black convict, bloodparrot crossbreed kind question

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raift

??
Oct 7, 2005
194
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51
new mexico
now i have an undyed blood parrot simular markings of a black convict and i have a few black convicts in the tank with it, one of the convicts has paired up with it. is this unusal and do they think they are a beeding pair? just curious. thank you for any thoughts
 

Flowerhorn916

AC Members
Dec 27, 2005
502
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37
Sacramento, Ca
They can probably breed, that would be very cool. Cichilds do this all the time.
 

SnakeIce

AC Members
May 4, 2002
1,855
134
66
North Ga, USA
Real Name
Frederick
sadly no. I hope you don't allow any of the cross species offspring live. There is far to much genetic trash from inbreeding within a species to start with crossing with others. I cirtainly hope this isn't encouraged.

Mojo has two fish that are not of the same species that breed regularly but he does not grow them out or give any of them away. He uses them for feeders for the normal fish he is raiseing.
 

Harry Tolen

Cichlid Fan
Aug 17, 2000
664
1
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Union, WA, USA
Crossbreeding is completely counterproductive. Flowerhorn916 doesn't seem to understand the genetic and aquacultural impact of the messes it creates, and never misses an opportunity to inappropriately encourage it, but if your fish do pair up, you should definitely not raise any of the fry, and ESPECIALLY not release them back into the hobby via some unsuspecting LFS.
 

beezer720

AC Members
Nov 11, 2005
60
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Detroit
Why can someone not do what they will with their fish which they have purchased and therefore own, and spend hundreds of dollars yearly to take care of. Sadly some of our fish, natural or hybrid, have better care than some children in america. If breeding happens and a person wishes to keep one or several of these, by all means they should. They can feed the rest to other fish. As for selling them to a LFS, that's another thing, which maybe should't be done. As for duping a LFS and not specifically telling them what they were; Harry you don't give our citizens any credit for having half of a brain, huh. And I'm sure you will be editing my post for speaking my mind, because obviously, this forum is governed like a fascist regime. PEOPLE DO WHAT YOU WILL WITH YOUR FISH!!! ACT MORALLY AND DO NOT DECEIVE OTHERS WITH YOUR "ABOMINATIONS", BUT IF YOU WISH TO ALLOW THESE FISH TO LIVE, FEEL FREE, ITS YOUR RIGHT, DO NOT LET ANY A**HOL*S TELL YOU YOU CAN'T.
 
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LarryB

AC Members
Dec 29, 2005
41
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Ok I was going to stay of this one but I cant. I have to agree with Harry on this, people should not encourage others to crossbreed. If you do it, thats one thing (wrong I feel), but to encourage others to do it is totally inappropriate. Besides why would you want to crossbreed when there are litteraly thousands of Natural (for lack of a better term) fish out there to keep. People should be trying to strengthen there bloodlines not destroy them by crossbreeding.

BTW, calling someone an ahole for stating there opinion is just plain childish.

Im not trying to offend anyone, just my two cents.
 

raift

??
Oct 7, 2005
194
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new mexico
ive no p[ans to cross-breed as a hobby but i do belive to let nature take its course i think the babies if they do breed wouldnt last long i agree moraliy your right about not breeding on purpose. and beezer720 im a republican also sorry probly shouldnt have said that
 

liv2padl

cichlidophile
Oct 30, 2005
2,686
0
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north carolina
the hybridization of fish, most notably cichlids, is largely confined to captive bred cichlids. Central American cichlasomines, Lake Malawi mbuna and Haplochromines or Lake Victoria cichlids will all readily crossbreed in the home aquarium if not provided with appropriate mates in captivity. hybrids appear to be very rare in the wild due to natural ecological barriers.

The accidental hybridization of cichlids is a common problem in the hobby and most responsible aquarists cull the fry or eggs. the creation of hybrids for profit, and their unscrupulous marketing as a 'new species' of cichlid is considered very poor husbandry and should not be condoned.

"Money" is more important than the fish's health. the immense pressure on marketers to create "something new" for consumer demand often results in cosmetic/surgical mutilation of fishes. The removal of the fishes fins or tail is not uncommon. from the minimal amount of scar tissue surrounding the removed appendage it must be assumed that this is undertaken when the fish are still developing (under 1 cm). This process must, by its nature, be devastating on the fishes health, and it is reasonable to assume that many fishes do not survive to adulthood. There is also an issue of "quality of life" to be considered - hybrid cichlids, such as the red blood parrot, have deformed jaws and swim bladder problems. Cichlids are reknowned for high intelligence and complex behavioural patterns, such that gross anatomical deformities, impinge on the normal behaviours of the fish.

Philosopical and ethical concerns. many hobbyists, me in included, dislike hybrids because their deliberate creation demonstrates a certain amount of arrogance -- the idea that we can improve upon natural beauty. there are currently over 1500 species of cichlids in the wild. this is a large amount of naturally occuring diversity and it seems unnecessary to create hybrids just because it can be done. this natural diversity is fundamental to the attraction most people have for the cichlid keeping hobby. the creation of designer "Franken-fish" detracts from the natural diversity present in this assemblage of fishes.

The diversity of cichlid species is such that identification is a fundamentally difficult thing at best, and to confuse the issue with fish that do not exist in the wild makes it a nearly impossible task.

Perhaps of most concern is the way hybrid cichlids like the flowerhorn or 'blood parrot' could be mistakenly identified as "pure" cichlid species. It is conceiveable that poor quality flowerhorns, could be mistaken for cichlids such as A. trimaculatus or A. citrinellus and bred back with the original species. this has already occured in cichlids such as Vieja synspilus, V. maculicauda and V. bimaculatus, and this only due to accidental hybridization by hobbyists. with the deliberate large scale production of hundreds of thousands of hybrids, the risk to the hobby is increased many times over. In Australia at present it is very difficult to find good "pure" strains of the Vieja species mentioned above or "pure" discus species such as the brown discus.

reintroduction of cichlids in the hobby into natural settings can become a problem. it already is in Florida. with the threat to many ecosystems globally, the cichlid hobby may provide future sources of endangered fish for re-introduction into the wild. It is therefore important that all cichlid keepers are aware that the fish we maintain in our aquaria are potentially endangered in the wild, due to a variety of factors eg: competition from other species such as the Nile Perch and urban development. In this awareness it is important to strive - wherever possible, to maintain cichlids in our aquariums as they exist in the wild.

Specimen firehorns are created by hybridizing certain cichlid species and culling heavily to leave only those fish with a certain appearance. These resulting fish, although they may be fertile, do not represent genetically stable bloodlines and, when bred to each other, wind up generating a random hodge-podge of mongrel fish which may or may not display the characteristics of their parents, but are almost certain to suffer from various maladies and as a result die at an earlier age.

So why do people keep producing hybrid fish? A one word answer applies here: marketing.

In summary:

1. the demand for "new" and "different" breeds of hybrids such as the flowerhorn and the "blood parrot" has lead to a number of cruel practices including tattooing of fish, removal of tails or eyes, intentional damage to the spine and dying.

2. hybrid fish make identification of similar cichlids difficult.

3. hybrid cichlids have the potential to be acidentally bred with "pure" species lines.

4. the cichlid keeping hobby has responsibilities to the fish it is dedicated to, in ecological terms. although not currently standard practice, pure species may, in the future, be required for re-introduction to habitats currently under threat from urban development.

5. some hybrid fish exhibit particularly deformed anatomical features which lead to troubles feeding, swimming and undertaking behaviour normal to these fishes. this is of considerable moral and ethical concern.

what should you do to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem? JUST SAY NO to hybridization by not buying such fish
 
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