Interesting read on breeding techniques

[GTR73]

An interesting read from the Greater Chicago Cichlid Association magazine "Cichlid Chatter", by Alan R. De Angelo (most the breeding stuff halfway) . . .

"I was looking through the tanks the other day and a young pair of Neolamprologus tetracanthus have really come into their own. They were defending a rocky area at the right side of a tank inhabited by Tropheus sp. Mpulungu and Neolamprologus savoryi.
Several days after this, a swarm of fry appeared, about 75 in total. It is amazing how nature always finds a way.
I picked up this small pair at the Pagoda Pet Shop in Lockport. Now the Pagoda is not necessarily known as a cichlid hot spot but occasionally some cool stuff comes along. You just have to keep your eyes open. Speaking of cool things, I was walking down the aisles of Tropiquatics in Lombard and saw six of the nicest Rainbow cichlids that I've seen in a
long time. I had a 10 gallon tank open so I grabbed them. These guys will eventually go into another 125 that house some Tropheus sp. Ikola Kaisers and a few T. sp. Bulu Points. If you have never kept Rainbows, try them. They are a great .sh. More on them in another
column.
Another shop not necessarily known for cichlids is the Palos Pet Shop. Cruising through there I found a group of Pelvicachromis pulcher-Super Red. These guys are really beautiful and put regular kribs to shame. They even rival some of the taeniatus morphs in color.
Bred selectively in Germany for great red coloration, these are really nice fish. They are not crosses, just line bred for color. Unfortunately, I didn't have room for them and left them for someone else to enjoy.

What do all of these fish have in common? They all came from hobbyists and not the wholesalers. The best stock usually comes from someone's basement. Hobbyists take the TLC needed to raise great fish. The trick is, though, to start with high quality stock or breed your own and choose the best from the juveniles to use as future breeders. If you need to
buy poor stock of a rare fish, do it. Breed the fish and raise the young. Odds are the genetics will be present in the fry that the parents did not show due to improper rearing or poor environment. Healthy well-fed fry will probably be better in appearance than the adults were.
Remember to cull heavily in the first few generations, weeding out the bad stock. This is especially important with heavily inbred fish like angels and discus. Cull, cull, cull.
After a few generations, careful breeders can get dynamite strains going from fish that may have been marginal at best. Oh, and when I say cull, I do not mean sell the stock to the pet shop. Feed 'em or freeze 'em to get rid of the culls.
Freeze 'em? Yep. The most humane way of disposing a fish is to pop it into a plastic bag and put it in the freezer. But why waste all that good caloric intake. Feed your unwanted culls to a bigger fish. If you don't have any, seek out a person with Oscars or any guapote. They'll
make fast work of those living morsels.
If you have an old fish that is lingering, getting beat up and you feel sorry for it as it goes out in less than a blaze of glory, put it in a bag and freeze it."


Cheers

[cichlidwoman]

I posted a subject months ago looking for advice on the best way to euthanasia a fish and was advised not to pop them in the freezer because it freezes the flesh and not the brain  - making it is a slow inhumane death. Brain spike it apparently the most humane way.

[GTR73]

Yeah I agree, I wouldn't do it that way either.

[Jimmy]

I agree, putting a fish in a freezer is one of the cruelest way to kill a fish. This is an '"old wives tale"', the sooner people know this, the better!!!