orange assorted african cichlids red zebras?

[AquariumNoob13]

With some you can tell they ARE NOT pure, but truly knowing if an individual IS pure cna be much harder. I see no point in worrying about it anyways. If they are healthy, beautiful mbunas then they are healthy, beautiful mbunas.

really? because some people have told me that chances of hybrids surviving as they get older are very slim, and i want a fish that has a normal life span of a pure bred. plus i mean when they have fry, pure breds are easier to sell/give away then hybrids right?

 

[Coler]

depends on the parentage and presence of birth defects, e.g. a hybrid of two pseudotropheus species or even pseodotropheus and another mbuna line if it does not have birth defects will have the usual life expectancy of an mbuna.

 

[reptileguy2727]

These species are VERY closely related. The explosive rate of speciation in Lake Malawi is one of the fastest in the world. Some believe that many of the wild fish in the lake are products of hydridization. Some of the species may be a product of hybridization in the past. Because of this recent speciation, the DNA does not vary enough between many of the species enough to cause the kinds of problems that hybridization can usually create.

 

[kay-bee]

Birth defects are more likely in overbred line-bred species than in mbuna hybrids.

I'm of the opinion that the diversity of mbuna (and other cichild types) in Lake Malawi are due more to localized specialization than hybridization; though, granted, they all share common ancestors (they are close enough related to hybridize after all, and not just mbuna x mbuna, but mbuna x peacock or mbuna x hap). Hybrids are also likely to to be outcompeted by established well-adapted species already in place.

Many species are found only in certain areas or particular collection points rather than throughout the entire Lake (which is why yellow lab/red zebra hybrids in the wild are practically non-existent, or that there are close to a dozen variants of frontosa, each found in particular areas of Lake Tanganyika and are distinguishable from each other).

In an aquarium setting the odds of a hybrid surviving is the same as any other fry in the tank surviving.

 

[AquariumNoob13]

alright. thanks for all that info! but what about selling the offspring? are hybrids easily enough distinguishable that i can tell buyers which is pure vs which is crossed? or will most people just not care? i mean if they have the same life expectancy since they are so closely related and everything. . . .

 

[ibr3ak]

You won't sell hybrids as easily (if at all) as pure breds for a few reasons, one of them being that because it comes from two different specie parents it's temperament and adult size could be unpredictable. And no not all hybrids are easily distinguishable.

 

[kay-bee]

To the hobbyist or african cichlid enthusiast, a hybrid is practically worthless: unpredictable behavior with high potential to foil any breeding plans in the tank (i.e. having socolofi/elongatus hybrids in the same tank with pure socolofi and elongatus will, by default, make any fry born in that tank suspect).

To the uninitiated novice, however, hybrids are just another pretty fish.

Highly recommended NOT to bred OR disseminate hybrid fry in any event as hybrids will only produce more hybrids (which really aren't need in the hobby).

In regards to most mbuna's in assorted tanks being hybrids, that all depends. Many LFS' use those tanks to consolidate mbuna's (they'll get auratus, kenyi, red zebras, ps. elongatus, acei, yellow labs, labeotropheus, and even venustus, etc, then lump them all in the same tank instead of setting up separate species tanks for them).

However if the LFS orders (or acquires) hybrid mbuna's, they'll also be added into the SAME tank. Some may be stocked with mostly hybrids (maybe the known species previously in the tank sold, and only hybrids remain for sale).

You have to know your fish and basically know what to look physically for. You want to select the fish that clearly looks like a red zebra than sort of looks like one (and "looks like one" means more than just 'being orange').

 

[AquariumNoob13]

well hey have red zebras in their own separate tanks from all the other fish. so i'm not concerned about getting hybrid zebras, just if the zebras breed with my socolofi or labs. . . and are snow white socolofi hybrid or just a mutated color socolofi?

 

[ibr3ak]

Snow whites is just another name for albinos.

 

[AquariumNoob13]

alright. so then it is just a mutation? and it all depends on what kind of collectors i get?