genes are added, is another story. Loooooong story. Now, if the hybrid parent passes on the n-chromosome (assuming it has it), then the offspring will not have the gene in question - and henceforth will not produce the phenotype, whatever that is. Hence why sometimes when you breed hybrids and purebreeds, you will see the offspring not develop particular traits that the hybrid parent displays in full, and why the purebreed's trait seems to mask the hybrid's. Also why you tend to get such a weird mix of offsprings when you breed hybrids. There's just so many combinations of so many different random genes that... yeah.
Short version of genetics at work.
