Breeding Co-op

[Evan]

I have read about hobbiests with breeding Co-ops having great success.

What I talking about people sharing fish from their stock with others for breeding purposes.  

This would allow everyone to learn much faster.  Everyone could share their experiences about what worked and what crosses made what etc.  This is much faster than one person going it alone.

I would really like to do this one day. I can't do it now but that won't stop me from babbling about it

Does anyone here have one right now?


Here are some general thoughts that I have about it:

Fish would be traded given for a time period  determined by the owners.

The owners would determine before breeding who was entitled to what if there were any breeding success.

You have to think about the possibility of your fish dying in someone elses care.  It would happen eventually..  An agreement would have to be made before hand.  Ie- trade for a certain fish or cash exchange.

A log or an ongoing article could be kept about the groups success and failure.  Maybe even here at the OVAS website.


Then there is the whole QT issue.

That is long  winded enough for now.  

Anyone?

[gvv]

This is actually delicate issue, as I would not give anyone my fish unless I will be completly sure that the person will take REALLY VERY good care of it/them.
And if I'm not so happy of the fish, or have a lot of them, than come to the monthly auction and you will get it for "Co-op" price .

[Evan]

yes of course you would have to trust that the person you are involved with is competent.  

Getting rid of the fish is not really what I meant.   This would be a quality fish that you would like to breed.

You may not have time or even a suitable mate.  Someone else might.

Then after the whole deal you could have your fishy back.

In using the co-op you could aquire more fishes through the co-opertive breeding and further your collection.  (More fishes= )

[sarahbella]

i dont see how anything really good could come out of such an arrangement.

I would have no problems lending out, for example, one of my bettas to a trusted friend if breeding that particular fish actually lent something positive to the genepool, but i certainly wouldnt pimp out my boy to any tom xxxx or harry that took a shining to betta breeding.  

free or more fish doesnt neccessarily mean better fish and anyone who takes on breeding OWES it to the rest of the fishkeeping community to be very selective when increasing any population, not just breed with the first or only available specimen.  *in my opinion anyway*

[Julie]

It is a practice amongst some discus breeders.
Similar to lets say belgian horses.  The stud is housed at the farm and the mares are bred.

Julie

[Evan]

thank you Julie.

The point of the whole thing is not to breed crap fish, make money or get free fish.  It is to breed fish that you want to breed anyway.  But thanks for the sermon.

I said in my first post that you would do this with someone you trusted not a random person.

Here is an example:  I have a nice snakeskin discus.  He would be a good fish to breed.  There is a pic in my photo gallery.  If you look at my other shots you can see that I do not have a suitable mate.  Somebody else does.

So both fish have good qualities that we would like to have in other fish so they are bred.  Many fry are produced.  Niether person has room for all,  but within the group you do.  This allows you to grow them out  (Discus take approx 1-2 years to mature) and select the best ones.  Then you can breed them and so on further improving the qualities you want.  

Now if you (as I do) have different discus you would like to breed you would need many many tanks.  Not really possible.

The group would allow you to work together towards the same goal and everyone within would get the benefit of others experience and gene pool.   To go it alone would take far longer.  

It could be done with other fish as well.  I know it is done successfully.

So does anyone have thoughts about how this kind of arrangement would work.

[mseguin]

I don't mean to discourage you, but I don't think it would work very well.  For one thing, horses (or dogs, etc) tend to live longer and are much less susceptible to change than a prize winning discus.

[Evan]

I know that it works.  Others do it.

I am looking for people with ideas on how they think a co-op would/should work, not that it can't.  

Please, no more posts that this is not possible unless you have something other than "because" to say.  If you don't like the idea, move on and let the post die

If you want to discuss problems that the group would run into fine, there are many potential issues.


BTW -  An injury for horses during breeding is a broken leg.  We all know what happen when a horse breaks a leg.

[pegasus]

In our Breeder Association, we sell or exchange to other members our fry or our breeders as we would to our whosalers, we give to friends   . Each member has at least one pride breeding pair and it is to his advantage to have some of his juvies growing up in someone else's tanks. ( I should know  :cry:    )
The Breeder Association is based on thrust and friendship.

[Evan]

That would be bad to lose your best pair and all offspring.   It would really suck if you were a couple generations in. :cry:

I agree that it would have to be based on friendship and trust.

I think the most difficult part would be to find people you trust who are interested.

[aidensmomma2000]

When I first read the title I was thinking it was like one of those cookie parties- where everyone brings a whack of cookies and then you trade up and come home with a bunch of different stuff  :lol:

[Woody]

The Breeders Co-op is actually a good idea and a world wide exchange and lend is going on the Goodied species of fish. Many species are only kept in captivity and members actually lend out the males of the species to breeders in other parts of the world. Once the females are impreginated, the males are returned to their owners.
This way the gene pool is strengthened and generations of inbreeding are halted. This is usually done by an exchange of males, I send person A three of my best males and he sends me three of his, when the task is done, they are sent back and mine are returned.
As Pegasus states the Breeders Association would actually be more than an temporary exchange, but you would gain from one persons years of experience and patience, and be rewarded with new qualities in your line of species.

And you would also benefit from the friendships that develop.

Woody