Red Turks vs Floras?

[RogueDiscus]

I've got a couple (pair?) of Forrest Giant Red Turks, and a proven pair of Giant Floras. They're all together at the moment, and of course flirting/establishing pecking. The basic coloration is very similar, but the body shapes are quite different. The Rt's have a "classic" look, and the GF are rounder. How close are they related really, genetically. I'll prefer to keep them separate for breeding, and that seems to be what they're doing, But what if ...?

Hey Rod ?

Steve

[Altum Nut]

Steve you may get a different answer but the Flora was developed to have higher profile top and bottom fin. Genetic wise...I would say the same as an RT. They should throw off both if crossed and don't see any issues other then color maybe more Blue rather then Red.

...Ralph

[Rod]

Blue and red turks are very closely related. No single gene mutations, both based on wild type blue discus, they share many traits. The main difference is in the selection criteria that the breeder used to get the end result. This includes the shape, for even in the wild, there is variation from among members of the same population. In our tanks we can concentrate them in any shape direction according to the desires of the breeder. So when you cross 2 different shaped discus, the results tend to have a blending effect with a range from 1 parent to the other with many inbetween. Because the shape is controlled by many genes, there won't be any particular tendencies like there would be if single gene mutations where in place.

HTH
Rod