Do you just give up at some point?

[luvinbluegills]

I know that proper classification is a good thing, but as a non-biologist, rememorizing all the changes over the years gets old. This new list will never stick in my old brain!

Middle American cichlids have been subject to a long-overdue revision. We now have eight new genera of cichlids to learn, plus a heap of modifications to be aware of.

The revisions were published in 'Zootaxa' by the ichthyologist Caleb McMahon in August 2015, and used a mixture of morphological and DNA sequencing techniques to identify new classifications.​

Source; http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co....hake-up_in_cichlid_taxonomy_&utm_content=html

 

[convict360]

I don't bother too much, don't really need to as a general fishkeeper; I can imagine it'd be real pain if you were more seriously involved etc though

 

[xraycer]

While some people are really into this, its just not a big deal for me

 

[duanes]

The species names really hardly ever change, it's only the genus that usually gets altered when DNA suggests a new relationship or status.
So if you say salvini, whether your thinking (x)Cichlasoma, or Parapetenia, or Trichromis, or whatever name it has, or has gone by, it's still a salvini.
Some of the new names actually make sense to me, for example, bocourti and pearsei never seemed to quite belong with Herichthys to me, as with the labridens group (now in Nosferatu) never seemed to me to be that close to the carpintus clade.

 

[neutrino]

Depends. Fish I keep or that interest me I keep up on more than others. Not important to me to maintain an encyclopedic knowledge of fish when I have other subjects of intellectual interest that take up a lot of my attention. I can always get up to speed on other types of fish whenever I become interested in them, by which time they may have changed from current status anyway.

Good point about species names staying the same quite often.

 

[festaedan]

I'm just happy salvini and festae have been officially assigned to a genus. If I had a penny for every different genus I have heard someone say before festae, I'd be a millionaire!

 

[qguy]

to the regular fishlkeeper, a Dovii is a Dovii, a Festae is a Festae..... and so on... I am good with this

 

[chopsteeks]

I want this hobby to be as simple yet still enjoyable. Those folks are too nerdy for my taste

 

[duanes]

The problem I find with simplistic names is, because in different places, fish can have different names, you can buy one thing (and especially if the fish is young and generic looking) and get something else you don't want, and especially if you buy at LFSs.
A red terror can be a festae, or a uropthalmus, or who knows, and the names are all basically LFS correct.
But....If you say, I want a festae, and the place is legit, you just might get what you asked for.
Same goes for Texas clade cichlids, green, blue, whatever, you can end up with any of 3 or 4 species, or worse yet (at least for me) some kind of mutt hybrid.
But if you are into it enough to order a tamasopoensis or carpintus "chairel", you just might get what you are really looking for.
If the place can't tell the difference, I won't buy there, unless I know better.

 

[RD.]

to the regular fishlkeeper, a Dovii is a Dovii, a Festae is a Festae..... and so on... I am good with this

+1

Having said that Duane makes a good point, when purchasing juvenile fish proper scientific names can be critical.