Clownfish Inbreeding

[jesusfreak316]

If I purchased a pair of clowns from somebody as a pair and they came from the same parents, would their offspring mate and grow up deformed?

 

[Javeo]

most likely, saltwater fish do not respond well to inbreeding as the chnaces of it occuring in the wild are very small. FW fish are better able to cope since many occur in isolated lakes and ponds.

 

[blface]

I would think in the wild they inbreed all of the time. In their host anenome usually their is one pair w/ many juvi's from previous spawns. When the female dies the male usually becomes the new female while one of the largest juvi's becomes the new male.
This would be an inbreeding.

 

[Javeo]

young clowns usually dont stay around the same area they are spawned, they are usually carried some way off by the currents.

 

[traveller7]

I would think in the wild they inbreed all of the time. In their host anenome usually their is one pair w/ many juvi's from previous spawns.

I am not aware of data supporting egg through juvenile staying in the area of the original nest. They don't appear to stick around during the larval stage

 

[jesusfreak316]

I agree with traveller7 and Javeo. The chances of a clownfish surviving after they hatch and grow to a juvenile stage in the wild is very slim.

 

[phender]

Inbreeding doesn't have to cause deformities. It just increases the chances that a reccesive mutant gene will be expressed.
According to the people who breed clowns for a living, you can go 5 generations of direct inbreeding before you generally start to see problems.
Almost, if not all the black ocellaris on the market have been inbred more than a couple generations.

 

[jesusfreak316]

Wow! I did not know that. So when you purchase a pair of baby onyx percula clowns from someone like Rod Buehler and they are brothers, they won't have problems when they eventually breed?

 

[phender]

Wow! I did not know that. So when you purchase a pair of baby onyx percula clowns from someone like Rod Buehler and they are brothers, they won't have problems when they eventually breed?

That is correct, unless one of Rod's parent fish is carrying some weird mutant reccesive gene, which isn't very likely. The chances of weird deformities etc. is way over blown. Domestic animals have been inbred for centuries to fix positive traits. What CAN happen over many generations, is a lack of vigor in the offspring. This usually presents itself as immune system problems.

 

[Javeo]

yes as demonstrated by pure bred dogs, almost all breeds have some genetic problem.

 

[MarinaP]

you can go 5 generations of direct inbreeding before you generally start to see problems.

F10, actually :eek2: . I could not believe my ears, but the source of this info was very trustworthy.

 

[Javeo]

The reason for this could be because they are so outbred naturally. bad genetic mutations only occur when we take a hand in them,

 

[dantodd]

javeo, what is your experience in breeding or studying clownfish that leads you to these conclusions?

 

[Javeo]

none at all, im just a bio student

 

[dantodd]

Thanks, just wondering.

We're all here to learn and I can't wait to have my first clutch of fry to raise!

 

[Javeo]

thats ok dear.
Just dont try to raise hybrid

 

[MarinaP]

ust dont try to raise hybrid

Why is that?

 

[Javeo]

coz hybrids are bad

 

[MarinaP]

coz hybrids are bad

Says who?

 

[Javeo]

Well dear they are, they tend to spoil the gene pool. take for example many bird parks that have sterilised most of their macaws because so many are hybrids. It may sate out curiousity to produce strange things but its really not so good in the long rn when we may need pure stock to release into the wild agian