Captive Breeding

[Derek]

Since my clownfish spawned I have been thinking a lot about healthy captive breeding. I know there are a lot of places out there that specialize in captive breeding, but one question keeps popping up... how do they avoid inbreeding? Is there a pedigree type program for fish? If not, there should be. I have seem some pretty "Appalachia" looking animals.

I grew up on a farm and we would "borrow" breeding bulls to introduce new genetic material into the livestock. All of those types of transactions had papers that went along with the exchange so that you knew exactly where your "stud" was coming from.

[+KeeperOfTheZoo]

Oh I can see it now.... Think we can DNA type fish to verify genetics? I suspect they'd be a little hard to tag, brand or tatoo. Hmm, will we focus on sire or dam lines?

Seriously though, it's an interesting idea to ponder. Any time you have a captive breeding program that eliminates natural selection you have to be more aware of stock quality.

[+Lamont]

Hey Derek, did you ever move the baby clowns to a new tank? If so, how are they doing?

[Crab Rangoon]

You mean you don't want your clowns to be Wyoming Whites, Picassos, and Nakeds (etc)???

[Hamp]

I am pretty sure that with clowns there is a lot of inbreeding in nature. Usually when the dominate female dies, one of her offspring(usually) changes gender and starts breeding with the males. I am sure this is not always the case, but I think the bloodline can sustain multiple generations of inbreeding without harm.

[rainbody]

With a small population of fish breeding together over and over again you start what is called genetic drift. Or what is also called founder effect. While it not a huge deal right away, in the long run for say a company breeding fish for profit, it becomes an issue over time. The biggest problem for a hobbist level breeding program is breeding fish with a genetic defect( negative type).

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/06/3/l_063_03.html

[Derek]

Hey Derek, did you ever move the baby clowns to a new tank? If so, how are they doing?

All the eggs got eaten.

[Derek]

I am pretty sure that with clowns there is a lot of inbreeding in nature. Usually when the dominate female dies, one of her offspring(usually) changes gender and starts breeding with the males. I am sure this is not always the case, but I think the bloodline can sustain multiple generations of inbreeding without harm.

There isn't a lot of inbreeding for clowns in nature. Since the first few stages of the fry development is fairly non-motile they get swept off with the current. The other fish in the harem are usually from neighboring clutches.

[Derek]

With a small population of fish breeding together over and over again you start what is called genetic drift. Or what is also called founder effect. While it not a huge deal right away, in the long run for say a company breeding fish for profit, it becomes an issue over time. The biggest problem for a hobbist level breeding program is breeding fish with a genetic defect( negative type).

http://www.pbs.org/w...3/l_063_03.html

Yep, exactly. I am concerned that while in the beginning captive breeding can making fish less expensive, in the long run it could cause problems for those of us in the hobby, i.e. fish that are not healthy or require drool cups. In the long run it could also make the fish more expensive because of the need to capture new breeding stock to get rid of some of the genetic mistakes. I know I don't want a fish that is its own grandpa.

[Derek]

You mean you don't want your clowns to be Wyoming Whites, Picassos, and Nakeds (etc)???

Aren't these more of a selective breeding type arrangement? I thought that you had to breed different "grades" of clowns to get the variants and even then it wasn't guaranteed.

[rainbody]

If you really wanted to get into it, youd have to trade out half of the genetic line. Only keep some and pair them with a outside source that you rotate by region.( this month its island chain D) I hope this is all the stuff that major saltwater breeders are doing for these fish that are now "tank-bred". Not to mention that captive programs are already showing effects on their products. I read an article somewhere that some of the captive bred clowns lack the gene need to find anemones. The gene they little fish use in the wild to find host anemones out of the reef.

If I end up with a clown that has a lazy eye, 3 pectoral fins, and swims in circles at the bottom, Ill know who to blame.