I recently discovered fry in my Malawi tank, and now I've got 10-12 fry from my female P. acei 'msuli'. She mated with my male P. acei 'ngara' over a month ago, and I finally scooped all of the fry out of my main tank and got them into an in-tank breeder. I'm really surprised so many survived in my tank, being as there are 20 other fish in there. I'm very curious as to see how these hybrids will turn out as I've read that they might actually be P. acei 'itungi', a fish that apparently doesn't exist in the lake, even though it somehow got taxonomically classified. I'll post some blurry pictures up tomorrow, (Iphone camera haha).
Pseudotropheus acei 'ngara' x 'msuli' fry
- Thread starter COG Commando
- Start date
Not to be harsh, but the fish should either be kept by you or culled.
They should not be distributed as anything other than hybrid fry. Whole populations of stock within the community have been ruined by hybrids being passed off as something that they are not. For instance, many LFSs on the east coast are selling hybrids as Aristochromis chrystii. Another example is the Champsochromis spilorhynchus. Probably 90% of the time you see this uncommon fish, it is not pure.
This is very easy to prevent, but has potential to really do damage to the hobby for folks interested in keeping and breeding a certain fish. It's very frustrating as a hobbyist to buy a group of 1.5" fish, grow them out and find out that they are not what was represented when you purchased them six months ago. What do you do then? You had intended on breeding them, but now what? You've invested a significant chunk time and money for a group of 10 $10-$15 fish, only to find out that they are not the real thing.
For certain fish, like same-species mbuna from different collection points, it will be nearly impossible to tell the difference. Local fish stores will not be able to tell if you were to sell them the fry or trade the fry in for credit. It is the breeder's responsibility to do the responsible thing.
Not trying to lecture you, just putting it out there.
They should not be distributed as anything other than hybrid fry. Whole populations of stock within the community have been ruined by hybrids being passed off as something that they are not. For instance, many LFSs on the east coast are selling hybrids as Aristochromis chrystii. Another example is the Champsochromis spilorhynchus. Probably 90% of the time you see this uncommon fish, it is not pure.
This is very easy to prevent, but has potential to really do damage to the hobby for folks interested in keeping and breeding a certain fish. It's very frustrating as a hobbyist to buy a group of 1.5" fish, grow them out and find out that they are not what was represented when you purchased them six months ago. What do you do then? You had intended on breeding them, but now what? You've invested a significant chunk time and money for a group of 10 $10-$15 fish, only to find out that they are not the real thing.
For certain fish, like same-species mbuna from different collection points, it will be nearly impossible to tell the difference. Local fish stores will not be able to tell if you were to sell them the fry or trade the fry in for credit. It is the breeder's responsibility to do the responsible thing.
Not trying to lecture you, just putting it out there.
Yeah, I'm very well aware of this. I don't plan on distributing any of my fish, and if I did, I would make sure that the buyers know exactly what they're getting.
I have one that I kept from a batch of 10... Wanted to see what it looked like too... I donated the rest to a friend with a Nimbo tank for feeders... I've had her about a year now.. she looks like the Ngara, but with a yellow tint to her tail...
Was kinda hoping for the other way around... msuli with an all white tail... thought that would look pretty cool
anyways.... nothing real special... I'll go snap a pic and post it
EDIT: Here she is
Was kinda hoping for the other way around... msuli with an all white tail... thought that would look pretty cool
anyways.... nothing real special... I'll go snap a pic and post it
EDIT: Here she is