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confused about bristlenoses!

Posted: 08 Apr 2011, 22:32
by RisingSun
Hi Everyone,
haven't been on here a while.
I got 5 L144 baby bristlenoses (about 5cm long) and 5 longfinned albino baby bristlenoses (also about 6-9cm long with tail) in a tank together.
Now I went in to feed them the other evening and to my surprise found 5 tiny brown bristlnose babies about 5mm long. They had no yolksacks left on them so I'm guessing are about 7-10 days old now.
My question now is, how can my L144s or albinos have made these babies when they are still "babies" themselves. There is no other bristlnoses in the tank. And how come the tiny babies are BROWN!? :-\
any answers are greatly appretiated.
So thanks in advance, Marion

Re: confused about bristlenoses!

Posted: 08 Apr 2011, 22:48
by MatsP
Because L144 is closely related to the common bristlenose, and the albino is therefore close enough that they can breed together. However, the "broken-ness" in the colour manufactureing in the skin cells that makes the two forms have no brown colour is not the same genetics, so when you cross the two, you get "normal" coloured brown ones - since the L144 genes and the Albino genes both contribute half the genes to the offspring.

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Mats