Re: A. cacatoides "Red-Flash"

[George and Carol Richter <richter@erols.com>]

I breed triple red cacatoides and am surprised at some of the comments
and discussion of them I have seen in the Apisto Digest of late. 
Remember that these fish were "created" through selective breeding.  If
you stop selecting, they revert to the wild coloration.  When I get a
spawn one half to three quarters are true triple reds, the rest are
mostly doubles, and a few I would not even term doubles.  The culls are
often sold as doubles - which is what they are.  

You must select the "best" ones for the next generation.  If you expect
them to breed true, you need a genetics text book.  They do not.  This
is especially tough because the females are not so obvious in their
colors. That's why they still are not very cheap.  Good triple red
females will show quite a bit of red in their fins.  If the females have
almost no red they are probably not triple or even double reds at all. 
Don't buy them.  Some folks will slip in some wild types.  Some of my
females actually show black striations in their caudal and dorsal fins.
I also breed wild type cacatoides.  Like some of the folks on this list
I like the non-medled with varieties.  For some reason I seem to get
more males from my highly inbred triples and more females from the wild
types.  I do not know why or if that is common but you can see the
temptation.  

I even have some males with red and black striations on their pecs -
quadrupal red if you will.

Bottom line - if you want good lifestock you have to deal with good
people like dave.

P.S. I also would like a line on these blues I keep hearing about.  I
know some of mine have lots of blue in the face and I am beginning to
select for it but replacing the red with that same blue would cause me
to buy a few new tanks.


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