W/c vs. Captive Bred
- Thread starter creepyoldguy
- Start date
Captive man, cheaper...and also not as sensitive as wilds might be. Also you know for sure the breeding background.
This is a question I've been discussing a lot lately after I had some bad luck with wild caught fish. I think in most cases, I'd prefer to have a nice F1 over wild caught.
aclockworkorange;4812997; said:
Thanks for the input. The reason I ask is due to the ray that I recently bought from my lfs. Some say its a nice motoro, while mostly others say a lower grade marble. I can't imagine for the size of the fish and the price that I paid, that it would be a captive bred.
At the same time, I know w/c sa/ca cichlids are more prized due to inbreeding and hybrides being so prevelant in the hobby and didn't know that if it held true to rays.
Last thing that I think would be a pro for a captive bred specimen is if the breeder had it eating different types of food.
Actually CB tend to cost more than WC based on size. I prefer WC but I like my new rays on the larger size. I have both in my system and I have run into similar problems between the two. CB is less risky but some of the harder to find species are not CB.
I like CB but WC i love. Bringing in NEW blood lines instead of keeping the same ones over and over. havent had any issue with my 2cb ray or my 4 wc rays... I DO love my cb hybrid tho(thx again Todd) but idk WC i think is where its at... but im def not against having or buying cb, as long as its a stunner haha
CB, I think it is more responsible to keep captive rays instead of pulling rays from the wild and shipping them in small boxs for long periods of time
But I also accept that wild rays are needed to keep fresh genes in the CB population and not everyone has access to locally bred rays
But I also accept that wild rays are needed to keep fresh genes in the CB population and not everyone has access to locally bred rays
Most of my collection is wild caught, some recent and some are WC that have been in captivity for years. If you buy from good importers that take care of the rays and make sure they are healthy WC is just as good as CB in my opinion. If you buy from the wrong importer it can be a nightmare.
After another generation or 2 CB rays will face 'boy in the bubble' syndrome. Wilds have stronger immune systems. The behavior of CB rays will start to change also. Selective breeding for looks instead of random breeding based on fitness will guarantee it.
The difference will become like the difference between a wolf and a poodle. You may not notice these differences yet, but it will definitely happen, as it has with all other long term captive bred fish species.
The difference will become like the difference between a wolf and a poodle. You may not notice these differences yet, but it will definitely happen, as it has with all other long term captive bred fish species.