Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Hybrid Sunfish Explained

Ok, I am with you so far, but what about only in a pond and no lab or petri dishes allowed.

In a pond/lake setting, is it the male of one species with the female of another that usually will cross? The opposite doesn't or infrequently happens? Correct?

(Now bear with me on this cause it's kind of like a "who's on first" question.) I am wondering if it has anything to do with the fish coloration. Is it the coloration of the male of one species can induce the female of either species to spawn, while the male of the less desireable coloration species lacks the color required to induce the female of the other species to cross? Or could it be courtship ritual? Or something else?

To summarize....As you point out with your petri dish example, the opposite cross can occur. What is it about the natural cross that makes the male of one species able to induce the female of both species to spawn, while the male of the other species cannot?