Black schultzei with gold flash schultzei?

[junaid]

Hi guys I was wandering if it was possible for these two cats to shoal together and if they bred together that they would make deformed mixed genes in their fry or will half take one parents genes whilst the other takes the other parents genes?

[Corycory]

Since no one answered, I will. My bronze albino corys and my gold lasers decided one day that they are in love with each other and produced hybrids that are very healthy and grew up faster than their non-mixed siblings. The hybrids look something in between a bronze and a laser cory, almost like a gold shoulder shultzei but I can't tell you how the genes mixed there. My guess is that the shultzei will hybidize too regardless of colour but people try to avoid that.

[Karsten S.]

Hi,

I wouldn't suggest to do that.
Of course they will cross as it is the same species, the black ones are just a man made colour variant of C. schultzei.
As far as I know this trait does not follow the dominant-recessive heredity scheme, so I would expect mixed ones just look like darker C. schultzei.
It happens rather frequently that the black colour fades away in the offspring if the parents are not selected appropriately. This trait seems to be not "stable".

I personally think that we have more than enough nice cory species that are already difficult enough to tell apart.
There is no need to mix species and forms.

Cheers,