cacatuoides genetics

[cootwarm]

I just lost my only female Orange Flash cac. :cry: Now my male has no mate. They are/were in a tank with about 14 juvies from their first spawning. I have extra females amoung the juvies, but I want to introduce some 'fresh blood' instead. I plan to pick up another couple female Orange Flash cacs from a different breeder, but probably not until spring.

In the meantime, I have an extra female Triple Red cac that I'd like to try out with him. I read a previous post a month or two ago that discussed the OF/TR ratio when crossing these 2 varieties. Could someone direct me to that message or repost the info?

What kind of results should I expect by crossing the male OF with a wild caught female?

Which of these crosses would produce a healthier offspring?

Thanks,
Michael

 

[Discus Man]

Since no one else offered an answer...
Both the OF/ TR cross and the OF/ wild cross will produce F1 (genetically speaking) offspring with a fresh set of genes as they will be unrelated blood lines. All spawn should be as healthy as normally expected.

The ratio of OF to TR I am not sure of. Z-man says in his article that OF isn't even a true strain yet and will throw reds. That might mean you would end up with a very small ratio of OF offspring.
His article is on his site or
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/apistogramma_cacatuoides.php

 

[cootwarm]

Hi Discus Man,

Thanks for the info. I'm beginning to find out what you're talking about. Three of my juvies are starting to show male colors. One is definately showing OF colors, while the other 2 show TF markings.

I'm going to raise the entire batch (all 14 :lol: ) to maturity for a pool to select future breeders from. Only those 3 are showing male colors so far. About 6-8 show definite female marking, with the remainder so far apparently undecided.

Do the females that have more red or orange on their fins, pass a trait of more coloration on to their offspring?
Assuming of course that the more colorful males were also selected.

But also, do these more colorful females pass these traits to offspring when crossed with a wild caught male?

Thanks,
Michael

 

[fishboy20]

You would be better off if you are looking at getting more red color to breed females as well as males with the red coloration. You will still probably get some variation as the strain isn't stable. Breeding the red to wilds would most likely result in 50% of a mix of red X wilds, 25% wilds and 25% red. But even then you will likely get a mixture. Plus the original fish is hard to beat. But they are good for new blood into any cacatuoides line.

 

[Discus Man]

Do the females that have more red or orange on their fins, pass a trait of more coloration on to their offspring?...But also, do these more colorful females pass these traits to offspring when crossed with a wild caught male?

We must remember not to assume mendelian genetics as colour can be blended. The answer to your questions above are yes, but I don't agree that the offspring will be either OF or TR especially when crossed back to a wild.
Many of your reds won't have enough red to be called triple red and would be red or double red by description.
At a total guess a TR female crossed to a wild male will produce a few TR, many reds and a few wild looking ones.