RE: spawning?

[Scot Gillespie <Scot.Gillespie@epsedin.co.uk>]

Bob Dixon wrote:

>You must have joined the list since the last time this was brought up.  I 
>still say that any pair of angels given the proper water parameters and
tank 
>set-up will be excellent parents.  ANY pair.  Period.

Long time ago, in a fish tank far far away, (to add film pun to film
pun)(and when I was about 14). I did have a pair of angels which were
exceptional parents, lived in a 36" tank with a swarm of guppies. The only
time they did any devouring was when my darling little sister thought she
would teach her gerbil to swim. So Bob I will concede that personally angels
have not been a problem for me, but I do know of someone else who has tried
persistently to naturally rear angels and has failed.

Instinct is, I admit, is a bit of a woolly term. But I used it as it would
cover the convoluted area of what is actually genetically inherited
behaviourism, and not. Only a few of the apistogramma species have been
commercially cultivated, and at that not for the generations that angels,
rams, etc. have. Therefore if the effect of parental response is
non-genetic, then you would possibly see it diminish over a few generations
of egg pulling, if it is genetic then a larger number of generations would
need to pass until it became manifest across a significant percentage of the
population. 

This too would be affected with what the parenting gene was tied to. Though
genes may be responsible to one characteristic, there is more of a chance
that these may be linked to other characteristics, which may increase or
decrease the subjects viability for survival. 

But I too would be interested in hearing about anybody's experience of
parental response in breading fish who have been "pulled" themselves. Though
there are probably several PhDs available in this topics, in several
disciplines.

Thank goodness on the film pun line nobody, luckily, has scene the latest
Austin Powers movie......



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