Been a while, Eh? Let's dive in!
I know I have been away for quite some time but I'm here now.
First off I'd like to address something, Yes I watch this forum like a hawk watches a mouse.
This is NOT a reddit forum, I'm NOT being paid to tell you what you want to hear, I asked and started this forum to help you, Not so you could treat it like a place to troll and use it like a playground, If you want to play 'games' Check either Steam or Gog, Thank you.
Update:
I was put on a 'ping list' for an aquarium light which was back in April and never got contacted -_- so I'm still waiting, This month I'll be stocking back up on filter media for my 45 gallon tank and buying the glass lily pipe, intake and the heater for my Oase 250 Bio thermo filter, and maybe 2 bags of the Seachem Flourite Black sand, I also need to add a black background to my 45 I was going to do it in April but some stuff came up and I couldn't.
For today's lesson, This will NOT be for those with a weak stomach, Yup, we're talking about internal organs and what 'dwarfism' does to them.
There is no such thing as a 'perfect' fish, Externally is how we judge 'Beauty' yes the fins and scales, and body might look as though they're brand new, The fish is eating and everything seems to be going flawlessly, But that is simply not the case.
Externally the fish is fine, internally however the fish is a mess, Said fish is supposed to be 10+ inches long and almost say, 6 inches wide, Massive right? Well, it's been a year and he's still as big as the day you got him, This is when you begin to panic, The body cannot grow if the organs cannot expand and grow with the body, Bones, tissue, ligaments, tendons, Growth plates, Everything is halted, The fish slowly begins to decline, The symptoms will vary, the fish might not act differently at all, or will rapidly, Most frighteningly of all, Something's got to give and yes it will.
The body will never grow, the fish either becomes a rubbery lifeless husk or the poor thing survives and it's organs continue to grow, without the correct amount of space...the organs will eventually burst out of the fish killing it instantly.
Another thing that is quite common, When a fish displays weakness in a community tank the tank boss will notice and kill or bully that dwarf fish to death.
Diet has almost nothing to do with it, Genetics are the main factor in 'dwarf' fish though the better term for 'dwarf fish' is 'Man-made fish' Fish who are not typically 'dwarfs' in the wild are going to be sold with a boat-load of health issues and of course it'll make YOU look like the villain, it's not your fault, you are however at fault for buying that fish in the first place.
Here's a question I get often, How many Goldfish in a 75 gallon tank? My answer is now, Just 1, If you want to own those gorgeous fish please own them responsibly, I can't force you to heed my advice but I can only hope that you take it too heart.
Inbreeding, It's no secret, Every supplier does it, or will do it eventually, Inbreeding and Hybridization play a huge role in dwarfisim in our fish, it can happen accidentally though in fish stores this is no accident, I call it 'Mass sale breeding' Where suppliers breed their fish and do not care if it's inbreeding or not.
Hybridization:
This is where two fish of two different species are cross-bred to make something 'unique' It is usually unsuccessful and a catastrophic failure, It is why when breeding fish the tank needs to be a species only tank, live barer females need to be moved into a different tank so she can give birth in peace, As for egg laying fish, if the parents are more interested in eating their eggs you will have to take the eggs and raise them yourself.
Lastly, Another horrible symptom or symptoms of dwarfism is blood clots and something I like referring to as 'Razor scale death'
Where the scales will begin to break off and shed or invert and stab into the fishes body, Both of which are painful, Most importantly dwarf fish do not live as long as Google says they do, Some of them will be lucky if they make it to a year old, Whereas others only live for about 2-6 months, Am I saying just don't buy dwarf fish? No but buy with caution, If you ask questions and the seller refuses to give you a straight answer, Don't buy from them.
Constant infections:
No I'm not talking about external infections, I mean internal infections, medications can fix most of them, But torn or damaged internal organs cannot be corrected or 'fixed' or 'cured' with medications, diet, water changes, Etc it can't be repaired there's literally nothing you can do except for making the fish comfortable or as comfortable as possible.
Fish friendship:
We've seen it all before, some of us have fish of different species who are friends, This is usually because both fish are the same gender (Female and female) or (Male and male, No females in the tank, Same with the females)
This is when nature does something truly incredible, (Most common in cramped community tanks unfortunately) Two female fish suddenly lay eggs without a male present, There can be one or two reasons for this, The females were kept for breeding before you got them and are laying unfertilized eggs, Or, Survival kicks in and one female changes it's gender into a male or a male into a female, This is rare but it can happen and result in dwarfisim.
How? Simple once a sibling switches gender the inbreeding will thus begin and spread like wildfire, It quickly gets out of control and you will find yourself over your head in a couple of weeks.
You will run out of room, if there isn't enough room for your fish they will cannibalize each other even if there's enough food for everyone, Again this is survival, they won't stop eating one another until very few or none are left.
Can you prevent something like this from happening?
