Are pure Rays a thing of the past?

Keister

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2012
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Been kinda dead on here the past day or two so here is a question for everyone, are pure Rays a thing of the past? It seems as though hybrids are the future. I love hybrids the crazy wild jaw dropping patterns are great! This however leads to a price tag to match! Everyone loves a crazy and wild hybrid, but what about pure Rays? Even black Rays are being hybridized into leohens and lends or whatever the combo might be. I found recently in my search for pure marbles that it was so hard to find more then 2-3 people breeding just a pure marble. This led me to decide to buy an awesome pair of mantillas from Didysis, but it was just proof, at least in my mind, that pure Rays are a thing of the past? I am going to be hunting for a simple pure leo next year but I worry that a simple pure leo won't be around by that time. I am just curious to see what other members think, are pure Rays really a thing of the past?


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scott s

Redtail Catfish
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Sep 11, 2010
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Odds are, there will always be breeders of pure bloods... I would hope anyway. The hard part will be keeping the bloodlines pure and not line breeding in order to keep the species.

Some people prefer pure blood, some people prefer hybrids. Most people end up with several species together in one tank which of course will produce hybrids.

One way you could look at it is take a look at Japan and their Koi. Today, they have made hybrids into special classes based on color and pattern. This has become a fairly normal and accepted practice. I somewhat expect rays to follow this trend, as fewer and fewer wild caught are being brought into the states.

A lot of people prefer captive bred over wild caught because they are more hearty in my opinion. No worries about parasites or getting them off of live food (for the most part).

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Keister

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2012
807
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Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
Hmmm it would be interesting to start seeing hybrids classified! My personal plan for my journey in the hobby is to have pairs of my species, this way I can always produce a pure Ray, and can experiment with hybridizing as well! I look at hybrids like pieces of artwork, your pure species are your paints, your breeders are your artists and the hybrids are your finished pieces of artwork. You can make a hybrid whatever you want if you want marbling add a marble if you want bd spots add a bd, if you want crazy wild random pattern add a mantilla hybrids are whatever you want them to be! I will certainly keep different species together in one tank and will be more than happy to have them hybridize, but I want the ability to breed pure if I want to. In my humble opinion I think pure Rays stand out just as much as hybrids do in a tank. If you have a tank of crazy hybrids, a simple pure Leo to me is going to stand out because it isn't so complex as the others. I love all Rays simple complex whatever they are all amazing to me I am just curious as to where the masses of keepers stand on the topic. Like I would hate to get to a point where people are scrambling to save pure species because the pure species have fallen to the wayside due to the pursuit of hybrids, and the fact that imported wc Rays are getting scarcer an scarcer every day. I have to say I am one of those people who only buys cb because wc scares me. The idea of parasites and losing a Ray because it won't eat or whatever scares me and that's why I stick to my cb rays. I don't know I just think that we as a hobby should just always be aware that pure species need to be kept as well because I think having a hobby comprised of nothing but hybrids would be unfortunate. Again I love hybrids I really do and I plan to make them but I also plan to breed pure as well! It will be interesting getting some more input from other members on this topic to see where everyone stands!


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DB junkie

Gold Tier VIP
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Jan 27, 2007
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Pure Marbles here...... Don't see that changing. I think a nice pure Marble is one of the best looking rays out there, and it's not going to break the bank feeding or housing like hybrids will.

Only hybrid I really hope to produce is Falk x Marble, but will settle for black mutts since the black species I have are mostly mutts to begin with.
 

MHDevelopments

Polypterus
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May 13, 2014
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What an interesting thread this is going to become.

Personally I think there will always be a strong demand for pure blood rays, allow me to refer to them as pedigree here. Hybrids are basically mongrels (now don't get me wrong, I love hybrids and have kept several and am building a breeding colony to begin selective controlled hybridisation to produce a desired trait).

I think the hype and excitement around hybrids is just, the hobby has clearly developed with time and experience, from people initially managing to keep rays successfully, then onto a few breeding which then coupled with more experience has allowed more keepers to breed more and more species with one another. It's a natural progression, human nature also leads us to experiment and desire the unknown.

I do think it's very important not to lose our way and keep crossing species left right and centre, as to lose a pure bloodline in the hobby, or for it to become very scarce due to lack of imports, would be a sad thing. Although I doubt this would happen with the more conscientious keepers/breeders out there. I wonder if all the hybrids being produced may even over time increase the eventual demand and price of pure bloodlines.

To conclude (stop rambling in other words!) I think both pedigree and mongrel rays are here to stay,, there will always be a demand for pure blood/pedigree just as there is the hype for the latest trend, just as in dogs. People love a pedigree bulldog or ****zu just as much as there's people keen to buy a hybrid/mongrel like a labradoodle or a "chug" or a "bull****" 😜😜


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yargnits

Piranha
MFK Member
Mar 19, 2011
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Pure Marbles here...... Don't see that changing. I think a nice pure Marble is one of the best looking rays out there, and it's not going to break the bank feeding or housing like hybrids will.

Only hybrid I really hope to produce is Falk x Marble, but will settle for black mutts since the black species I have are mostly mutts to begin with.
i only have marlbes and only intend to keep marbles as they are my fave too. unpredictable lots of variations and differences in size etc keep them interesting.
a nice small leo would be nice but i wouldnt be looking to cross it with marbles.
 

MHDevelopments

Polypterus
MFK Member
May 13, 2014
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So with all that said....if you had a blank canvas....as do I...where would you start..

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Could you elaborate?
Assume you meant by having a blank canvas you don't have any rays yet? If this is the case then the world is your oyster my friend 😃😃😃 choose a ray you like the look of, hybrid or not it doesn't really matter, nor does any fancy name it may or may not have on it. If you like the look of it, that's what matters most


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moosemj

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Oct 27, 2012
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All my rays are pure and any pups I've had have been pure as well. I don't think they are a thing of the past. I think most rays are interesting in their owns ways. Hybrids just add the possibility of new looks that keep things interesting.


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