KCaquatics
Premium Member
Hello everyone, I'm posting this as a seperate thread so not to fill up my other thread with non essential clown breeding information. As a breeder it is my responsibility to cull fish with certain undesirable traits. Cull or Culling is the practice of killing fish with deformaties or other non desirable traits to keep them from passing that trait on to offspring. With my last hatch I only had to cull 2 fish, one which had developed a misformed gill and another with non uniform coloration but that doesn't make it any easier to do. I read online and found that putting them in the freezer was the most humane as they would fall asleep as it got colder and then be killed after falling asleep. Even with that I don't like to do it. After you work so hard to keep them alive it seems idiotic to then kill them later. I understand the purpose, so the traits aren't passed down and then you end up with clownfish being the new goldfish with bulging eyes and other deformities you often see in goldfish. That being said it doesn't make it any easier to purposefully kill a fish. That is why I would like to get some of your opinions on a little project I would like to start if you all can help me figure out the kinks so to speak. Unless I am mistaken the whole purpose is to keep these fish from breeding. So I would like to start a project where I give away these fish to someone who WILL NOT be breeding them but instead just enjoying them while they live out their lives. Also since I will be giving them away in some type of raffle ever person may have a chance to get a "designer clown" which as you know can be expensive. Not to mention it will be fun. They can make a great fish they just may have some quality that is undesirable for breeding.
For example, here is a fish I just found from this hatch that would need to be culled. As you can see from the first picture he looks completely normal
[attachment=1]Cull.JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=0]Cull1.jpeg[/attachment]
But when seen from the other side his coloration isn't uniform. Where it should stop it blends together rather than having sharp lines where the white and black/orange meet.
This fish is the only cull I have found so far in this hatch but I may find others upon my closer inspection before putting each clown up for sale. As you can see the fish is healthy and otherwise would still make a great pet but its just not suitable for breeding. Obviously there is no way for me to ensure that whoever recieves the clown doesn't breed it (if you have a great idea on how that is possible please let me know lol). So I guess what I am looking for is everyones opinion on the subject of whether I can trust that no one will breed these "culls" or if I should just keep killing them to ensure that doesn't happen. As well as any ideas on how to go about making sure these special clowns are taken by trustworthy and capable individuals. Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thanks for reading.
For example, here is a fish I just found from this hatch that would need to be culled. As you can see from the first picture he looks completely normal
[attachment=1]Cull.JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=0]Cull1.jpeg[/attachment]
But when seen from the other side his coloration isn't uniform. Where it should stop it blends together rather than having sharp lines where the white and black/orange meet.
This fish is the only cull I have found so far in this hatch but I may find others upon my closer inspection before putting each clown up for sale. As you can see the fish is healthy and otherwise would still make a great pet but its just not suitable for breeding. Obviously there is no way for me to ensure that whoever recieves the clown doesn't breed it (if you have a great idea on how that is possible please let me know lol). So I guess what I am looking for is everyones opinion on the subject of whether I can trust that no one will breed these "culls" or if I should just keep killing them to ensure that doesn't happen. As well as any ideas on how to go about making sure these special clowns are taken by trustworthy and capable individuals. Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thanks for reading.