Hi there,
The fishes here is the result of one of my breeding experiments. Sometimes, I do outcross fishes of different strains and which are totally unrelated. Why you might ask? Well, its because I am curious of the outcome of these crosses. Often, the resulting fish might not be of any standard and might not even be worth keeping.
However, I have to stress that while some breeders might think that it is a a waste of time and valuable space outcrossing strains and later on not carry on with the resultant line, I find that the real advantage that you get as breeder from doing this is that you will learn a lot more about a particular strain genetically than if you dont do an experimental outcross. The information and experience that you gain beats any theory that you might have read anywhere. It is your experience and is often unique in nature. Something that money cant buy.
Learning from the process, the info you gathered will assist you in answering questions like; are my fishes weak because it has been inbred for too many generations or because of the living conditions that I have provided them? It would be easier to answer those questions if you actually do an outcross and find that with the same conditions, the “new” outcrossed strain fares better, is more robust, more lively and ever engaging. This has occurred to me before and in the case of the fishes you see in this thread, they are more vibrant in terms of colour, is more active and is more resilient than the earlier bluegrass line from which it originated from.
How do I know that it is more resilient? Well, I purposely overstocked a tank with these fishes and didnt change the water for 2 weeks. The fishes got a bit sick, appear sluggish and stopped eating. The next step I did was to change the water and put in some medicine (Which I know will work most of the time. Higly concentrated Methylene Blue and Yellow powder.) and the fishes got well fast, pretty fast in fact, back to their original tenacity.
I find these fishes to be very jewel like and they possess the Blau gene too.
What is the outcross then Ishykiel?
Here’s the answer, they are product of an outcross between a US Blue Grass line and the Japan Blue strain that I have covered in the earlier post. This might explain the brilliance of the resultant progeny. The fishes that you see in this thread is the fourth generation(F4). The spotted tail patterns of the Blue Grass have become a blurred mass. This is why most breeders would not want to outcross fishes. They do not want to mess up existing patterns and other favorable traits. It also explains why most breeders carry out linebreeding and only outcross with other strains when they are sure of the results. Where does that surety come from? Their own experience and that of others.
As you can see, the Blue Grass have lost most of their trademark Nike logo. In fact, it has disappeared totally in most of them, leaving a shiny silverish green colour on the body of the fish. I think that most breeders in Taiwan, Singapore and in other parts of the world prefer Bluegrass guppies with the Nike pattern.
Nevertheless, it was enjoyable having this line while it lasted. The fishes you see here are very hardy and breeds profusely. I have stopped this line as I don’t have enough space for it and it is more of an experiment to identify dominant genes.
I find the greenish blue or turquoise colour of this fishes mesmerizing. They have the potential to be developed further as a new strain but no matter what, these fishes will still possess the Blue Grass characteristic of throwing Red Grasses. Even if it doesnt really look like a Grass, that particular gene seems to be ever present.
Hey. If you guys have done outcrossings youself, dont forget to leave some comments and insights yah.
Cheers!
Ishykiel
