Fish identification

Question
QUESTION: Hi, thank you for your time first off. I have tried aquariums before that resulted in horrible failure. This time I did my research. I have a 20 gallon tank with 6 guppies, 3 otocinclus, and 3 pygmycorydoras. I am looking for a fish we had in a previous tank. It was kinda round (but not discus round) and was almost completely white. It had a colored stripe running down the top of its back (tealish green or pink). Can you please help my identify this fish?
God bless!

ANSWER: Hi Malachi,

I'm thinking you had an Indian Painted Glass Fish.

They truly are almost seethrough, but people add color to the water and food and it lodges in their bodies, making them glow and have unique coloration.

The color does decrease as they age.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Painted_Indian_Glassy_Fish.jpg

Here are some other ideas:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h40/teh_Kibbster/2nsq4cz3.jpg - Jellybean DYED Cichlid.  Remember, dyed fish will regain natural coloration eventually.

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/userpix/51_50_tropical20fish_1_1.jpg - Jellybean cichlid

Many tropical fish are round.  Pacu, Silver Dollars, Characins are mostly round fish, Barbs can be round, in fact...Tinfoil Barbs are round.

http://www.fishlinkworldwide.com/fish/products_pictures/tinfoil_barb.jpg - Tinfoil Barb
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/fish-pictures/silver-dollar-1267236736-800.jp - Silver Dollar Fish

If you go to http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/cichlids_neotropical/cichlids_neotropi and go down the page, you can see many cichlids and their coloration.  I do not recommend this type of fish to go with the types you have chosen.  You need very docile fish.

I really hope I've named your fish.  If not, it was certainly fun giving it a go. :)

Kudos to you for doing your research before starting a tank.  Make sure filtation isn't rated for the size of the tank.  Filters are notoriously under-rated.  20 gallon aquarium doesn't need a filter rated to 20 gallons, but one rated to 40 or 50 instead. :)

Happy fish-keeping.

Renee

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: First of all thank you for answering my first question. I think I may have had a form off the painted Indian fish.
Could you tell me if an endler guppy hybrid can reproduce? And how can I selectively breed them to look the way I want? Thanks and like I said you did great on my first question! All 10s!

Answer
Hi Malachi,

Thankyou for the feedback. :)

Endler's breed much like regular livebearing fish do.  The male will hassle and follow females,
breeding anything in his way (lol) and then she will have babies about every 6 to 8 weeks.  

They have successfully been interbreeding, however it truly isn't advised, as the Endler's are actually a different species of fish, not a guppy.

Mr. Endler has had a wonderful, long-winded, discussion with some aquarists regarding the Endler's.  He's very passionate about trying to keep the species un-changed, so if you give away babies, he asks that people please specify that they are hybridized, not purebrds.  

This is probably more than you asked for regarding them, but here is the transcripts of that discussion.

http://members.cox.net/newcomb1/emails.html

It's very intriguing and deep.  

With that said, as a breeder, here are traits I try to keep strong in selecting adults to breed.

I choose the largest of the species if I want to increase size, and smallest if I wish to make a strain which is smaller.  If I am breeding for specific coloration, I study the color traits and try to go along with those.

Simple coloration choices help to choose how the offspring will turn out, but that's color genetics.  That's a whole new line of writing.  The letter would be quite long if I detailed it for you.

If I were selectively breeding hybrids, I would breed for longer tails.  I think that is an essential trait.  I'd choose stock with extremely long tails.  I'd choose really fat, healthy, large also, and stock tank-raised, not wild or pool-raised.

I'd choose stock which have offspring with a 50%-100% survival rate.

Those genetics do pass onto offspring. I would also choose for coloration.  Put a dull female into a bright male and half offspring will be dull.  Use that thoery, and you get the idea.  Bright plus bright gives bright offspring.  Stick to that and the offspring will be unique, yet brightly colored.

My current genetic mutations are cool.  I have interbred several Mollies and I have Lyretail Dalmatian Orange-bodied Sailfins, lol.  They hae a bit of pure black and pure white in the background, but the other four came out the most in this litter.

Renee