Q: Breeding population (I'm my own Grandpa)

[dissident]

Lets say I get 50 Cherry reds (or any type of shrimp) from a home breeder. How many generations will it take untill the inbreading of a paticular strain will start developing non-viable young?

If someone mannages to collect wild shrimp it is a very safe assumption that they are all not from the same genetic line. Even those from a home breeder may not be of the same genetic line but after time, a few generations this home breeder may have a line that is genetically weaker from generations and generations of inbreeding.

[retardo]

I've heard estimates that 6 or 7 generations of inbreeding is where the congenital deformities/mutations start to set in. I have no way of verifying this though since I haven't even had one successful generation hatch for me yet. I haven't heard of any instances either, since it seems some people either sell the offspring (as a small business), give them away, or keep subsequent generations in the same tank as the parents, and there is no real way to discern which are the original parents and which are offspring. in other words, no controlled experiments to see when the weakening happens. At least, none that I have heard of.

[dissident]

I haven’t been able to find anything either. Nor do I have the resources or patience to really try that experiment.
I have 6-10 Cherry Reds I'll mix in with the 50 I get from a breeder to help keep the genetic line stronger I guess.
Around here it seems for Cherry shrimp they only like to sell females (LFS) because of the color and so I can't breed them. It's the worst kind of discrimination, the kind against me!

[STL]

One thought on the subject...since more people have Cherry Shrimp these days it would not seem too difficult to work out a trade with someone. You get say 20 of theirs and send them 20 of yours.

[Tassle]

How many generations will it take untill the inbreading of a paticular strain will start developing non-viable young? This will depend on the genetic makeup of the shrimp.


I've heard estimates that 6 or 7 generations of inbreeding is where the congenital deformities/mutations start to set in. This is probably, at least in part, due to the definition of inbred. Inbred as defined by prior school notes refers to offspring who's parents are related; for most purposes if parents are related within five generations.

Sorry I can't be of more help to you. Generally speaking, you should observe other signs of genetic weakening in the shrimp before still births and infertility become a predominate issue.