Inbreeding in Jags and wild vs tank raised

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winston.smith

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 15, 2014
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Hi,

My first post here.

I have 6-7" female Managuense in a 55 gallon tank. I will be adding a male, Ive yet to obtain, and moving both into a 150, in a number of months.

I found a beautiful well-priced male at the LFS but am 99% sure he's a sibling to my female.

I also have a line on a wild caught male (twice the price, plus overnight makes him about 3x times more expensive). That said, I dont care about the that as much as doing what's best for the fish.

Im sure inbreeding goes on lakes as well, as they take to it so easily in a tank. But have read some conflicting information about this online and wondering if anyone has any input. I would think it is a no-brainer to try and get two different blood lines.

Also:
The wild male is about 3" larger. He does not physically look very different from the one at the pet store. But Im also wondering if he will be miserable, seeing as he has known freedom in his past. The importer says they have been acclimated to the aquarium but no one wants a depressed fish.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
 
Welcome the inbreeding thing shouldn't be to much of a issue it happens often. With that being said different breeding stock is always good. But I'd wait till you have the 150 before even considering adding another fish to that tank. 55 is to small for a single female jag let alone a breeding pair. She will be killed or she will kill the male upon introducing him to the tank.


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Just because you get a male, doesn't mean it and your female will be a compatible pair.
I agree with Crazy Mike, that you should wait until you get the 150 gal before putting 2 together, and that it would be better to get unrelated, but.....
If you do put 2 in a 50 gal, I'd divide them with egg crate for a while (perhaps a month or more) before allowing them close contact.
And you say the LFS male and your female are siblings, do you know how many generations they are from the original parents, could be 1, could be 10.
Another consideration is the expense of the wild one, "if" your female and the wild male are compatible and breed, the fry will still be considered aquarium strain, and in the end what you think you may get monetarily for the fry, may end up considerably less than the reality.
Where I live managuense juvies in LFSs can be as low as a buck or 2.
 
Hi,

Thank you both for your comments.

The female is approx 6" and the male approx 8"
The tank is a 55 long. I can divide them if i have to -- Ill certainly watch them closely.

Not sure what you mean by 'original parents' You mean the original wild stock parentage?
I dont know anything about its ancestry.

The research I did today suggests that what matters most is how closely related the parents are and whether or not you happen to pair heterozygotes or homozygotes, from their offspring. See http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/x3840e/x3840e02.htm

My intent is to try to mate them, if they are so inclined, or at least pair them up in a big a tank. It's fine if they dont spawn, so long as they live in peace. And I could always try a different LFS female.

As there are a limited amount of blood lines from wild caught fish, the more genetic variability that gets bred into captive fish stocks, the better. It has nothing to do with thoughts of selling their offspring. Though knowing at least one parent was wild caught is probably preferable to most potential breeders, as we have no idea what generation LFS stocks are.
 
So far so good!
I put him in the tank this morning.

DSC_8079b.jpg

What a difference in the coloration between the wild male and the LFS female. She looks bleached, by comparison.
Ill put up some pix when he settles in better. But so far they're getting along great. He has big cave with multiple entrances/exits he's moved right into. Both are hanging out there together. They will nudge one another but no jaw locking or anything like that, so far.
Ill keep a close watch over the next few days.

DSC_8079b.jpg
 
I agree, any new blood is good for the species we keep, and the pic you posted looks fabulous.
My meaning about the blood lines was, because managuense have been in the hobby decades (I got my 1st pair in the 80s), without knowing lineage in an aquarium strain, there could be multiple sibling spawnings that brought those 2 siblings into your LFS.
Looks like you made the right choice.

As there are a limited amount of blood lines from wild caught fish, the more genetic variability that gets bred into captive fish stocks, the better. It has nothing to do with thoughts of selling their offspring. Though knowing at least one parent was wild caught is probably preferable to most potential breeders, as we have no idea what generation LFS stocks are.[/QUOTE]
 
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