Why breed siblings?

[Auratus]

I see all this stuff about "sibling pairs".... I also read that it's safe to breed siblings for up to three generations before having problems.

Why would you want to do this? Just for pretty fish or what? I see a lot of people complain about inbred fish like guppies and mollies but I'm starting to see it happen with bettas but not as badly. In 10 years are bettas going to be really weak from all the inbreeding or is it ok?

 

[coconutman39]

ok the reason is that the sibling pairs have the same phenotypes usually and genotypes most of the time. this makes for an excellent breeding pair because all of the offspring will have really well lineage. most breeders will actually keep the best bettas, male and female, from a spawn and raise them. they then can spawn them and get more good lineage, better then before. for three generations this can happen, after that some genetic variation must be introduced into the gene pool because of natural reasons and new deformaties coming up in spawns. you can do this by bringing in another bought betta with same phenotype(and genotype if possible) or ive heard of people spawning the newest spawn with great grand parents and aunts or uncles. its all about how to get the best and strongest bettas. humans differ from bettas so dont try this at home.

 

[SConrad]

humans differ from bettas so dont try this at home.

lmao!! thats just.......gross

but it seems to me that they'd be week eventually too

 

[Auratus]

Well, for all people know it could affect bettas like it does humans. They could all be stupid or retarded and we wouldn't know...
I mean after 2 generations of inbreeding dogs you can tell how messed up in the head they are, maybe it is the same with fish. Maybe they wont have physical difformaties yet but they could have mental ones.

 

[Sorrell]

I mean after 2 generations of inbreeding dogs you can tell how messed up in the head they are, maybe it is the same with fish. Maybe they wont have physical difformaties yet but they could have mental ones.

Actually, it is very common to breed daughter to father in dogs for confromation and intelligence. Extremely common actually in the obedience ring, but same thing, not for too many generations. With dogs it's mainly just done once or twice. I would guess if you have encountered stupid pups that are inbred, the parents were stupid too

 

[endparenthesis]

Fish have so many babies that usually the ones where genetic problems are occurring from inbreeding die or are culled anyway.

 

[rollntider]

I will do some inbreeding but not much. I will do 1 generation at the most then bring another gene pool in. i willtry to have 4 different lines. i am already working out my chart...

 

[wuvmybetta]

Here's the best explanation I've seen about why it's ok...


http/www.waynesthisandthat.com/brotosister.htm

And here's what BettaTalk says about siblings

It is always best to get both your male and female from the same breeder. If at all possible, you should buy a brother and sister. If no siblings are available then ask the breeder you are buying from to select a suitable mate for your betta with compatible genes. This is a very important detail too often overlooked by beginners! Unless you have both pieces of the puzzle, you will not be able to successfully reproduce the traits of the strain you have selected. It is imperative that you deal with a breeder that has extensive genetics knowledge otherwise he or she will not be able to adequately match a pair for your needs.

 

[shrks1fan]

Also keep in mind in the wild it is quite likely Bettas well end up breeding with a relative, quite possibly a sibling or parent as they all live in the same area (pond, lake, rice paddy field, whatever, but not an ocean) and they seem to do just fine in the wild. The explanations given above by Wuv are excellent, it's sheer numbers.

Linda
http/www.pet-emporium.com
http/www.cooking-fanatics.com