Convict and Firemouth just spawned (pictures)
- Thread starter Dekk
- Start date
Has anyone ever done a study (and could you point me to it if so) on the later lives of these "mixed African cichlids"? It is not unusual in nature for closely related species to be able to breed--think horses and donkeys--but the usual outcome is that the offspring are sterile (mules.) So perhaps the "o noez, do not give/sell these to anyone else, it will ruin the gene pool and corrupt the hobby" reactions might be a bit overzealous?
If someone finds these fish attractive, and I admit I am among that group, why should the owner not be able to dispose of them as he or she likes to a willing and fully informed buyer? So long, of course, as they are accurately described in terms of heritage and not misrepresented as purebreds.
/contrarian post for the day.
If someone finds these fish attractive, and I admit I am among that group, why should the owner not be able to dispose of them as he or she likes to a willing and fully informed buyer? So long, of course, as they are accurately described in terms of heritage and not misrepresented as purebreds.
/contrarian post for the day.
Has anyone ever done a study (and could you point me to it if so) on the later lives of these "mixed African cichlids"? It is not unusual in nature for closely related species to be able to breed--think horses and donkeys--but the usual outcome is that the offspring are sterile (mules.) So perhaps the "o noez, do not give/sell these to anyone else, it will ruin the gene pool and corrupt the hobby" reactions might be a bit overzealous?
If someone finds these fish attractive, and I admit I am among that group, why should the owner not be able to dispose of them as he or she likes to a willing and fully informed buyer? So long, of course, as they are accurately described in terms of heritage and not misrepresented as purebreds.
/contrarian post for the day.
fish especially don't follow the general "sterile hybrid" rule. also, the term "species" isn't always 100% accurate... it's just something humans made up because we like to classify things.
Lots of people like to keep bloodlines pure. one good reason is because more and more of these fish are becoming endangered in the wild. we tend to like to preserve animals that we destroy. Hybrids can mess this up by resembling a purebred fish, getting misplaced or mislabeled, and breeding the hybrid genes back into the pure gene pool. sometimes the different genes don't show up again until generations later, which would be too late to go back and relabel all of the fish lol. moral of the story: people are too stupid to do it without screwing something up.
it's a fun read if you look up some info on it. google is great for getting different opinions =)
livebearerfreak
you are hypnotized! LOL
It is one of those rules that humans made and animals figured made a nice guideline but didn't really need to be strictly followed. :rofl:
As far as I know, even land animals don't really follow it as closely as is commonly thought.
it was an example cited earlier of how fish were sometimes labeled and sold in stores. Not meant to describe your particular fish.I confess to massive ignorance on the entire subject of cichlids, origins thereof.
Hey, they're doing just great. Thanks for asking! Yea ive been slacking on the pictures lately, but I do have em in a new tank right now. Im uploading the pictures of the hybrids shortly
