Notho. rachovii "Blue"

(First of all, is that a legitimate abbreviation for Nothobranchius? What would be the killi-person's N. rachovii abbreviation?)

I know someone who's looking into getting this strain. What do they need to know in order to keep and breed them?

[TyroneGenade]

Brian Watters refers to the Beira type fish as being a "Blue" phenotype. I guess he wants to contrast it against the artificial "DKG red" phenotype which was selectively bred from the Beira fish. The fish in question (off Aquabid by Killifishdavid) looks like a typical Beira-type rachovii except that it has more solid blue in the dorsal and anal fin (compare to this photo by Bob Morenski of the Beira 98 fish). David's pic is here.

Personally I feel the "blue" term is a misnomer as the fish is clearly red and the black fish have as much blue on the body as the red fish. If the goal is to distinguish between the Beira and DKG red then it still doesn't help as the red fish have blue tails too... Anyway, this is quite beside the point.

The bottom line is that David can call his fish rachovii "pink" if he feels like it. He clearly feels this line has a unique quality that differentiates it to the usual forms and he has added a label to help us keep the line pure and reproducable.

It is totally his prerogative. There is no governing body to regulate nor should there be. Breeding is an art, and art should not be shackled by lore.

Regards

[stormhawk]

In simple terms the "Blue" is just a selectively bred strain. They should be treated the same as the normal RAC is treated. Since they were probably bred from the Beira 98 population of the rachovii then care should also be the same for these as with the Beira 98 fish.

Thanks for your responses, ya'll!

What's the hardiness of RAC "Blue"? I imagine that they might be somewhat limited in hardiness due to the small captive population from which the strain was drawn, but I could be wrong.

[TyroneGenade]

What's the hardiness of RAC "Blue"? I imagine that they might be somewhat limited in hardiness due to the small captive population from which the strain was drawn, but I could be wrong.

All rachovii are tough fish well suited to the beginner. Treat the fry with as much dedication as you would afford to other Nothos and the like and you should do well.

I'm yet to know of a single Notho strain with poor fitness because of small sample size. These fish are already very inbred by years of isolated living in small ponds.

Regards