Grammodes common name suggestion

[Modest_Man]

well the common names are a little easier for the non biologist. but i have never heard a grammode called a mexican flag cichlid. i heard grammy or grammode. alot of people use the scientific names to show off. doesnt make a difference. proof is when you are maintaining a good aquarium. proper water parameters and giving a proper diet.

I'd like to disagree. How many people buy "red terrors" and end up with uros when they wanted festae? Hell, I've seen people confuse H. psitticus with blood parrots because they're both called parrots. Not to mention the green terror confusion going around lately (gold saum, silver saum, silber saum, rivulatus, etc).

Using just scientific names instead of common names would alleviate soooo many issues in fish keeping. I don't use scientific names to show off (I can't pronounce 95% of them anyways) I use them so people know exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[danny2875]

Good point there. Cause that has happened to me. I asked for red terror's and the LFS ordered some mayan cichlids.

 

[FSM]

I'd like to disagree. How many people buy "red terrors" and end up with uros when they wanted festae? Hell, I've seen people confuse H. psitticus with blood parrots because they're both called parrots. Not to mention the green terror confusion going around lately (gold saum, silver saum, silber saum, rivulatus, etc).

Using just scientific names instead of common names would alleviate soooo many issues in fish keeping. I don't use scientific names to show off (I can't pronounce 95% of them anyways) I use them so people know exactly what I'm talking about.

I was reading reviews about a cichlid book on amazon....half of them were negative, by people who were incapable of understanding scientific names, and the rest were positive.

 

[danny2875]

What book was this?

 

[WildCAught]

well the common names are a little easier for the non biologist. but i have never heard a grammode called a mexican flag cichlid. i heard grammy or grammode. alot of people use the scientific names to show off. doesnt make a difference. proof is when you are maintaining a good aquarium. proper water parameters and giving a proper diet.

I don't think it's showing off. Like we mentioned the cichlids that have had a stronger foothold in the hobby usually get called by their common names instead of their scientific, while the less available fish (hard to find at the average LFS) are referred to by their scientific name. This is particularly important because many less available fish have more than one common name or new names trying to gain a foothold. i recently saw Parachromis Loisellei at two LFS' in Socal that had them labeled as Black jaguar cichlid. I'm not sure how far that will get but it is obvious someone is trying to push that name, maybe a wholesaler trying to put a flashy name on a fish lacking one. if I were to say I just bought a Black jag and had no pic, i'm sure no one would know what i'm talking about... yet.

 

[Guapote]

I don't think it's showing off. Like we mentioned the cichlids that have had a stronger foothold in the hobby usually get called by their common names instead of their scientific, while the less available fish (hard to find at the average LFS) are referred to by their scientific name. This is particularly important because many less available fish have more than one common name or new names trying to gain a foothold. i recently saw Parachromis Loisellei at two LFS' in Socal that had them labeled as Black jaguar cichlid. I'm not sure how far that will get but it is obvious someone is trying to push that name, maybe a wholesaler trying to put a flashy name on a fish lacking one. if I were to say I just bought a Black jag and had no pic, i'm sure no one would know what i'm talking about... yet.

I agree with this entire post. Although I joke about it, I think it is better to use scientific names.

 

[fishfarm]

Using the latin is not showing off, it's showing you know what you are talking about. I hate comman names and never use them, a firemouth is a Thorichtyes meeki, JD a Rocia octofasiata. It's not that hard and there is never any confusion in what I sell to someone. Ken

 

[balton777]

Using the latin is not showing off, it's showing you know what you are talking about. I hate comman names and never use them, a firemouth is a Thorichtyes meeki, JD a Rocia octofasiata. It's not that hard and there is never any confusion in what I sell to someone. Ken

SHOWOFF!

lol j/k-I agree. Especially when buy and selling, it's the only way to go.

 

[cchhcc]

I kind of liked "Wolverine".................. until I heard FRUITYCAKES!!!!!!

I've got a great pair of Fruitycakes in the pond!

(Awesome!)

 

[dogofwar]

Ken's on the money. What so hard about "Grammodes".

It gets complicated when scientific names change and people continue with the prior scientific name, though (like "severum")

Using the latin is not showing off, it's showing you know what you are talking about. I hate comman names and never use them, a firemouth is a Thorichtyes meeki, JD a Rocia octofasiata. It's not that hard and there is never any confusion in what I sell to someone. Ken