I understand everyone having different opinions here, but here are my two cents. Everyone can have different desires in the hobby, some of the breeding takes tremendous effort. If you breed goldfish you can be part of a project that has been running for over 1,000 years and still isn't finished. Some see it as similar to the multigenerational projects like building a cathedral or monument. Some of the line breeding is interesting some of it I am not a fan of, but breeders doing these things is part of the experience.
What is hated in some species is perfectly accepted in others. It seems to me if people saw it when they came into the hobby they seem to accept it. Very few people have seen wild platies or mollies in their store, far fewer ever buy them if they see them. Most of our livebearers are crossed every possible way, and no one bats an eye. Announce you are considering the same thing with corydoras and the mobs will come after you. I do like hybrids to be labeled properly.
Aberrant wild fish go for huge prices, but as soon as someone breeds it and makes it available to the masses it is an abomination. I remember when the lightning maroon clownfish popped up everyone wanted it. It was so beautiful there was discussion of auctioning it off. Then it went to a farm was made available and it is no longer respected. The same thing happens with gold and white gar.
The comment that makes me most uncomfortable in this was that purist are ruining the hobby, by buying up pure bred specimens and not putting them back. The issues I have with this are one hobbyist releasing fish back into the wild may not be the best idea. That should be done with strict biosecurity protocols in place. The second issue I have is that we take from the wild without giving back. That ignores the fact that we provide jobs in what can be a sustainable fishery, in areas that don't have a lot of other green industries. This prevents logging and other destructive industries. Look at the work of Project Piabahttps://www.bing.com/search?q=project+piaba&cvid=fca43af39de8465ba3e3d1d3e07d0632&FORM=ANAB01&PC=U531. The other thing that this thinking ignores is collection for the hobby is rarely the threat to these fish. It is usually habitat destruction. Look at the cherry barb less than 5% of its habitat is lost, but hundreds of thousands are sold in the US every year. Sure some are albino some are veil tailed, but without this source cherry barbs could leave this planet forever. I do think it is best if hobbyist breed fish in their home countries. Not to destroy wild collection, but to ensure that there is a diversity of fish in your home country when importation eventually gets shut down by those that disapprove of any animal trading. It also provides a backup of fish if a habitat gets destroyed.
The comment about people line breeding and hybridizing for cash seems short sighted to me. I read these comments about people being in this space for the money often on here. Almost every adult does their job for cash, and they try to do a good job so they can get more cash later. You might love your job, but unless you have your needs met elsewhere you are going to find another job as soon as the paychecks stop. Fish farmers worldwide work tirelessly to provide the fish we enjoy (or revile). They provide the volume that makes it possible for a group as specialized as MFK to exist. Without all the fish MFKers don't keep it would be very hard to get shippers to ship a fish, it would be hard to get permits to move them across borders, there wouldn't be affordable tanks because it wouldn't make sense to build a factory, you wouldn't be able to buy a filter off the shelf, and you wouldn't have access to affordable feeds. Most importantly most of us would have never entered this hobby if we didn't stumble by a tank somewhere. I have always said public aquariums are important, but there is no more public aquarium than the one in your LFS, Petsmart, Petco, Meijer, etc.
