<<Some days ago I saw my favorite rainbow (M. praecox) in "my" pet shop.
But they did not show a third of their beauty i know from some publications
(blue body and red fins) they were only silver with some blue and the fins
showed only very few red :-(
I am just wondering whether this was caused by the circumstances of keeping
(non planted tank) or their age (they were 5 cm, I think thats nearly adult
; or?).
Does anybody know if colours may be lost by breeding? I know this is a
problem with M. boesemanni, isnīt it ? I have never seen this beauties that
are shown in publications (dark blue and orange) I think this strain was
brought over to europe by H. Bleher.Nower days there are only animals that
show light blue and yellow :-(>>
This loss of colour is definitely no result of inbreeding! We have discussed on
this list many results of inbreeding, loss of colour is none of them.
However, there must be a reason and, indeed, there are a few.
1. Many rainbowfish tend to show their colours only in the morning and/or
if they feel well. There are shops where rainbowfish do feel well, but at what
percentage? I'm afraid, much less than 5%. If you bring these fish into your
home tank and guarantee good conditions the "grey" fish will show their
colours soon. This is one of the problems of rainbow breeders as the fish don't
show their best colours when you're going to sell them.
2. Another important reason is money. Every little tail is raised instead
of selecting carefully the smaller and slowly growing specimens which
would be selected in nature, too. Additionally you have to select for
colour in comparism to natural colours. In nature males mate and maybe
the best coloured male may win and give its genes to the offspring. In
aquarium also weak and purely coloured males may have mating success.
3. If it were a result of inbreeding you had no chance to get the original
colours back with breeding the pure coloured specimens. Try two
generations with strict selection and you will see, the colours come
back.
I additionally can't subscribe to the thesis that there are no good
coloured Boesemani in today's shops. You have to look. Our IRG
stocks as well as many stocks I additionally know (e.g. in the Wuppertal
Zoo aquarium) still show the original colours.
It's mostly a question of not selecting strong enough.
Harro