Hybrids

It's a fact of fishkeeping that fishkeepers prefer "pure". Also while it is true that crossbreeding will happen in the wild, the tank is nowhere near a wild habitat that allows 100% true mating behaviors. Some of these fish are from totally different locations or depth strata of the lake and would never encounter each other in the wild. In the tank those same fish can't get away from each other. I think that African cichlid primarily (but possibly some CA/SA as well) females will lay eggs if they're comfortable regardless of male's presence. Males being what we are, we'll hit damn near anything. I think this is definitely the case with mbuna/peacock or peacock/hap crossbreeding. Intrastrain crossbreeding (ruby red with lemonjake, or metriaclima types estherae and hongi crossing is very common) will occur more in tank than in wild as wild fish occupy different territories, depths, and cover as well as different schooling habits.

I do agree that crossbred fish can have better immune systems or such if they're coming from wild or F1 fish, but when you get a "zebra" and a "lab" from the assorted tank at the lfs with who knows how many tank-bred generations that may have been crossbred or line bred, and they cross, I personally think the chances of getting poor genetic mutations is much higher.

Also there is the bottom line: a fish with traceable genetics will fetch a higher price if you're selling the fry. If you're growing feeders, who cares about crosses.

I dont mind hybrids...unless the person who bred them, or is selling them, is trying to pass them off as pure bred fish. I've seen some "labs" in assorted ciclid tanks that look nothing like labs looked 10 years ago when I kept them. All it takes is adding one of these fish to an established breeding population and you can ruin the colors of the line. I like fish that look like those in the wild. If I wanted fish that were bred for unnatural color characteristics I would keep bettas or orange swordtails.

I also think personally that people should cull their lines more. IMHO too many people try to sell every single fry they get without concern for the quality of the fish sold. If someone has to do 2 or 3 water changes a day just to keep their fry alive long enough to get them to selling size, I dont really want to buy them. I like hearty fish and if you are going to line breed as many people do, you need to cull some of the fish.

Although hybridization does occur in the wild, it does not occur all that frequently. The older the body of water the less likely fish will hybridize. Fish in the wild tend to mate within their species.

Hybrids a re worthless. If myself, and MOST other tanganyikan keepers were interested in hybrids, we would be keeping flowerhorns. Should be culled IMO

"Very few of them actually have any disorders, and all of them are amazing-looking! "

Most hybrids have some sort of condition that could be labeled a "disorder" if you consider a trait that appears/intensifies with hybridizing vs. breeding within the species, and as far as them all being amazing-looking, beauty is mostly in the eye of the beholder.

I'm not a fan of rampant hybridizing and I try to avoid them in y tanks because while I know that with some species it will not be possible, as much as I can, I like to think that what's swimming in my tanks is an example of what's "out there", and thus a little slice of nature.