This thread is hilarious. Some of the purists and hybrid lovers and the inbetween are just so ignorant to the subject. I am not going to claim im some expert on hybridization because i am not. Some people on both sides of the argument do have some good points. IMO people who hybridize with a goal in mind dont hurt the fish hobby at all. I think the main problem is the ignorant of the purists and hybrid breeders. A purist who is new to the midas complex could think a midas and a red devil is the same thing and breed them and sell them as one or the other. Someone intentionally breeds hybrids such as Flowerhorns could be new to the breeding aspect of the hobby and sells all his fry when you should end up cullinng 80 to 90 percent of the fry. Then some greedy person knows that he can make more money selling it as a trimac than a low grade flowerhorns. There hundred of different ways these types of situations could play out. I think education is the key to solve this mess.
What are your opinions about hybrid cichlids?
- Thread starter ParachromisPower
- Start date
what hobby? Oh it's good for the FH hobby.
FHs are some of the coolest fish there is. Dont hate. Dont hate..
you keep them how you like. Aint no FH keeper cared to find the time to hate like the pure keepers. Right Right? lol. Fools.
That people want "pure" fish or ornamental fish (whether hybrids, line bred or a combination) isn't the issue.
There will always be a demand for verifiably "pure" fish as well as the latest variety of fancy guppy/betta/swordtail/discus/flowerhorn, etc. Different people like different fish. It's all good.
The issue is that there are so many unlabeled or mis-labeled fish on the market....both "pure" and otherwise.
While this isn't anything new, I think the Internet (and the number of "What am I?" threads) really has brought a lot of attention to the problem. In the past (pre-Internet) people would have likely just decided for themselves ("It looks like X species on page 843 of the Axelrod Atlas...") and moved ahead with their breeding project. Today, the unlucky customers of someone who did that can now learn pretty quickly - through sites like this one - that they've been duped.
There have always been charlatans, thieves and stupid, irresponsible people in the pet trade (as well as great folks). It's kind of the nature of the industry. If you're really set on purchasing "pure" fish (i.e. those with provenance to the wild), you've got to ask a lot of questions. Unfortunately these are questions that most sellers - whether LFS or online - can't or won't answer.
If you really don't care about the provenance of the fish you're buying, it's much less difficult and the level of proof doesn't need to be as high.
Matt
There will always be a demand for verifiably "pure" fish as well as the latest variety of fancy guppy/betta/swordtail/discus/flowerhorn, etc. Different people like different fish. It's all good.
The issue is that there are so many unlabeled or mis-labeled fish on the market....both "pure" and otherwise.
While this isn't anything new, I think the Internet (and the number of "What am I?" threads) really has brought a lot of attention to the problem. In the past (pre-Internet) people would have likely just decided for themselves ("It looks like X species on page 843 of the Axelrod Atlas...") and moved ahead with their breeding project. Today, the unlucky customers of someone who did that can now learn pretty quickly - through sites like this one - that they've been duped.
There have always been charlatans, thieves and stupid, irresponsible people in the pet trade (as well as great folks). It's kind of the nature of the industry. If you're really set on purchasing "pure" fish (i.e. those with provenance to the wild), you've got to ask a lot of questions. Unfortunately these are questions that most sellers - whether LFS or online - can't or won't answer.
If you really don't care about the provenance of the fish you're buying, it's much less difficult and the level of proof doesn't need to be as high.
Matt
