interest in glowing cichlids

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
ok, here is something to think about that no one has brought up yet. you say that this would not be harmful to the fish but, while the process itself may not be, the results would be. cichlids communicate with each other using their colors. new world cichlids, for example, communicate with each other by lightening or darkening their colors. jack dempseys for example, will show very bright and dark colors when they're in attack/aggression mode and their colors will become very pale when they're showing submission to a more aggressive fish. if you have 2 male dempseys in the same tank, one will emerge as the dominant one and will show dark and bright colors most of the time while the other's colors will be very pale. now, if you were to take jack dempseys (again just using this species as an example) and modify them so that their colors glow all of the time, they will constantly be communicating that they're in attack mode. they will have no way of submitting to a larger, more aggressive fish and more than likely there will be a whole lot of "fights to the death". when you go to an lfs and look in a tank full of juvie cichlids, most of the time their colors are very pale because none of them are dominant in the tank and if so there is usually only one dominant one. if you make their colors glow, while they're in the lfs they will be constantly fighting because they will constantly e displaying to the others that they are in attack mode.

the only thing that you will create in doing this is cichlids with no way of communicating with each other. a human equivalent would be to create a race of people that all look like Scarlett Johannsen but are blind, deaf and mute.

just something to think about. :thumbsup:
 
All points aside I would pay 200% the normal cost for a fish that had the glowingness of a neon tetra and no fish were harmed to make it that way. Glowing blue motoros, discus, and arowanas would be hands down awsome.
 
That's a good point Jason I think that as long as the person buying the fish wich had been made to glow knew about this that something could be sorted out eg species tank or the correct combination. I think as long as it does no harm to the fish then its a good alternative to dying.
 
good point jason_s. cichlids already got enough to worry about without scrambled communication.
 
I'll leave out as much 'mumbo jumbo' as I can, because evidently giving your motivation as well as your doubts and human concerns is not enough, nor is a scientific explanation, to convince some of my motives... on the line of how bioluminescence affects the communication of cichlids, yes it could very well affect the communication. Now tell me,a s you're so worried about maintaining the fish's natural behaviors, WHAT THE %$&^ ARE THEY DOING IN A GLASS BOX. face it- no matter how large or well maintained a home aquarium may be, you are changing the fish's behavior and you simply don't notice because the fish adapt. Yes, it's crazy, but animals adapt to their situations. Of course, problems resulting in drastic changes would either be fixed in the lab, or the project would be scrapped. Oh, and the concept that the fish would always be fighting is incorrect, or at least supposed to be according to a colleague from the behavioral science department. The luminescence would result in a decrease in color based signal conveyance, not a sudden increase in aggression. To check this, just stick a waterproof lightbuld in your fishtank and see if your fish continually attack it.

also, to those who feel very strongly that no matter what, these fish should not go on the market, you may be in luck, as I have encountered some copyright, and more importantly, scientific issues. I will post a more detailed account when I ahve gathered more information.

okay, I guess I will respond directly to the claim about my motives once again

so...you all still do not know my true insidious motives perhaps when my plan is complete, the Empire will rule the galaxy. Up with Palpatine.

Is that what you expect from me if you keep saying, 'we still don't know WHY he's doing this' that i'll one day turn around, stop giving logical answers, and say, "you know what, you're right. I do suck, the entire field of genetics sucks, and it has never done anything good." Of course I want to recap my own money. I am not a martyr, I am a human, with a mind, comforts, motivations and ambitions. or should I sell all of my possessions and my house so that I can be absolutely certain that I am not motivated by profit.

It occurs to me that the user who has been posting some very lengthy messages about moral obligations and that it is wrong to change something with a 'soul', as well as continually going, "yeah, what's the REAL reason" despite any of my answers is simply dead set against any genetic experimentation of any kind, and will continue to say the same thing over and over until a definite outcome in his or her favor is acheived. Until some arguments are made based on a logical sequence of facts, rather than subjective personal morals, I can no longer respond to many attacks made on me. But it is a shame that any person would be so closed-minded as to oppose something continually without making any adjustments in their arguments simply because.
 
to be more clear- this does not make their colors glow in the normal pattern, but causes the fish to glow a different color in all areas. Thus resulting in a decrease of communication, if any change is present.
 
just a question, what colour will they glow, and is it possible for them to glow assorted colours?
 
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