I have a 55 gal breeding tank with a Johanni and 3 females for him, and a random female aratus that i rescued and put in there. She (the aratus) is pregnat to the johanni, is this hybridization possible. I know they are both Melanochromis. Will the babies grow up? will they even hatch? will the babies be infertile? i think the hybrid will look awesome
Hybrid Of Malawi Cichlids...HELP
- Thread starter AlwaysConfused
- Start date
Africans crossbreed very easily and its a big problem. So yes your auratus can breed with your johanni and the egg will hatch and the fry will be fertile. If you plan to keep the fry please make sure that you never give any away or sell them to stores. There is enough hybrids out there that we dont' need anymore. Its already hard enough to find pure africans out there.
So basically yes your fish will crossbreed(how do you think we got fish like the OB peacock, its a peacockxOBzebra cross). Yes they fry will be fertile. DO not sell any of the fry if you raise them up.
So basically yes your fish will crossbreed(how do you think we got fish like the OB peacock, its a peacockxOBzebra cross). Yes they fry will be fertile. DO not sell any of the fry if you raise them up.
Yeah its best to let the auratus spit in the tank, and most likely the fry will be eaten. Hybrids, while some can be beautiful fish, can 'pollute' good strains and be sold as something they are not... so its best not to raise them up.
-Diana
-Diana
I know the mentality that everyone doesnt want the gene pool to be tained, and to some extent i agree. But as we see, crossbreeding is the driving force behind evolution. I most likley wont sell them to anywhere, but i do have a problem destroying them, so i will raise them, and they will have a 55 to themselves (depending on size of brood and survival of fry i may not need to do this). I will though, sell my red zebra babies, and johanni babies ( i have a red zebra in another tank impregnating the rest of the female red zebras ) the johanni male finnaly decide to breed w/ his girls. Thanks for the advice, i shall take it under advisment.
I think these guys will be awesome, i cant wait to see what they look like
I think these guys will be awesome, i cant wait to see what they look like
If you let the female spit in the tank then your letting nature take its course and not killing the fry. My afras breed too much and i've come to just letting the female spit in the 90 gallon. There are a few fry survivors, and those are the most fit to survive.
Crossbreeding is not the driving force behind evolution, its called natural selection, and its very different.
In the lake i'm sure cross-breeding occurs, but not to the extent that it creates new species and populations... These fish in the wild live hundreds of miles apart, and this is the reason for different vartiants of a certian genus. It is HIGHLY unlikely these fish would come into contact in the wild, and inter-breeding between the two would be extrememly rare.
I agree you shouldnt kill a fish just because its a hybrid, but going out of your way to raise it up could be disatorous if it ever got into the aquarium trade. Those 6 or so fry that you will raise up and have a tank to themselves will eventually breed and produce fry... so what will you do then? Will you not want to kill them then? So you raise up thier fry... and what to do with them?
I dont think a cross between a johanni and an auratus will be anything special...
just my 2 cents
-Diana
Crossbreeding is not the driving force behind evolution, its called natural selection, and its very different.
In the lake i'm sure cross-breeding occurs, but not to the extent that it creates new species and populations... These fish in the wild live hundreds of miles apart, and this is the reason for different vartiants of a certian genus. It is HIGHLY unlikely these fish would come into contact in the wild, and inter-breeding between the two would be extrememly rare.
I agree you shouldnt kill a fish just because its a hybrid, but going out of your way to raise it up could be disatorous if it ever got into the aquarium trade. Those 6 or so fry that you will raise up and have a tank to themselves will eventually breed and produce fry... so what will you do then? Will you not want to kill them then? So you raise up thier fry... and what to do with them?
I dont think a cross between a johanni and an auratus will be anything special...
just my 2 cents
-Diana
I do thank you for your two cents, and i realize at this point i dont have very many options, and i want to raise them up but it will be hard and i have very limited space. But i then found a solution, i work at the lfs, and know the potential consequences of interbreeding, but we have a 125 cichlid tank there that has a red zebra in it, i think they will make a fitting display stock for it.
Debra Mark
Wench Boots!
~*LuvMyKribs*~ said:I dont think a cross between a johanni and an auratus will be anything special...
just my 2 cents
-Diana
We have some cross-breeds from a Johanni and Chipokae (similar to Auratus) and you're right - they're nothing special - they look mostly like Chipokaes.....
Putting hybrids in a display tank at the lfs consitutes putting them into the aquarium trade... I wouldnt do it.
I wouldnt do it.OW, are you saying dogs as mutts are bad too, it is the same level, i love my fish as much as my late dog, who was a mutt. Selective breeding creates resisive genes, some being good, and some bad. We see due to selective breeding in discus and oscars that they are highly seseptible to hole in the head. more so than in the wild because they have been breed in too small of a gene pool. Genetic diversity eliminates genetic traits that are detrimental to the speices. I apreciate the advice, but i am going to sell them where i work, and they will be properly labled auratus/johanni mix. It is no different than a puppy store selling a lab/sheperd mix. I for one see no moral or ethical reason to not do this. Edited for content. Invalid comparison OG Pure breed isnt always better.JSchmidt said:
Last edited by a moderator: