Nice fish... I was thinking about getting some but even Segrests wholesale price seemed abit steep...lol. I have seen some Albino Firemouths in asia and would love to get my hands on them. Good luck with the fish and please update as they develop.
Today in the Fishroom ~ Albino heckelii
- Thread starter Aquamojo
- Start date
It all comes down to what people want and are willing to pay. I had someone offer me $1500 for my Thai Silk. I thought he was joking and laughed. He didn't. I think you are minimizing it by alluding to it being (or at least entirely) what the "cool kids" have. It's new and shiny. Some people just want what they want.
Segrest does get fish from Asia. I don't know about "most"...they import from 30 countries...60% are imports. And they DO breed fish...lots of fish as a matter of fact. 40% of their stock is farm raised. Some photos below. They have a couple enormous buildings with 300 gallon burial vaults with fish. I don't know exact numbers....but 100's...NUMEROUS ponds where fish are bred.
I think you were referring to them developing new or line breeding. They don't do that.
It's all good. Whatever keeps the hobby interesting....fish or conversation.
Me, I think it is indeed all about what the cool kids have, and prices such as what we are seeing listed for these is IMHO indeed stupid. And for now, I'm guessing that not a whole lot of these fish have been sold at $240 a piece.
Online prices from various vendors seem to be about hallf that. I believe Bluegrass aquatics had or has them for $120 a piece, which is still insane IMO. Once they are bred & circulated here in North America by hobbyists prices will of course plummet. And Mo, me minimizing them would have been more like me jumping in here and stating that they were butt ugly, which again, is just MHO but they are butt ugly, and I would never have them taking up space in one of my tanks even if offered for free. But don't take it personal amigo, that's just me. I find most albino fish to be drab and ugly, sometihng about pink eyes freaks me out. I didn't say that right out of the gate as I didn't want to offend you or anyone else who may already own some.
And yes, I was referring to the line bred, inbred, and/or hybrid CA/SA and some African cichlids, which for the most part do typically all originate from Asia. Looking back at what I posted I should have been more clear. Thanks for the pics!
Eye of the beholder. I'll agree to disagree on "cool kids". Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Someone pointed out that they are likely only sending out males. No doubt to forgo the inevitable breeding and distribution. Neil...do you remember the "Barred Citrinellum" craze over a decade ago?
Hey even I can understand how some people might find the beauty in an albino. I didn't mean for my comment to come off as though only cool kid wannabes would be interested in these fish. Sorry if it came off that way, Mo et al. And yes, I remember most of the crazes & fads over the years, including when hot pants were first considered hot.
I was wondering about the "only males" being sold. No surprise there I guess.
BTW - the last albinos that I thought were cool was Johnny & Edger Winter.
I was wondering about the "only males" being sold. No surprise there I guess.
BTW - the last albinos that I thought were cool was Johnny & Edger Winter.
BTW - if these fish are indeed pure A. heckelli, how hard would it be to breed father back to daughters, and then start a breeding project from there? I'm certainly no geneticist, but wouldn't the albino gene start expressing itself in at least some of the offspring in only a generation or two?
Now if the males being exported from Asia all shoot blanks, then that could explain a few things as well.
Just thinking out loud .....
Now if the males being exported from Asia all shoot blanks, then that could explain a few things as well.
Just thinking out loud .....
And yes, I remember most of the crazes & fads over the years, including when hot pants were first considered hot.
I was wondering about the "only males" being sold. No surprise there I guess.
BTW - the last albinos that I thought were cool was Johnny & Edger Winter.
Ahhh, hotpants. Little did we know that Yoga pants would make them look like a robe.
The fads and crazes are one of the things that keep the hobby interesting. Heck, I can remember the list of fish that were available thirty years ago being a LOT smaller. The variety and choice available to hobbyists nowadays is amazing. Maybe it's overkill....I don't know. Just great to see the excitement....for whatever reason.
If they are true albino, you'd breed one to a regular heckelii and then breed one of those fry back to the albino parent. They should show up in that generation. Breeding two albinos should give you all albino fry, unless they're like kribs where albino parents throw both normal and albino young.
I honestly don't know if they only release males anymore. I had both electric blue rams and acaras when they were just showing up in the market, and I ended up with a mix of both sexes. But as stated above, it's easy enough to get around that by line breeding them yourself.
I think they're nice, but no nicer than a regular heckelii. Especially if you can find one of the wild variants with nice deep orange/brown color on the body.
I honestly don't know if they only release males anymore. I had both electric blue rams and acaras when they were just showing up in the market, and I ended up with a mix of both sexes. But as stated above, it's easy enough to get around that by line breeding them yourself.
I think they're nice, but no nicer than a regular heckelii. Especially if you can find one of the wild variants with nice deep orange/brown color on the body.
