Re: Rams de-selection

[joel and angie wasdyke <joel_ang@visi.com>]

If pulling eggs is going to be condemned as the work of lesser mortal
fish-keepers, someone needs to let the angel breeders, most commercial
discus breeders and a whole lot of african mouth-brooder keepers in on the
secret.  

For most of the species that I keep I have no problem letting the fish hatch
and raise the young.  Most species have no problem.  For some reason rams
are an exception.  If this is a learned or genetic trait, does it mean that
I should destroy the breeding lines that I have now.  On the other hand, I
have young african mouth-brooders that I artificially hatched that have no
problem brooding young until release.  Does this make them smarter or less
able to learn from their genetic and environmental past than rams.

On the other hand, it all depends on the goal. For most of the species I
have I raise a spawn here and their and am just happy to have them spawning.
For the rams, I am working up to raising several hundred a month and the ram
pairs don't have the room to do that kind of brooding. 

Joel WasDyke


Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 20:13:48 -0000
From: "Helen Burns" <hlnburns@thefree.net>
Subject: Re: Rams de-selection

Mike,
I commented on this list a few months ago that all to often hobbyists are
too eager to remove eggs.  By doing this it can also lead to breaking pair
bonding.  I have never removed any spawnings from my cichlids, large or
small species.
I totally agree with all that you have said, it is just a pity more
aquarists don't feel the same.
Helen.
From: Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>
>Being a basically lazy person, I rarely pull eggs. After 4-6 spawns my
dwarfs
>usually figure out how reproduce on their own. If this doesn't happen, I
then
>check to see if there are any physical or social parameters that could be
changed
>to help reproduction along. I will artificially hatch only extremely rare
fish,
>usually on the first and second spawns. The first two spawns are often
>unsuccessfully hatched by them anyway. After this, if I have a batch of
healthy
>fry, I let them try it themselves from then on. In this way the fish get
the
>experience to reproduce on their own.

>Mike Wise


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