Don't care really. Just don't sell them to public or if you do let whoever you sell/give them to know what they are.
Your Views On Hybrids?
- Thread starter Red Hump Ro
- Start date
Not my cup of tea.. but I don't begrudge people who like them. and pretty much as stated before.. the only issues I have with hybrids are the people who try to pawn them off as pure-bloods, or refuse to cull poorly bred fish. I think hybrids have their place in the hobby, but I also believe maintaining "pure-bloods" is more important. Selective breeding to maintain a species "ideal" and genetics is a far harder task then putting X species w/ Y species.. and getting Z species, imo. Evolution needs to be allowed, but to me thats breeding a hardier aquarium species.. not destroying the integrity of the species.
I hate it when people call making hybrids playing god. And keeping a fish in a glass box isnt natural so you think the very idea of fish keeping is wrong? I really dont like it when people breed 2 species together that are closely related, that ruins blood lines. The way the people who think hybridization is playing god wouldnt you think selective breeding is the same. You're trying to get the traits you want.
I like hybrids but respect the fact that some don't like them. It's a personal opinion. Some people can really get defensive over hybrids but everyone is different. I have hybrids, a blood parrot, a flower horn, a jellybean parrot and a con mixed with something so I obviously like them. I personally love them. However, dyed fish, NO. Taking their slime coat off and dying them is cruel.
Red Hump Ro;4232598; said:Just want to see people's opinion on hybrids, my opinion is if its not natural its not right!!
What is "natural"? Is keeping any animal in captivity "natural"?
Fancy fish - different than what is found in nature - have been the focus of captive fishkeepers since, say, 200AD when people started to develop colored carp (koi).
Fancy fish - both hybrid and line bred - make up a big portion of fish kept in aquaria: fancy goldfish, fancy bettas, flowerhorns and parrots, fancy angels, long-finned fish, fancy livebearers, etc. Is keeping a long-finned betta wrong? It would get snatched up and eaten in a minute in its natural habitat...but it sure looks cool!
People get personal taste and ethics mixed up when discussing this topic. Just because one person likes classical music and another likes rock doesn't make rock music unethical...
Matt
PS The argument that hybrid fish are bad because irresponsible / unscrupulous people pass of hybrids as "pure" fish has nothing to do with hybrid fish and everything to do with irresponsible / unscrupulous people. Do you think that a person who's willing to sell small flowerhorns as something that they're not would hesitate for a moment to sell tank raised "pure" cichlids as wild? Or small cichlids of a common species as a rarer one?
Since when are hybrids not natural? There is cross-breeding in nature, besides hybrids need love, too.
Since when are hybrids not natural? There is cross-breeding in nature, besides hybrids need love, too.
