Cichlid Line Bred vs. Hybrid

[Aquamojo]

The ACA has formed a committee to discuss our stance on Hybrid Cichlids. Putting personal feelings aside I would be curious on your thoughts pertaining to "Line Bred" cichlids compared to Hybrid fish.

Both of the above are fish bred for aesthetic reasons. Other than the obvious route used to get to the final product...is there a difference? Both are manipulated by man to acquire certain traits. Why should we accept one and shun the other?


Thanks,

Mo

 

[Marc280106]

G'day Mo.

Just a basic question, but a good one. As i'm sure many others are uninformed on the subject.
Would you mind defining "line bred" for the novice hobbyist? Is this the accepted term for describing inbreeding amoung cichlids?

 

[TheOscarGuy]

The ACA has formed a committee to discuss our stance on Hybrid Cichlids. Putting personal feelings aside I would be curious on your thoughts pertaining to "Line Bred" cichlids compared to Hybrid fish.

Both of the above are fish bred for aesthetic reasons. Other than the obvious route used to get to the final product...is there a difference? Both are manipulated by man to acquire certain traits. Why should we accept one and shun the other?


Thanks,

Mo

Line-bred fish still represent the same fish found in the wild, and won't have any "unknown" traits that hybrids might have. Arguably the genetics might not be very good for such a fish, since it will have to go through several breeding cycles before you have the final product.

I personally do not see any harm in line-breeding cichlids since it is still the same species. Line-breeding however, will probably mean that local strains (i.e., riverine strains have streamlined body, those in more still waters are high-bodied etc.) will not be reflected in these specimen.

In terms of attracting new hobbyists this will be a cool thing since desirable colors/finnage/characteristics will be more prominent, which I believe is the first thing that you notice .

On a side note, there might be some practical issues -- i.e., colors don't show up until the fish is somewhat advanced in terms of its age. So, the breeding cycles and the whole process itself, might take longer.

 

[dogofwar]

Line bred refers to inbreeding a particular species of fish for certain traits.

Usually the desired traits are those that aquarists value (size, color, finnage, etc.) vs. traits that the fish has in nature.

Over time (if the breeders are successful!), line bred aquarium varieties can become quite different than their wild brethren.

Examples of line bred fish are eureka red peacocks, electric blue jack dempseys, long-finned oscars, etc.

 

[Aphilophus]

since most domestic discus are hybrid i do not see why relatively tasteful hybrids could not be included such as flower horns i would not want to go to a show and see
any bloody parrots or jelly bean parrots as these fish just disgust me as they look deformed to me

 

[Aquamojo]

G'day Mo.

Just a basic question, but a good one. As i'm sure many others are uninformed on the subject.
Would you mind defining "line bred" for the novice hobbyist? Is this the accepted term for describing inbreeding amoung cichlids?

As I see it: Line breeding is the process in which the offspring from fish of the same taxonomic species are selectively bred together for the purpose of enhancing a physical characteristic or trait.

 

[Aquamojo]

since most domestic discus are hybrid i do not see why relatively tasteful hybrids could not be included such as flower horns i would not want to go to a show and see
any bloody parrots or jelly bean parrots as these fish just disgust me as they look deformed to me

It has never been determined that Discus are Hybrids. More than likely they are line bred fish.

The issue with your statement is define "tasteful hybrid". That's pretty much eye of the beholder.

 

[Aphilophus]

this is true and i dont care for hybrids or keep them its been one of the reasons i have not got in to discus if they are not hybrids then i may try them in the future. tasteful hybrid to me is a fish that is not disfigured like the hybrid parrot cichlid if its not possible to keep specific hybrids out then i would excluded them all or you could limit them to hybrids which can produce viable fry. i am not sure but i believe that some hybrids dont produce fry. what if you just exclude the test tube hybrids and let the natural (if you can say that) produced ones in i.e a male and female spawned

 

[gomezladdams]

Thats the question I always have about objections to line bred fish.Any aquarist breeding is going to select the best specimens available to produce the next generation.So at what point does an attractive tank bred fish become the objectionable "line bred" fish? How "good" does it have to look before it no longer qualifies as a desirable fish?

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

the problem with terms like "tasteful" hybrids is that where does one draw the line between a high quality flowerhorn and something like a random Vieja hybrid or RD x petenia or some other non-intentional mix