Yes and No, If you are a solo fish breeder you will not be able to get this under control, If you've got a partner you can divide out the males and females and sell them to each other or clients if you have any, Coming prepared before starting any breeding project is always the best route, For example: During the Spring and Summer months is breeding season for your fish or pairs, For egg layers they will not need this process so feel free to gloss over it, For live barers, During the mentioned months keep the males and females together, When the Fall and Winter rolls around move the females and place them into a tank where they can relax and just be a fish, or start/stop whenever YOU the breeder/owner needs a break so that way you don't get overwhelmed and can bring in new genetic lines, though if you are breeding for profit, any males or females should always be selected carefully, In other words be as nit-picky as much as you want but always ALWAYS go in person and if you can't, ask for several videos of the fish you are interested in, Never just take their word for it.
That'd be like leaving me with a baby and saying 'Okay have fun Hasty, I'm going to Japan for a month!' I would be either completely insane or terrified of infants for the rest of my life, Why? Because simply leaving someone with a baby is like getting a fish without asking questions and then things go fins up and you're screwed because the parent or previous owner is not responding to your emails, texts or calls, Scary right?
'What do you mean by nit-picky?'
Judge the fish, Is the tail longer than the dorsal fins? Are the fins longer than the body of the fish? Does the fish look sickly compared to the rest? Maybe the fish swims differently than the rest, You have to see that and ask yourself 'Do I want to introduce that into my breeding program?' Fish genetics are the most complicated thing to a lot of people, Confusing as well.
Let me show you what genetic code makes a Black Lace Angelfish as an example.
Sire:
D / +,+ / +,+/+,+ / +,+ / +,+ / +,+ / +
Dam:
+ / D, +,+ / +,+ / +,+ / +,+ / +,+ / +,+ +/+
(Both genetic codes go on longer than that but this is just an example.) What does all of that mean?
So in other words your Black Lace Angelfish has the following genetics on both parents sides.
Silver 25%
Black Lace 50%
and Double Black 25%
A fish is only really ever a 'purebred' in it's original origins, Or wild without modern genetics ever being introduced, A fish will always be crossed with a different colour genetic even if your fish are all the same colour or breed, one day a fish will hatch or be born and look different, So say if you breed Super Red Koi Angelfish but one fry out of 100 hatches and grows up completely black with a single red or yellow or orange spot or Koi speckled fins, this comes from it's ancestry, From either it's Dam or Sire, it is impossible to tell.
This can also happen with live barers too, though in both cases is quite rare, No it's not a bad thing it's just how the genetics or gene pool turned out.
I did not mean for this to become some what of a biology lesson x..x Sorry about that, I had thought of posting about fish genetics but I was worried that I might bore everyone.
More genetics talk:
Genotype and Phenotype
As mentioned precentage above, These are all factors of Geneotype and Phenotype, No two are exactly a like unless inbred, Inbreeding causes a chain of broken Genotypes and Phenotypes, Causing a list of birth defects, Kinked spines, Internal failure, etc, If avoided, Most Genotypes and Phenotypes are strong and slowly over time new Genotypes and Phenotypes can be introduced provided that neither of the two are from the same place or familial lines, To make sure your fish are not inbred, The best thing you can do is get the Dam from one breeder and the Sire from a different one entirely, This process should be repeated once every year for serious competitive breeders and once every 5-10 years for small new breeders, provided either has the space to do so.
Broken Genotypes and Phenotypes:
In most cases this is what causes dwarfism as well but inbreeding, poor living conditions, poor diet and overall bad husbandry and misinformation is ultimately the final nail in the literal coffin.
Should I be a fish breeder?
Yes, but make sure to do it the right way, Seek out a mentor and meet up as much as possible, They are there to teach you so ask all the questions you want and make sure to take notes and study, Do a lot of studying, No you don't need a PHD or Masters Degree but knowing what you're doing is better than not knowing.
Anything else?
Yes, If you're not sure, Take a step back and picture it, Do you have the time, space and money to afford a breeding project? What is in the most demand and can I get a pair of 2 or 4? Wrack your brain with the hard stuff first, don't just dive into the 'easy' stuff that's how you end up in a dire situation where you might have more fry than you've got space for and no clients or family/friends willing to buy your fry or fish.
How should I measure tank size?
There are two ways, The one inch per gallon or the irrisponsible way 1 fish per gallon, So if a fish gets to 6 inches long or tall you would want to keep that fish in a 55 gallon tank or larger, If a fish gets 12-14 inches long than that fish should be kept in an aquarium of 400-1,200 gallons or larger, This is where having enough or more than enough space needs to be a top priority.
Space is vital, Would you like it if I put tape or paint on your floor and had you step into it's parameters and expecting you to live within those parameters? You would not be able to step out of them, expand or ask for more space, You wouldn't like that would you? Neither do your fish, of course like every pet they can't speak and tell us 'Hey my tank is too small, I need a bigger one before I get sick and die, Can you get me a bigger tank?' If they could speak and ask us for a larger aquarium they would.
I know I keep going off topic but it's my way of giving your minds a break from my science lingo.
Hopefully I cleared some things up and if not please feel free to ask me and I will try and get back to you as soon as possible but I have been busy as of late.
That's all I've got for you for now, Byee! until next time!
Mostly Sunny with some High Clouds
