Do my Cacatuoides Orange Flash fry look stunted / deformed?

[davidjp1982]

I'm concerned over the health of my first batch of apisto fry - I only ended up with 5 at the 2 month stage (all but about 10 didn't last more than a few weeks) - I know the father wasn't the most amazing specimen I always thought he looked a little stunted maybe but I have noticed that the youngsters I have now seem very pale and quite "s" shaped. What do you guys think?

 

[Jonathan A]

pic 1/2 and 2nd to last look like they may be a bit stunted.

 

[gerald]

As Mike noted in another recent post, cacatuoides have been selectively bred for color and finnage at the expense of all other traits. Many of the domesticated fancy strains end up with a high proportion of badly-shaped heads and bodies. Water quality and diet can certainly affect fry and juvenile development too, including the mother's diet prior to spawning, which determines the egg yolk nutritional quality.