03-18-2008, 11:23 PM
So if genetics are not a factor and I buy 50 rainbow trout and throw them in a pond all at 6" from a certified hatchery. I feed them all the same diet which they all eat. They all live in the same conditions for 3 years, same water, they have the same amount and type of food available to them yet some are substantially larger than others. And it has nothing to do with switching diets because all any of them really ate was pellets. And ate very well I might add.
What is the determining factor?
Some fish grow bigger faster because of genetics! Some fish also are more aggressive because of genetics! It is a major factor and you can say otherwise until you are blue in the face. I have seen it many times first hand and through raising many generations of fish and selectively breeding them for specific results over many generations. You can breed out the size of a fish to be large or small with selective breeding, just like color, or body shape or anything else.
PBH, I really wish that you would get off of the soap box that genetics doesn't matter. I assure you that genetics are a big part of the equation.
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What is the determining factor?
Some fish grow bigger faster because of genetics! Some fish also are more aggressive because of genetics! It is a major factor and you can say otherwise until you are blue in the face. I have seen it many times first hand and through raising many generations of fish and selectively breeding them for specific results over many generations. You can breed out the size of a fish to be large or small with selective breeding, just like color, or body shape or anything else.
PBH, I really wish that you would get off of the soap box that genetics doesn't matter. I assure you that genetics are a big part of the equation.
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