Possibility of hybrids

Taratron · Post by **Taratron** » 21 Feb 2005, 21:41

Which is of course, something I do NOT want. So here's my question. In one of my planted tanks, I have two albino bristlenoses, each about two inches. In another tank, I had a bristlenose female of unknown species, but she turned out to, ahem, need a break from the aggressive male bn in said tank. So I put the blackbrown female in the tank with the two albinos, and I am rather sure one of the albinos is male; he already is sprouting small tentacles.

I don't have a digital camera, unfortunately, so pictures will have to wait. But how probable is hybridization if I do end up with breeding? If there's a high chance of it, I'll find the female a new home....one thing I cannot stand is hybrids, and I'd hate to breed -any- period.

Zebby · Post by **Zebby** » 21 Feb 2005, 22:40

If you produce hybrids naturaly then there is no problem.

Life will go on.

Fishy411 · Post by **Fishy411** » 22 Feb 2005, 01:26

if they are both Bristlenoses then i dont think ti counts as a hybrid if a normal one breeds with an albino

Taratron · Post by **Taratron** » 22 Feb 2005, 02:13

But the point being that there are hundreds of species of ancistrus.

Barbie, or anyone else who breeds these guys, any advice? How do you tell the species apart, or do you only breed albino to albino?

ChilDawg · Post by **ChilDawg** » 22 Feb 2005, 02:37

Fishy411, almost all if not all Ancistrus spp. are called Bristlenoses, so it could be a case of hybridization if an albino bristlenose breeds with a normal BN.

Post by **Barbie** » 22 Feb 2005, 07:56

It would take someone far more proficient than I, with some really good pictures to be able to guesstimate whether or not your two different "types" of plecos are actually the same or different species, IMO. I purchased two different "strains" of albino bristlenose, in order to outcross them and open the gene pool. The resulting fry were colored, not albino, which should not have happened, had they been the same species. Neither had dark eyes. Needless to say I separated the parents immediately. By the time you've got to worry about any spawning, maybe you can afford to add in yet one more tank to house the girl in ;).

Barbie

Taratron · Post by **Taratron** » 22 Feb 2005, 12:04

Barbie, I assumed you culled the offspring?

Albinism, I thought, was not a true species, or even subspecies. So could it be possible, however small the chance, that the albinos I have could be just the albino phase of said colored female?

Gads, coloreds, whites, albinos....it sounds almost like a racist question!

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 22 Feb 2005, 12:26

You're right, albinism is a colour variation on a specie. Same thing goes for "long fins", by the way.

The big problem here is that there are so many differnet species of ancistrus that look ALMOST EXACTLY the same, to the extent that you have to measure or count bits (fin-rays for instance) of their body to tell them apart.

I'm not expert enough to even attempt.

Most ancistrus sold in fish-shops is "Common Bristlenose", but no-one really knows if it's ONE specie, or a couple of species, and which one it would be [there's about three clear candidates and some more that are "near enough"].

If you have an albino, how do you know if it's the SAME specie or a different one from the brown one? If they are the same specie, you wouldn't really get a hybrid if you breed the albino and brown one. You'd just get a bunch of brown ones with a genetic setup to go albino [so if you inbred your offspring from this, some would come out albino. Not that I'm suggesting this sort of inbreeding, but that's how the albino's were created in the first place, most likely].

Of course, if they are shop-bought, you also don't REALLY know that the parents were actually the same specie in the first place... Or the grand-parents, etc, etc.

--
Mats