Convict Genetics: What is a calico convict?

[Bgolfer88]

I have some convict fry now, one batch from striped pair and one batch from an albino pair. I was wondering how people breed calico convicts? I've read pages that suggest striped (black) convict have a dominant genotype (like AA), albino convicts are recessive phenotypes (aa), and calico are co-dominant (Aa). This doesn't seem likely to me because one would expect more calico's on the market since there would be more of those than albino or striped convicts from a typical heterozygous mating (1:2:1 ratio). Also, the offspring my striped pair had before (by previous owner) yielded albino's which would be impossible by the above hypothesis.

I'm guessing it may be a double homozygous recessive trait (aa bb). My albino fry are from the offspring of my striped pair, so I'm hoping this F2 generation has calico potential. Does anyone know how this actually works?!? Thx alot!! :dance:

 

[Kaosu]

i would be interested in knowing this as well....i have a black con pare producing 40% pink cons..(not albino that i can see)..i would love to get some calicos..

 

[Bgolfer88]

I mean pink convicts, I call them albino. Normally I would expect your pair to produce 25% if my theory is right. Unfortunately, genetics can be infinitely complicated (I'm hoping convict genetics is not tho!)

 

[Kaosu]

bump

 

[Bgolfer88]

bump

 

[Kaosu]

bump?

 

[Bgolfer88]

Found a thread on here where the person has a stripped (black) calico convict (pictured below). Just another piece of the puzzle. This might mean that the genes are unlinked. So many the calico gene by itself is double recessive?? SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!

And here is an answer I received from an 'expert' which is prob the best answer we'll get, not too many hardcore convict fans out there, haha:

"Black striped is dominant.
Albinism is recessive.

The appearance of calico convicts is easy to achieve by breeding calico to calico.

Unfortunately, we don't really have access to pedigreed fish. So, when we choose our parents, unless we raised them, we don't know their parentage.

Calico can come from:

Calico genetics in the parent lineage,
Calico to calico
Albino to Striped
Striped to calico

It is a mutation. It is not always homozygous. Homozygous would mean that certain fishes carry the gene so ALL offspring they throw will always be calico.

That may very well be the case in some calico fishes, but not in all.

Now, you have a little jump on some breeders. Your pair's heritage is partially known. You do not know the grandparent, great-grandparent lineage, but you can guess by watching their offspring giving you an educated idea. Striped father to striped mother, bearing half striped/half albino offspring means the heritage of both parents is probably one albino, one striped...etc. Using the above calculations, you can get a jump on your litters.

Yours may well become baby calicos, but that remains to be seen.

Buy 2 calicos. They breed true, from what I hear, a high percentage of the time.

Some may indeed be homozygous, but not all.

I hope this has been helpful."

 

[livebearerfreak]

breeding pink with black should get mixed genes, then breed the fry back to the black then those frys to the pink. that should produce a FEW calico ( marble ) convicts.

 

[Wren]

breeding pink with black should get mixed genes, then breed the fry back to the black then those frys to the pink. that should produce a FEW calico ( marble ) convicts.

I think that calico is a different mutation than pink. So no amount of breeding black and pink will give you calico, unless you get a mutation. You will just get varying percentages of pink and normal.

Lisa