Cull or not?

[Dani92]

Hi I've got a baby guppie (6-8 weeks). He seems to be doing well in size but he has a weird thing on his belly.. to me it looks like a conjoined twin? Even has the fins, pictures to show. Is it best to leave it be and what will happen will happen, or cull it now rather than a long drawn out death? Can't decide whats for the best.

 

[snork6]

It's honestly up to you. I would cull it because I only like having the best and strongest fry in my tank. If it doesn't seem to be hurting the fry itself, I say keep it.

 

[DutchMuch]

keep it

 

[thrujenseyes]

Aww poor baby. If it's not in any distress and it's eating and pooping I'd certainly keep the little guy.
Looks like he beat some crazy odds so far, he deserves a fair shot.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

thats rare.. extremely, yes thats two fish stuck together, However if you want to keep it alive. The fish is female, if its able to survive 6-8 weeks i'd say let it live as long as it can

 

[Baker]

Turn it into a breeder

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

Turn it into a breeder

This Is a fish that did not divide properly, this is not a trait, it's somewhat of a mutant so to speak

 

[Dani92]

For anyone is interested i have kept HER alive. Shes doing quite well, considering. Shes a yellow leopard skin. If she breeds then she breeds, like the later comment says, its not a trait.. she lives with the community, so we will see what happens.

 

[Demeter32]

Can we have an update picture or two?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

For anyone is interested i have kept HER alive. Shes doing quite well, considering. Shes a yellow leopard skin. If she breeds then she breeds, like the later comment says, its not a trait.. she lives with the community, so we will see what happens.

That's debatable. Identical twins do occur in some human families on a more regular basis than others and so genetics may play a role. Personally, as with any 'abnormal' result from breeding, I'd say that she should not be allowed to breed. Keeping her alive is an individual decision... its between you and the fish. But, allowing her to breed and potentially (and its likely a really really small probability) pass this on to a next generation is just poor practice. It will affect more than just you if to allow her to breed, and pass any of her fry on from you. If these fish will never leave your home, then there's no issues with allowing her to breed. The chances of this happening again with her offspring or offspring of her offspring is very low, but... there's a chance that it would happen slightly more frequently with her offspring than other fish.


Granted this is about human twins... but DNA is DNA.
https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/traits/twins

Monozygotic (MZ) twins, also called identical twins, occur when a single egg cell is fertilized by a single sperm cell. The resulting zygote splits into two very early in development, leading to the formation of two separate embryos. MZ twins occur in 3 to 4 per 1,000 births worldwide. Research suggests that most cases of MZ twinning are not caused by genetic factors. However, a few families with a larger-than-expected number of MZ twins have been reported, which indicates that genetics may play a role. It is possible that genes involved in sticking cells together (cell adhesion) may contribute to MZ twinning, although this hypothesis has not been confirmed. Most of the time, the cause of MZ twinning is unknown.