shadoh Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Yes, I know most of todays popular tail types and colours are mutations and quite a lot of other breeds have been selectively bred to have a similar body shape, but seriously, should this kind of thing be encouraged? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briztoon Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 NNNNNnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little_troppo Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 That terrible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 gross, what is it? I mean, I can see what it is - but where the hell did you see that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Sooo very wrong... But as a hobbyist who finds it almost impossible to cull any fish, I wonder what the breeders intention was for this poor fish. Is the breeder publishing the pic as some historical record of how screwed up things can get? Or are they intending to sell it as a breeder? Then you gotta wonder about who would waste money on a fish which as a breeder would be so distorted that it most likely couldn't wrap!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2littlerevheads Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Omg that poor thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) Weird bit is... The fish probably doesn't even know! We think it must be suffering... But is it??? Addit: It's still fugly... But I thought I should try be a little open minded and philosophical. Edited June 12, 2012 by paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little_troppo Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Look at this for a terrible fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laitaktak911 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 That poor betta looks more like a goldfish... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted June 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Admittingly, this breeder has it listed as NOT for sale, but I have seen plenty of other breeders out there selling these "bonsai bettas" at ridiculous prices... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieBell Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 That's really messed up. I wonder why it's so deformed. Is it just a one off or from line breeding going too far? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Weird bit is... The fish probably doesn't even know! We think it must be suffering... But is it??? Addit: It's still fugly... But I thought I should try be a little open minded and philosophical. Balloon fish are weaker than healthy fish, they struggle to swim, they have to compete harder for food and because their body has been bent in half they usually live for half as long as a normal fish of the same species. I don't like the deformity to all, I don't understand why it is atractive. I have seen balloon fish sold on this site a few times also. That's really messed up. I wonder why it's so deformed. Is it just a one off or from line breeding going too far? In some species raising the heat into the low thirties during the fry development can cause this deformity, it's usually done in American cichlids though, I would guess this is genetic. The fish is actually bent in half, I will try find a photo I used to have on an x-ray of one of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatfishEmpire Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 No it should NOT be allowed... But I am wondering if it is a 'dwarf'????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieBell Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) Whoops posted twice. Didn't think it worked! Edited June 12, 2012 by Steph90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 No, it's a spinal deformity, I used to have a photo saved on my iPod that showed this but it got fried and I can't find it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanagi Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I can't imagine it would be comfortable. Usually that body shape results in compacted organs which can cause major issues with the swim bladder, digestion, etc. That's as much as I can say on the topic without going on a rant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laitaktak911 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Will their babies all have a balloon body? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) Will their babies all have a balloon body? It depends if it is genetic or not, if it is then at least some would have a deformity. Would breeding DT's for many generations result in something similar? Is the short bodies they display due to a reduced amount of vertebrae? Edited June 12, 2012 by Matt_95 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted June 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Sooo very wrong... But as a hobbyist who finds it almost impossible to cull any fish, I wonder what the breeders intention was for this poor fish. As someone who's sorority is half stocked with fish that should have been culled, I know it is a big decision for some people. I also know that if enough people show enough interest in a deformity, it will encourage some less than scrupulous breeders to try and breed the deformity into a line. At the end of the day it is supply and demand. I have a dragon female that is a bit on the "balloon" side. I have taken her to a club meet to show her deformity to members. At no time would it cross my mind to breed her. In her case, I put it down to inbreeding. The spawn was full of rosetail, x-factor scales, extra ventralled fish and my balloon girl. She seems happy enough and can hold her own in the tank if one of the others get agro. If at any time I thought she was suffering, I'd euthanase her, no matter how hard I felt about doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Nut Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I hate balloon anything. I particularly dislike it when goldfish are bred to such an extreme that they can't even swim and instead sit like a blob on the bottom of the tank. I also hate parrot fish. I mean why breed a fish that can't shut its mouth properly? You see some sellers on AB flogging off blind 'diamond eye' dragons or extreme rosetails and it's sad that people purchase these and perpetuate such unethical breeding practices. I'm a pretty ruthless fry culler as I can't stand sickly or deformed looking fish. However, I have no problems with culls being kept on as pets or sold to someone with no intention of breeding. It's just when sellers pass them off as rare and special to the unsuspecting buyer that it annoys me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zui Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Unfortunately there is some unscrupullous people out there who dont care anything about the livestock, just the mighty dollar. All we can do as hobbyists is advise people about the pitfalls of such creatures. Also not to propergate them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I hate balloon anything. I particularly dislike it when goldfish are bred to such an extreme that they can't even swim and instead sit like a blob on the bottom of the tank. I also hate parrot fish. I mean why breed a fish that can't shut its mouth properly? You see some sellers on AB flogging off blind 'diamond eye' dragons or extreme rosetails and it's sad that people purchase these and perpetuate such unethical breeding practices. I'm a pretty ruthless fry culler as I can't stand sickly or deformed looking fish. However, I have no problems with culls being kept on as pets or sold to someone with no intention of breeding. It's just when sellers pass them off as rare and special to the unsuspecting buyer that it annoys me. Actually, a good quality blood parrot should be able to shut its mouth, it's the low quality ones that should have been culled that can't shut their mouths I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Still curious about where the image came from J-dawg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forever_and_a_day Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 now that's just creepy @_@ there's definitely something wrong with it (probably a mutation?) but i'm not sure it it's actually a 'balloon' as in the second pic, the ballooning is greatly reduced so i'm assuming in the first it was just being a little bit piggy? i don't cull that much... though i do subscribe to a 'survival of the fittest' rule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted June 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Ness, it was a link from a breeder on Facebook. If I remember when I get home from work and if I'm not distracted by the footy and waterchanges and cooking dinner or feeding the dog and cat I'll post the link ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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