Agassizi tails

[Discus Man]

Agassizi are not what I call a very defined species.
I bought some wild caughts from Peru and they are supposed to be from the same collecting station. Out of a few pairs I have one male with an amazing comet like tail with no rings of white or black in the tail.
Another male has a rounder tail with a definate white and black rings. (More like the standard Agasizzi pics).

Both are yellow forms of Agassizi.

Will the round tail have offspring with round tails and the comet with comet or do tails follow the colour variations. i.e. a yellow form can throw blue offspring?

Do round tails come from a different area of the river? Is it a local population has a tail like X?

Any info is appreciated.

 

[Neil]

The tail of an agassizii is largely a function of its maturity. Some species-forms have more characteristic lancet tails than others. I think that the gene for caudal shape is probably recessive and therefore is less important (but may be related to) dominance and maturity. However, if you start with parents showing a desired trait, you are more likely to get, at least some, fry with that trait.

Do round tails come from a different area of the river? Is it a local population has a tail like X?

Both wild and TR strains of agassizii have mophological variability. So I am sure that particular populations in particular parts of a habitat, may well have different fin characteristics. I expect that it is even possible that different collection locations of the same species-form of agassizii have slightly different general fin characteristics, depending on population density, male/female ratios, predation, environmental conditions, etc.

Neil