Wild Caught, F1, Why?

[Razor7Music]

Hey Folks

I've had several tanks over the years and have been sticking with cichlids lately.

I happen to like cyprichromis, but where I live are hard to come by locally, so I often order online.

There is one shop that says and charges for WC and F1's but another guy I buy from says they get their fish from the same breeder and they are tank, or farm raised.

So, I won't pay double for a WC or F1 because I don't breed and I don't care. I certainly won't pay the higher price if they're TR!

So that's the background to my questions, which are, 1) Why do you care if a fish is WC F1 or TR? What's the difference?

2) How can you tell/prove a fish is WC or TR, or can you?

I know occasionally, I will get a fish that has some kind of abnormality tht probably came from too much inbreeding, and it doesn't show up until the fish is older. Is that why WC and F1's are better?

Would really like to know.

Stephen

 

[Hendre]

I don't keep any cichlids, but generally wild caught fish can be quite varied from what other people have and very healthy, and sometimes more sensitive too in terms of water conditions.

F1 are usually popular because they are said to be hardier but with the colour and form of the wild caughts.

Just some thoughts

 

[duanes]

You can't tell by looking, but if the breeder is reputable, and well known as honest you may just have to take that persons word.
If you're are not breeding fish, its probably not important.
If you are breeding, with everyone and their sister creating hybrids these days, buying wild or F1 is really the only way to be sure you get what you actually want, if that matters to you.
I'd easily pay double for a true something, ratherthan take the chance later that it turned out to be some kind a mutt, and its fry would (to me) be then, worthless.

 

[dalto]

It is complicated.

I usually want WC or F1/F2 fish because I want fish that are similar to what is found in nature. As duanes pointed out, there are many hybrids out there unknowingly being sold as the original species. On top of that, some fish have changed with many generations of captive breeding. Lastly, some fish don't breed true even after only a few generations.

It gets tricky with African cichlids because many of the WC fish are being farm raised inside lake mbuna. Are those WC? I can't say they are not because they did come out of the lake but is that really different than raising them in a pond in florida?

 

[Razor7Music]

Yup, my understanding is these cyps are being raised on a farm in Florida and one LFS sells them as FR for one price, and one LFS sells them as WC or F1 for a completely different price. I've asked the one LFS that charges for WC and F1 to let me know when they have FR, and I never hear from them.

I understand the need for the real strain. I also understand the need for trust from the LFS.

Thanks all

 

[RD.]

What Duane said.





But just curious what you meant by the following, dalto?

It gets tricky with African cichlids because many of the WC fish are being farm raised inside lake mbuna

 

[dalto]

But just curious what you meant by the following, dalto?

"Lake mbuna". Awesome. I probably shouldn't post while I am at work.

Anyway, there are farming operations at the edges of the rift lakes.

I am not sure what percentage of WC imported african cichlids come from these operations but they definitely exist. I saw pictures of one of few years ago from someone who had gone on a collecting trip.

 

[RD.]

There have been breeders along the shores of Lake Tanganyika for many years. (Toby Veill et al) Never used to be at Malawi, at least not while Stuart Grant was alive, but I suppose that could have changed as well. But on the Rift Lakes wild generally refers to sexually mature adults, so certainly most would be collected from the wild. Far cheaper than raising them out in numbers, except for maybe the species that are most difficult to collect. (due to depth, or location)

 

[MrsE88]

I only have one wc cichlid. To me the color quality in wc is a lot better. The place I'm getting most of my fish now tries to buy as many wild caught fish as possible over tank bred.
I hear a lot on here that wc are more aggressive. I'm not really sure how true that is. My male is aggressive, but not really as aggressive as my female that was cb.
I can't speak to f1 being anything special. I would guess buying an f1 in a sensitive species would be beneficial though.

 

[RD.]

A tank bred, line bred strain, will usually be more colorful than WC specimens. It only makes sense as why that would be. The color in domestic fish has been fixed by selective breeding over many generations. Obviously color quality can vary from fish room to fish room, or breeder to breeder.