I agree; no breeder today would cull a fish like that. That's my whole point. We value these freakish creations for some inexplicable reason.
My statement regarding the difficulty these fish have was based entirely upon the comments of those who have kept them. For example, @Magnus_Band said:
"His kok was so big it caused him allot of swimming/feeding/self injury problems. Least to say even with that ridiculously big head of his he still wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, can't remember how many times he'd given himself a new scar on his head."
I've heard other local guys say similar things. A LFS in town has, or at least had before the virus scare, a flowerhorn that sure can't swim the way it should, and only seems able to eat off the bottom in a vertical position. Does that sound like a fish that would be described as "normal"?
I did read that thread regarding hormones and nuchal humps. I then commented that, to me, there really isn't any difference between creating these things strictly through manipulating genetics versus simply maintaining them under conditions that allow their own biology to run amok without consequences. Large nuchal humps? Sure...but is that fish in Bane's post merely large? In my opinion, it is extreme, beyond the normal range...i.e. not normal or natural. And the initial question in the thread was asking for opinions.
What if a fish in nature developed a kok like Bane's fish? Would it get through a day without problems? Nope...
in my opinion...it wouldn't. But would that development happen? I doubt it; if hormonal swings caused the kok to begin to develop to that point...and if it then interfered with daily functions, stress and deconditioning would begin to take hold and hormonal secretion would change, allowing the kok to decrease in size. A self-regulating system to prevent the appearance of clumsy monsters.
Have you ever seen a deer with a monstrously heavy, unbalanced set of antlers? Probably not, because they are exceedingly rare, and tend not to survive, even though the growth occurs as a result of entirely natural processes. Want to see one? You need to go to a deer farm, where such un-naturally inefficient things are valued and nurtured and encouraged.
Don't like the 7-foot people idea? Okay, how about this: there are people in the world today who have not trimmed their finger- and toenails for years or decades, and have grown ridiculous twisted gnarled claws that are measured in feet rather than inches. Natural, you say? Well, yes...after all, our pre-human ancestors didn't get manis and pedis...but if they grew nails like that they wouldn't be able to walk, run, feed themselves or generally function. Of course, they wouldn't die as a result, because their nails would be naturally broken and worn down to usable...i.e.
normal...lengths. Today's weirdos can get away with it because of their environment...their
un-natural environment...which allows them to obtain food and to avoid becoming something else's food despite their self-induced handicap.
@RD , your interpretation...your
opinion...is entirely valid and meaningful...but it isn't the only one. I'm just presenting mine, as requested in the original post. I acknowledge that it's just
my opinion ...and worth exactly what you paid for it.
