Looking for a good fish genetics project

[Weatherwax]

Hi all,

Just wanted to introduce myself to the community. It seems there are some really passionate hobbyists on this forum!

I'm a former enthusiast looking to get back into the hobby after a long hiatus. I'm also finishing up my Ph.D. dissertation on genetics of coat color and neurodegeneration in mice, so as a big biology nerd I'm thinking it'd be fun to do some genetics in fish. I'd like to find a color variety of some easy-to-breed fish (preferably a newer trait that hasn't been well-studied) and characterize it genetically, in other words do the crosses to figure out how many genes underlie the trait, how they interact with other coloration genes, etc.

I'm thinking livebearers would be a good place to start, but I know there's already a pretty solid (but mostly older) scientific literature on coloration genetics in Poecilia and Xiphophorus, so I'm looking for a good trait to investigate that hasn't already been worked out.

So my question for all you knowledgeable folks on MFK is, what's new in livebearers? Are there any new varieties out there that I might be able to do a little project with and not be reinventing the wheel?

Thanks!

WW

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Welcome to MFK!

You could always try breeding Convict Cichlids since that doesn't take much effort to do. They come in black, pink and piebald color morphs.

 

[Oddball]

You may achieve faster results in breeding Endler's Livebearers (Poecilia wingei) from Venezuela. They can be found often on aquabid.com

 

[Red Devil]

welcome to mfk.....nice to meet you and hope you enjoy the forum... just look around and you will get some great ideas and info... any questions just ask.. always here to help.