Baby steps.
As I said before:
Instead of focusing on the classification and nomenclature, show classes, etc, etc. of flowerhorns and other hybrids, I suggest that the organization focus on development of "guidelines for responsible fishkeeping" that includes sections both acknowledging the existence of hybrids and line bred fish in the hobby (as "man made cichlids") and describing ways that both wild-type and man-made cichlid keepers can be responsible fishkeepers.
A step that needs to happen before any kind of hybrid/flowerhorn competition at a convention is for the ACA leadership to acknowledge that conservation isn't a "flowerhorn vs. non-flowerhorn" issue but a "responsible fishkeeping vs. irresponsible fishkeeping" issue....and that there is a place for "man made cichlids" (flowerhorns, line bred, etc.) in the hobby if, like wild-type fish, they're kept and distributed responsibly.
Without this preliminary step, it will be a disaster of mis-guided emotion, anger, and blame...at the flowerhorn folks who volunteer to step forward and bridge the gap...
