Shrimp Incest?

[Human Shrimp]

If two shrimp from the same mother breed, will it have the consequences of incest like we see in other animals, or will it be just fine?

[Nat]

It's probably fine. It's usually fine in other animals, too. (And plants.)

 

Breeding related animals just means you see more of whatever their genes cause, good or bad. Breed two red shrimp, get some that are even redder. Breed two chickens with no tails, get some chicks that die before hatching time. Breed two horses with lots of white, sometimes get a foal that's all white and dies from internal problems. Breed two merle-colored dogs, get some puppies that are deaf and/or blind. I have not heard of any specific genes in shrimp that cause problems when the offspring inherit it from both parents. (The tail-less Araucana chickens, the Overo Lethal White horses, and the double-merle dogs do exist.)

 

Inbred animals and plants often are less healthy and reproduce less than non-inbred ones, caused by "inbreeding depression" (google it if you want more info. Corn is especially prone to it.) If that happens, just cross your shrimp with shrimp from someone else, and the next generation should be fine.

 

Most shrimp breeders seem to leave the babies in the same tanks with their parents and siblings, and not worry about who's related to who.

 

I'd say, try it and see: you'll know a lot more in a few months!

[Zoe13]

In August 2016 I started my shrimp colony from 2 red cherry shrimp, one male, one female. Over three years later I have a thriving and booming population of shrimp. I was able to cull the shrimp to make them very high grade during this time as well. Haven’t noticed any problems from the inbreeding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk