Seahorse Genetics....

[mikencarol]

This may be opening a big can of worms, but who is the best resource for information about Genetics....specifically size and color? I have Reidi fry 5 weeks old and 3 weeks old...all look exactly like their parents...dark with some white when they flash their colors. I am tickled to death to have them but I'm wondering where the yellows, oranges and reds come from. I know about the color of the tank and surroundings...but is there some Genetic factors involved in their coloration???? How old are they when you see their final coloration?

 

[rayjay]

All I know is that each seahorse has a colouration range it can change within at will, but they cannot change to another colour if it is not in the genes for that particular seahorse.
Within any species I've seen a range of colour patterns and even with the same species in the same tank and from the same hatching, they may not all look alike.
Also, moving them from one tank to another may change their need for colour pattern.
Even knowing this many people buy coloured ones at higher cost, only to have those preferred colours disappear when placed into their tanks. (including me)
No one knows how to deliberately get a seahorse to change to a colour they want it to, at least that I've been able to find.
I'm still experimenting like many others.

 

[mikencarol]

Thanks rayjay....I know I should be happy...thanks to you, Dan and Abbie,Beth,Ruth,Anne and Jim Welsh, for just having them and getting them this far....but I was just thinking that down the line somewhere I would like to experiment with getting some color and size(mine are pretty big...6-6.5 inches). I guess we all think "What if.............!" I REALLY appreciate all the help I get from you all. I hope all the new people in Seahorses have the intelligence to listen to you people who have done it and gain from your knowledge and your mistakes:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: