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Cross Breeding Fish

In: Science

Submitted By rkeith
Words 1176
Pages 5
The focus for this experiment is to cross breed two different species of fish in an attempt to combine certain traits of the two species in the offspring. Research suggests that breeding the common swordtail breed aka the Xiphophorus helleri and the common Platy breed aka Xiphophorus maculatus will result in viable offspring that have the swordtail trait.The objective of this experiment is to determine what percentage of offspring will get the swordtail trait.
Research Question:When breeding six female platies to two male swordtails how many offspring will have the swordtail trait?
Hypothesis: If six sixe female platys bred with two male swordtails then I believe that fifty percent will have the swordtail trait.

Background Research

Scientific names of fish
Kingdom-Animalia
Phylum-Chordata
Class-Actinoptergii
Order-Cyprinodontiformes
FamilyPoecilidae
Scientific name-Xiphophorus maculatus “platy”
Scientific name-Xiphophorus hellerii “green swordtail”
(Source:http://www.itis.gov/)

Platies are little freshwater 5.1-6.4cm fish that live for 3-5 years they were found in South America and now are household pets. Females have a fan shaped anal fin with wide bellies and a dark gravid spot witch is a sign that they are pregnant and as the fish gets more pregnant the gravid spot becomes darker and darker . Males on the other hand have a rod like anal fin and the fish are smaller than the females.

A good ideal living environment these freshwater fish need to have a water temperature of 70-78 degrees for swordtails and 72-78 degrees fahrenheit for platies. Both prefer an open environment with multiple hiding places. Ideal pH is 7-8. These are community fish and will likely get along well.

Nutrition requirements of the platy and swordtail- Both species are grazers and they eat algae,tropical flakes,and tinder plants. A treat for them includes bloodworms, glass worms, brine shrimp and daphnia. They like to be fed two small meals twice a day but more frequently for their fry.
Ideal breeding conditions for the platy and swordtail-When they breed they have a bunch of babies. The platies have up to 50 fry but the swordtails have up to 200 fry. They are both livebearers.The fish will breed in any conditions and will breed if not separated. When the fry are born they are at high risk of being eaten by their mother if they are not quickly separated and placed in a separate tank.

The study of fish is called ichthyology.

The following is a list of equipment I will need for my experiment: 10 gallon fish tank water testing kit- to detect ammonia, pH, nitrates, nitrites, chlorine, alkalinity and hardness so levels will sustain the fish.
Materials:
one ten gallon fish tank fish food-tropical flakes, algae tablets and blood worms fish net-small size thermometer-one isolation tank for fry-one filtration system and extra charcoal filters- aeration system-pump and stone appropriate for a ten gallon tank gravel-2# live plant two straws for breeding box current for fry tank cover with LED light research log to track data such as water testing information, dates, feeding, water changes and breeding information fish-2 male swordtails and 6 female platies camera to take pictures of the process and equipment used
4 mollies to “cycle” the tank before starting breeding experiment water test strips-10 (test water once per week for 8 weeks plus extra) poster board to display graphs and pictures of results
All equipment purchased from Petco

procedure:
1. place fish tank on a sturdy,level surface
2. place rinsed gravel at the bottom of tank evened out through the tank's bottom
3. connect filter to the side of the tank,and insert rinsed charcoal filter
4. hang thermometer inside of the tank facing outward so it can be read
5. connect air hose to air pump and connect aeration stone,put stone at the bottom of the tank and place pump next to tank
6. add various plants to bottom of the tank to give fish hiding places and for scenery
7. fill tank with water
8. plug in filtration pump and aeration pump
9. allow water to reach temperature of 70-78 degrees and cycle for at least a day
10. place bag containing newly purchased cycling fish aka mollys into water still in bag to allow fish acclimate to water temperature
11. cut open bag then dump fish into tank
12. let fish cycle until all ph and etc. levels are normal with testing kit fish also need to be feed twice daily with a pinch of tropical fish flakes
13. once water levels are safe buy the experimenting fish and put in water using the same procedure above
14. remove mollys and donate to the beta tank or to the pet store
15. when having experimenting fish let them acclimate but like before feed them twice a day daily
16. ensure water testing using test strips and approximately a 25% water change weekly. Log all actions in a journal including date and time.
17. after about three weeks of the two male Swordtails and the three female Platies you will be able to see with your eyes if the Platy or Platies are pregnant because they have enlarged abdomens compared to non pregnant fish
18. when it looks like the platies are ready to give birth (approximately 4-6 weeks) keep a close eye on them
19. set up your fry trapping box,get ready to put the mother Platy inside
20. when the platy mother doesn't give birth at that moment the mother will get stressed and abort the premature fry if put in the box too early
21. once the female platy has given birth to the fry take the mother out immediately
22. leave the fry inside the little box for about a week before putting them in the main tank
23. feed the fry a tiny amount of bloodworms or crushed tropical flakes every four hours
24. use two straws and put one end from the filter to the small box and have them both like that so the is a little bit if a current inside the box the fry are in
25. once appropriate size (after about 1 week) count number of fry, log the population and carefully put into tank
26. now let the hybrids grow until they are distinguishably platies or swordtails and start counting platy: Swordtail :

Works Cited:

Alderton,David.Livebearers:understanding Guppies,Mollies,Swordtails and others Irvine:I-5 Press,2004

How to Breed platys (informational). Youtube Video.TravisBear99 17 april,2013 Dawes,John.

“Demystifying the varying Degrees of Swordtails and Platies”.fishchannel.com. April 29 2012 Fishchannel.com/aquarium-fish/swortails-and-platies.aspx.

“Swordtail Platy Hybrid”. Microcosm Aquarium Explorer. 2008 en.microcosmaquariumexplorer.com/wiki/swordtail-platy-hybrid. Detolla.L.J.,S.Srinivas,B.R.Whitaker,C.Andrews.B,Hecker,A.S.Kane,and.R.Reimschuessel.”Guidelines for the care and use of fish in research.”
Journal 37.4(1995):159-73.wed.19 Oct.2015.

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