Deborah,
David Ramsey took over responsibility for the GH2s (and eventually all Fp.) as the core species coordinator for KCC when I moved on to "rule" the Fp. and then the SAA rescue groups. The species went through two major genetic bottlenecks while I had them.
All the fish in KCC were the original 6 I got from Roger Langton. They were nearly extinct in the American hobby at that time (but I believe -- hope -- other stock has been found and introduced, since then).
I had given stock to two other BAKA breeders who had health problems at the same time and lost all their fish. Back again to what I had in my fishroom.
[Down to about 25 individuals, at that time] I used the net to get a more-widespread breeder base, to avoid a repeat of that experience. That's when David got "volunteered."
David spread them further and used the internet to coordinate an even wider breeder base, so they are, again, widespread in the hobby and doing well. Go back to some of the pictures in Scheel's books to see how perfectly the present stock matches the old wild fish. I think David has moved on but left the GH2s in the capable hands of one of his breeders.
The KCC program has done a superb job of keeping as many wild genes as possible. We refused to breed to outsized or unusually-colored stock, and gang-spawned and swapped stock to keep a good broad base. The original fish were remarkably free of variability, which helped. It is obvious to the mathematically-inclined that such small populations cannot keep all the wild genes one might like. True species preservation is the province of museums and government projects in most places, where thousands of fish must be kept to avoid serious gene loss.
I hope that explains the cryptic remarks. Probably most GH2s in the US hobby are descended from those original six I got from Roger L. about 10-12 years ago. We refused to cross with some European imports, as they apparently had been selected for much greater size. The GH2/74 location is still available in Europe, but may be a bit less like the wild fish than ours.
Wright
01 760 872-3995
805 Valley West Circle
Bishop, CA 93514 USA
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