I was about to ask why anyone would want to do such a mix but then looked at my tank with my blue acaras and Kribensis swimming around together................
African cichlids with American cichlids
- Thread starter JackSparrow
- Start date
Yes, purists will frown upon hybridizing.
I personally don't see how crossbreeding is inherently bad though, at least not any worse than linebreeding, genetically modifying fish, etc.
A lot of practices in this hobby can be considered horrible to be honest.
Some people consider hybridizing horrible, others do not.
Some people find it horrible how much culling goes on with linebreeding (sometimes entire batches of fish), others do not.
Some people find dyeing fish horrible... actually everyone I know finds it horrible. XD
Some people find feeding live food horrible, others do not. Even different degrees as well - some people think feeding any live food is horrible, others only if the live food is fish.
Some people actually find keeping fish in parameters outside their natural habitat's absolutely horrible, some just lightly frown upon it, others have zero issues.
Some people find the prophylactic treatment of live stock (in quarantine tanks) horrible (yes, not just unfortunate/painful, but downright horrible), others do not.
Some people find euthanizing fish horrible (yes, even when the fish is in pain/clearly dying and suffering), others do not.
There are a lot of different opinions in this hobby, I'd say 95% of them is just that, opinions, including all of the above. Yes even the dyeing fish - some people argue it depends on the dyeing method, and that there are dyeing methods where the fish really ain't harmed that much, not anymore than other things that go on. I have not seen clear evidence of this, and either way I personally don't like it at all - one of the few things I have a very strong opinion against in this hobby.
The only part about people getting upset about dying fish I find hypocritical is when they also go fishing, other than that to each their own. I don’t have a problem with fishing BTW
When I say mixing fish from different water types is problematic, many think I mean the fishes capability of adapting to osmotic conditions, which is not exactly correct.
It's actually the fishes resistance to certain bacteria, that can be problematic.
Fish evolved to live in soft acidic water have not needed to build resistance to the bacteria that come from hard water, and we've only to look at all the oscars and severums (among other soft water species) with chronic HITH to see the problem.
As a retired microbiologist I look at water type with from a different viewpoint, than most hobbyists.
Many bacteria that cause maladies like HITH and certain intestinal problems, are limited to certain pH ranges usually 7.5 (+/- 0.2) , and will not thrive in the acidic, soft, tannin rich, and mineral poor waters of S America, so species from that region have not evolved to resist them.
But put those same fish in the average US tap water filled aquarium where pH is above 7 or even 7.5, in water that is also a mineral rich soup,
and over time chronic diseases like HITH take their toll (especially in combination with the elevated nitrate accepted by many fish keepers, with older, larger species)
It's actually the fishes resistance to certain bacteria, that can be problematic.
Fish evolved to live in soft acidic water have not needed to build resistance to the bacteria that come from hard water, and we've only to look at all the oscars and severums (among other soft water species) with chronic HITH to see the problem.
As a retired microbiologist I look at water type with from a different viewpoint, than most hobbyists.
Many bacteria that cause maladies like HITH and certain intestinal problems, are limited to certain pH ranges usually 7.5 (+/- 0.2) , and will not thrive in the acidic, soft, tannin rich, and mineral poor waters of S America, so species from that region have not evolved to resist them.
But put those same fish in the average US tap water filled aquarium where pH is above 7 or even 7.5, in water that is also a mineral rich soup,
and over time chronic diseases like HITH take their toll (especially in combination with the elevated nitrate accepted by many fish keepers, with older, larger species)
I’m familiar with the authors, and most of their work in this area. Their feed trials are typically not longer that 12 weeks, which certainly does not prove anything definitive regarding optimom protein levels for long term feeding of anyone’s African cichlids, those classified as herbivorous, or otherwise.
I agree with most of your other comments regarding this subject.
