Dawn,
This is really interesting to me, what differences do you find between captive-bred and wild-caught fish?
Do you think the differences are because the weaker aren't killed off by predators?
Do you find the runts generally are "off" inside, or can they indeed grow into just as good a fish as the fastest-growing fry? I've heard with bettas you often get the most interesting colors and some good finnage from the runts/slowest growing. Two of our most special (color-wise) bettas were runts
We've got a spawn now that contains 1/4 electric blue jack dempseys. The color has been around awhile, they say, but they were always culled as slow-growing off-colored runts by the breeder. It took awhile for folks to realize they grew into the amazing bright blue-colored and less aggressive jack dempsey that now sell for $50 at 3 inches. The high price is because it is so difficult to actually grow them out to that size since they have a high percentage of deformities.
Could the differences be early nutrition? We raised a few spawns of bettas outdoors and they grew much faster and developed better colors and personalities than the ones raised indoors on live foods with frequent water changes - that despite the fact the outdoor ones NEVER got a single water change - their water was murky green, and they only got fed once a day - the rest of the day they had to find their own food. I'm thinking sunlight, algae, wild insects with the broader access to nutrients may be making the difference. There's that theory of methylation - that access to ideal nutrients at the right developmental time switches the right genetic expression off or on for ideal development.
--- In tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com, Dawn Moneyhan <dawnshungryeyes4u2c@...> wrote:The differences in captive bred fish vs wild caught also shows up during necropsy and lab work. While we eliminate the risk from predators by breeding/raising captive, what it does to their immune systems and overall genetics over time can be drastic in some species.Â
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> DawnÂ
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> Dawn Moneyhan
> Aquatics Specialist/Nutritionist
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