

Mixing Fry(babies) NOT

Hi Ron,

        I think it might sound clearer for Chris if we called the various 
forms of gardneri "populations" rather than "strains." They aren't really 
strains, just exact locations. Chris, the African "name" (in this case) AFTER 
the species name (i.e. gardneri) is usually the location where that 
particular form of the species -- gardneri in this case -- was collected. It 
might be the name of a local village, landmark, river, road, forest, etc... 
but something that identifies the location of THAT population. During the 
1960's and 1970's it was discovered (or confirmed) that many different 
populations of the same species of killies would interbreed but that the fry 
were often sterile. The scientific sense of what makes a species is not as 
simple as we lay guys think of it. Because of the complex reality of a 
"species" it was decided that it is best to breed pure populations if at all 
possible. This helps to insure the survival of that location from a 
conservation POV and helps prevent the creation of crosses within a species 
that end up sterile or partly sterile. That said, if you just want an 
aquarium strain of pretty fish and are willing to risk the sterility, you can 
raise the fry together and just have fun. Just let the next guy or gal know 
that the fish they are getting from you are an aquarium strain (not 
population) created from crossing two populations of gardneri. Aquarium 
strains can be bigger, prettier, more fertile and healthier than some pure 
populations. 30 years ago most killifish in the hobby were just aquarium 
strains (maybe pure populations, maybe not) and some had been maintained, 
without new blood, for 50 years.

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