Finding "Pure" Stock

[Mike fail]

How is a flowerhorn owner at fault of a mislabled fish?
What if a red devil is a midas, or a mutt of the two? Is that the flowerhorn owners fault? What about an accidental hybrid sold as a pure fish, are flowerhorn owners to blame for that as well? I can totally see how a flowerhorn has made finding a pure trimac a bit more difficult since that's what they're believed to be based off of, but for everything else.....I think it's a stretch.

My theory is it's not the flowerhorn's or the owners fault, they're just getting blamed for it.
Also, what makes you think I'm an idiot?

you got me wrong, i mean the people that have been selling lowgrade flowerhorns off as trimacs to people, stores etc. these people. not flowerhorn owners, i own flowerhorns lol. same goes for the whole rd/midas, everything that flowerhorns are blamed are not at fault because they are a hyrbid is what im trying to say, they just have not been handled right by certain people.

 

[orbit]

Thanks for the great replies!

MM: What specific education would you prioritize?

Read, study and be sure you know what it is and how it is that you want!

 

[Modest_Man]

If you wanted to educate properly it would require classes on taxonomy (Carl Linnaeus who?), geography (how many aquarists even know what continent their fish come from?), genetics (What's a hybrid? Fish that look different can be the same species and fish that look the same can be different species; mind blowing!), evolution (parallel evolution, regional variants), Latin (this gibberish actually means something?), and ichtheology (fin counts and scale counts, what's that? Once Cichlidae gets figured out and fish don't change names every few years it will help).

It's not going to happen but we can dream...

I think you're asking in the wrong area. People on forums tend to be ahead of the curve already. You'd need to go ask people in PetsMart and Petco that go buy CA cichlids for their huge tank (29 gallons! Freshly set up!). Your most common answer will be Flowerwhat? Can I put 5 in? They're the ones who keep this cycle going buy buying low grade flowerhorns as "trimacs".

People on here already understand there is an issue, which is the first step. Most general aquarists don't even know there's a problem, or that they could buy fish off the interent, or what a hybrid even is. (You should see the looks and questions I get when I go drop off a box of fish to get shipped out.)

 

[dogofwar]

Ken is an excellent source for fish...of known provenance!

All depends on who you buy it from, from a pet store, most likely not pure, especially Amphilophus species. Buy from me, Rapps, Tiny, ect and you get what you want. Xia, how many F1 Citranellum do you want? Ken

 

[SOKO]

The hard to find stuff can be found online. Especially since Rapps is only a little over an hour and a half away.

The easy stuff - convict, texas, jds, etc. are most of the time purebred. And if I find some kind of hybrid (other than fh, just not what I'm into) I'll take it anyway.

 

[dogofwar]

"The easy stuff - convict, texas, jds, etc. are most of the time purebred"

Nearly 100% if the convicts and texas from LFS are hybrids, at least based on current taxonomy: different "species" of convicts (siquia, nigrofas., etc.) and frequently carpintis x cyanoguttatum

Are flowerhorns to blame for this - directly or indirectly - or is it something else?

 

[cichlidinsomniac]

"The easy stuff - convict, texas, jds, etc. are most of the time purebred"

Nearly 100% if the convicts and texas from LFS are hybrids, at least based on current taxonomy: different "species" of convicts (siquia, nigrofas., etc.) and frequently carpintis x cyanoguttatum

Are flowerhorns to blame for this - directly or indirectly - or is it something else?

I think you can only really blame fh for trimac availability and maybe some rose queens being sold as midas or rd

 

[VRWC]

Nearly 100% if the convicts and texas from LFS are hybrids

You mean where you live right? or have you been to every LFS in the US and done DNA tests on all the fish? If so, Id love to read about your findings. I have 3 LFS within 2 hours of me that carry legitimate stock and even have f1 convicts with the f0 parents in the store. They sell the fry to all the other local shops for feeders and convict sales.

I think you can only really blame fh for trimac availability and maybe some rose queens being sold as midas or rd

I dont understand this "problem with availability" of trimacs. They are and have been available online from reputable dealers for over 5 years...I think the problem lies within people not wanting to pay for what they want and instead, take a chance buying from unreputable sellers. If you want a Trimac, but it from someone you know has Trimacs.

In this day and age, with the internet and all the information available, people have only themselves to blame for not getting EXACTLY what they want...unless of course you (not you personally) believe people arent responsible for their own actions.

 

[jgentry]

So your saying that flowerhorns have not effected my ability to get true trimacs? I say that's a bunch of BS. To get a pure trimac now I have to spend nearly $100 for a juvinile online because local store mostly only have hybrids. Plus a large number of aquarium keepers do not use the internet for anything to do with there aquariums.

And Dogofwar is correct that a lot of texas and convicts are mutts as well. If a store says something is Trimac and it is not I'm not sure how the buyer has himself to blame.

 

[VRWC]

So your saying that flowerhorns have not effected my ability to get true trimacs?.

Thats exactly what Im saying. You can get them, without a doubt, just as easily as youve always been able to...online. I guess its just a matter of if you want to pay the extra $$$ for shipping or not.

But yes, they are just as easy to get as theyve always been.

And Dogofwar is correct that a lot of texas and convicts are mutts as well. If a store says something is Trimac and it is not I'm not sure how the buyer has himself to blame.

I agree that there are some stores that sell them like that, mostly chain stores, but not all.

Plus a large number of aquarium keepers do not use the internet for anything to do with there aquariums.

Are you kidding me? Thats a valid excuse to you? Well, thats their own problem and how they are to blame. Its that simple.

Do you buy a fish without first getting online and trying to see if what youre interested in is really what the LFS is saying it is? Probably not since youre here.

All Im saying is that if anyone buys anything these days without researching it online first, its their own fault if they get scammed.