Sorry i am a little late, but i just wanted to say some things about what you said. I feel you brought up some good points, but there are some things i would like to say about some of them.
Danger_Chicken;2451127; said:That in and of itself sets a policy against, and a clear message "if you like hybirds you're not wanted here". That may not be the intention but it is implied, and implecations can be as effective. The ACA goal "Further the conservation of cichlids and their natural habitats" Also implies a stance against. It's not clear if this is refering to the hobby or nature. The "and" is what causes the confusion here. In comes across as being written with hybrids in mind; however, that maybe due to the nature of this thread.
I do not see how this has anything to do with hybrids. Hybrids are cichlids, arent they? So furthering the conservation of Cichlids would include hybrids, not exclude them. In addition, i think we all understand the importance of protecting a fish's natural habitat, so i think we all agree with the second part of the statement, as even hybrids came from the wild at some point. Where would you get new blood if there were no more natural habitats? I personally think the ACA's mission statement is a good one, and inlcudes all elements of the cichlid hobby. Aquamojo's revision is also great, as the club is based in the hobby. But, even without it, i still feel it includes all cichlids, even hynrids and linebred fish, and definately does not specifically exclude them.
It wouldn't be fair to say the people that like hybirds don't care about cichlids natural habitat (this was mentioned by someone else). The ACA can have a bigger impact by having a larger member base. I maybe misunderstanding you dog, we maybe saying the same thing.
I think this contradicts what you said in your first paragraph. By conserving natural habitat, you are conserving the wild cichlids, which you said here. However, in your first paragraph, you said that furthing the conservation of cichlids and their natural habitat excluded hyrbids and hyrbid keepers, and now you just said hybrid keepers do care about the natural habitat of the cichlids. I do agree that a larger member base is always good.
hobbyist are breeding for fish keepers not nature. Attracting more hobbyist can bring more attention to their natural environment.
Very true. However, the ACA is concerned about nature. If no one cared about natural fish anymore, we would have little incentive to conserve their natural habitat. We need to realize that the ACA's goal is to protect wild cichlids, in the wild, and promote them in the hobby. This doesnt necessarily include hybrids, but it definately doesnt exclude them, as they are descendants from wild fish, arent they? Again, i do agree that a larger member base (more hobbyists) is beneficial.
but only to them not us (you're gorgeous Con proves that); and fish don't buy fishAfter all we're not breeding to release in the wild.
Maybe we should be. What happens when their are no more wild convicts left? If we had only bred them to what we wanted, real convicts would no longer exist. It would be like releasing dogs to the wild in place of wolves. To me, the purpose of wild caught, F1, F2, etc. fish is to keep and maintain a population of fish as they would occur in the wild. cchhcc's convict is F1 i beleive, and therfor, IMO, should be used to continue that population of convicts, if possible, but not deliberately bred to continue her coloration. If you find a petsmart convict with those colors, hybrdize and line breed away, but not with pure, wild fish of known origin that could, if necessary, be used to revitalize wild population if the need ever arises.
