My new chimera axolotl called Harley.

[axoltlmad123]

I'd like everyone to meet my almost 2 year old axolotl harley. I am so happy with him. I will be breeding from him or should I say attempting soon. Just wondered roughly how many chimeras are there in the UK and how many in the world just curious.

 

[Stupot1610]

There are very few chimeras, this is because it is not hereditary. So when you breed from him he will not produce any chimera babies (well, its possible, but so unlikely it's not even worth mentioning.)

 

[axoltlmad123]

Yes I realise that about getting a chimera from him. No better chance. I still think if he's fertile he'd have cute babies. Especially if they have his head shape .

 

[lstrohl]

Don't lose hope: I have evidence that there is a genetic component to formation of chimeric axolotls. I have two females that produced two chimeric babies each in March. One of the two had a chimera last January, as well.:happy:

 

[michael]

There are very few chimeras, this is because it is not hereditary. So when you breed from him he will not produce any chimera babies (well, its possible, but so unlikely it's not even worth mentioning.)

I have heard several breeders saying certain axolotls throw chimeras regularly. It is nothing like a simple recessive but their does seem to be a genetic component to it.

 

[axoltlmad123]

A little update I have some (420) eggs from harley and axi and they are fertile not all of them are developing but most are. They should be hatching in the next few days.

 

[lstrohl]

Again defying the commonly-stated probabilities, I have found four chimeras in a recent hatch of 149, and two in a hatch of 168. All but one have survived their first three weeks and are growing well.

The mothers of both batches are sisters. All of the chimeras are white on one side, and either melanistic or wild-type on the other. What is most intriguing to me is that NONE of the normal siblings are leucistic, which means, in this case, that the mothers are homozygous and lack the leucistic gene.

Anybody have a clue how this might happen?

 

[michael]

I think the genetics is a little more complex than simple recessives and the types we are used to. They could look half leucistic but something other than the normal mechanism for leucistic color could be happening.

What do the parents look like? Do you have pictures of the parents and offspring?

 

[LSuzuki]

I have an unexpected (because, what are the chances in a small batch of eggs?) chimera/mosaic. The color are white albino and golden albino. This one is interesting because it is partially GFP, with the GFP co-located with the golden blotches. So, I don't think the "white" areas are caused by some other mechanism which affects color (since GFP isn't color.) The mother (Lady Aquarius's wild type Yoshi) has had at least 2 others with mixed colors, so it seems that she is one that seems to exhibit a genetic component to it. The father is a golden albino SFP (named Solano).

What I am wondering is, is this possibly a trisomy? I can't find the term for it, but it is possible for 1 egg to be fertilized by 2 sperm. In humans it is fatal, but ambystoma have polyploid populations. I can't find the reference now, but when I was googling before, I found that sometimes trisomies sort-of corrected themselves with some cell lines getting one pair of chromosomes and others a different pair. It would have a genetic component, since sperm competition combined with the negative reproductive effects of trisomy means females face evolutionary pressure to prevent fertilization by multiple sperm. (I'm not a biologist - I'm not explaining this well.)

 

[FltingBrunswick]

These are really fascinating and beautiful!! Congrats.

 

[little owl]

Aw really beautiful, one day I hope to get a chimera axolotl too