Re: Re: Blood Parrot hybrid misinformation
Originally posted by wetmanNY
Jim P apparently doesn't realize that sex in fishes is not chromosome-determined, as it is with mammals (and, independently evolved, with birds too.)...
Genetic incompatibilities sufficiently account for Red Parrot deformities.
Mammals and birds both have sexual characteristics phenotyped via chromosomal differences (though with the avians it is XX for male) but all chordates have sex determined by their genes even if in many cases environmental factors can catalyze which genes are phenotyped (as with some reptiles and also monotremes in which temperature differences as the embryos develope in their eggs will cause them to come out male or female).
What I am talking about though really is unaffected by all this as none of this has anything to do with how gamates form in chordates in the first place, which is via meiosis and it is here in hybridization - between two species separated long enough to have too many accumulated varied mutations to have genome which completely match up - where the sperm doesn't come out right but where the eggs can.
In fish hybrids (that is hybrids actually between two different species and not just subspecies) just as with mammal and bird and reptile hybrids the males are shootin' blanks while the females can be further hybridized.
If you don't believe that severum played a part in the 'creation' of blood parrots check out the 3rd post on the following thread
http://bloodparrot.aquariahobbyist....cgi?s=3e6030d848d7ffff;act=ST;f=1;t=258;st=30
it contains a pic of a juvenile blood parrot next to a juvenile severum. I think the family resemblance goes beyond them just both being cichlids but you decide for yourself.
I do agree though that the so called 'deformities' blood parrots are said to suffer can be readily explained by hybridization between two species quite far apart and distant from their common ancestor in evolution. My blood parrots really don't have any of the problems I have seen described - they can all close and open their mouths and bite, they show no signs of swim bladder problems and their spines are no more 'deformed' than those of angel fish or discuss whose body types theirs are reminiscent of. Inline breeding (inbreeding) can cause deformities by the compounding of recessive maladaptive genes but these traits in selective breeding are removed by culling of the deformed offspring and re-breeding of fish with desirable traits but without the undesirable ones. One cannot do this with blood parrots as they cannot be bred together BPxBP because the males are all sterile and if you want an F2 generation the only thing you can do is find a convict or some other closely related cichlid to be a sperm donor.
It is completely readily apparent that blood parrots cannot be just mutant midases, red devils nor any other single cichlid species because if they were anyone could continue to inline breed them, cull the undesirable traits and select for the desirable ones.
Thanks to those who gave me kind words of welcome and encouragement on this forum - I think I like it here and shall select a nice flat rock against the tank wall to claim territory.