Re: Mutant Aggie Spawn

[IDMiamiBob@aol.com]

Ken writes:

<< One thing I am absolutely against except as a last resort
> is to hatch the eggs artificially as I believe that in the 
> long term this would lead us all to having to hatch 
> artificially as the fish would forget how to rear the fry 
> themselves.  This has already happened with angels as a 
> proper pair are more the exception than the rule after 
> generations of breeders pulling eggs to try and maximise 
> their financial return. >>
>>

In my experience, this is not the result of generations of artificial
hatching, but a by-product of the angels' adaptation to a wide range of water
conditions.  I have gotten angels from fellow hobbyists that have eaten their
eggs for as much as three years.  When I put them in a well planted tank with
conditions equivalent to what we keep our Apistos in (soft, slightly acidic
water), they immediately become "model parents".  Just because fish are
willing to spawn under certain conditions does not mean they are willing to
raise their fry under those same conditions.  In the case of a "sport" such as
this particular male, if the keeper of these fish is interested in seeing what
can develop, he is best served to hacth artificially the first spawn or two,
as the females usually screw them up anyway.  Once the F1 generation is
assured, let the females practice with the next couple spawns until they get
it right.  With the high incident of unexplained early deaths among Apistos,
this seems to me the more prudent approach.

Bob Dixon.