I hate killing babies :(

[RyJ]

I woke up this morning to a little surprise. My female Dempsy had laid hundreds of eggs on one of the larger rocks in my 100 gal cichlid tank. Unfortunately...the father is my male Pink Convict. *Sigh* Good thing the eggs werent hatched...because I would have had a more difficult time killing them if they were cute lil fry.

To anyone else who may experience fish that cross-breed....PLEASE dont allow any of the young to survive. Allowing fish (especially easy-to-breed Central American Cichlids) to cross-breed will only pollute strains of fish and cause problems for everyone....especially if you plan on giving the young away.

 

[WharfRat]

yeah case and point..the abonination Parrot Cichlid..that thing should be erradicated and whoever started it should be drawn and quartered

 

[Seaman]

thats the most ignorant thing i ever heard.....so should human babies that are African american and caucasian mix be stopped??? Or should what about mules.....they are GREAT in poor countries.....

think a little bit before you come to harsh conclusions....fish will do it on their own also.......if the conditions are right....case and point this thread.


I agree with the person who posted this thread, if it happened to me i would destroy the eggs....but in the case of the parrot cichlid...its a living species and hasnt caused any harm that any other aggressive non-native species would if introduced into non-natural waters. Get a clue.

 

[MoJo]

I have a clue...and I strongly agree with Finaddictfred. They are one of the worse things that ever happened to the hobby. Creating hybrid fish for the simple marketing benefit was and is irresponsible and stupid. Comparing the hybridization of fish to humans even dumber.

Hybridized fish have no value or place in the hobby. The little Frankenfish being discussed here should be the posterchild (fish) for what shouldn't be done in water.

 

[kikuchiyo]

Yeah, people are all homo sapiens. That's not a hybrid. You're right, mules have a physical use, though they're still not encouraged. When a Kirin cichlid drags a hundred pounds of stuff, perhap I'll change my mind.

As for hybridizing fish, I'm a little less hardcore about it, as hybridization is something a natural occurence (Darwin talks about it in origins of species - he believed Canis Familaris (or Canis Lupis Familaris) is a hybrid of early dog species) and can often be helpful to the species (many plants, for example), but a sterile hybrid with physical problems is not my idea of quality fish. One can't sell dozens bizarre of cichlid young anyway. There's a difference between letting a few Swordtail/Platy fry survive in your own tank and trying to find a home for many large, bizarre cichlid hybrids whose behavior and needs one isn't entirely ready to explain (personally I would have fed them to something, but that's just me).

Plus, the fish look awful and these varieties are made by SE Asian breeders who don't say how they made them. It only encourages them in other rather underhanded practices (juicing, painting, etc).

 

[Juthunter28]

Wow i happen to be very fond of Parrots....they are really neat fish......all fish are fish......no matter what......whats the big deal if its aquarium fish that can give someone joy....listing to mojo say all that stuff is just wrong.....parrot cichlids are great fish....just because they are a hybrid doesnt mean you have to destroy them....and its not stupid comparing them to humans.....a fish is a life and is just as sad to me as losing a family member......think about it.....you say they are worthless....well then why do you keep that pond full of them if fish are worthless......all fish are hybrids.......all came from one species in the beginning and evolved by process of Natural Selection and survival of the fittest.....what you just sad mojo....is just plain wrong....

 

[ChicoRaton]

Juthunter....I...almost read...your...post but...it became....painful after.....2 lines.....

I agree with kikuchiyo. The results of this are unknown and might have some unpleasant consequences, but I would have fed them to my other fish. not a big deal though. You did the right thing.

 

[RyJ]

Fish do not cross in the wild. They only do so in capitivity. The reason my Dempsy and Convict spawned is because I don't have any other Dempsies or Convicts. The urge for them to reproduce is quite strong.

I reason I am against hybirds is because it can become quite frustrating. Let's just say that I allowed the eggs to hatch. The result would be fry that looked like both their mom and dad. Whoa....very neat. HOWEVER, let's just say that these fry grow up and a reproduce. The result would be fry that looked like ANY form between a Dempsy and Convict. Some may actually look EXACTLY like a Dempsy or Convict. So...just say you buy a fish @ your local fish store. It is a 'Convict' cichlid. It looks exactly like a Convict Cichlid...however, you don't know that this Convict has some Dempsy blood in it. You spawn this fish....and then its babies turn out all weird.... hmm. Do you consider this a good thing? I seriously don't. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though. ---but when you think about it, would YOU be upset if you bought a fish and it didn't turn out to be what you thought? I don't think it is fair for us to be determining how these fish reproduce - because they DO NOT cross breed in the while.

I don't know that much information on Parrot Fish. My LFS told me they weren't sterile. Is this true?

If a hybird won't cross breed with other fish to further pollute and change strains of fish...and if the hybird has no deformities which would cause the animal pain or immune system weakness.....then I don't have a problem with it. So, since I don't know enough about the Parrot Fish, I am on the fense about that issue.

 

[Seaman]

First off comparing them to humans is not stupid....its a great comparison....fish are all one type of animal, so are humans....then you have all the categories that are made of different looks, colors, features, habitats....SAME as people. Like what kikuchiyo said, many things are cross bread to have distinguishing charicteristics...ie dogs (hybrid for looks only), plants, insects, even chicken you eat at almost any fast food chain has been bread to be very disease resistant and very heavy with meat....just because you dont like it doenst mean its wrong...ya parrots may not be the prettiest fish....but the people who bread them that way did it for a reason.....if hybrid fish have no "value or place in the hobby" then why do you think people still buy them????? Because they HAVE a place and value in this hobby. So because i think your close minded does that mean you shouldnt exist....no...so just because you dont agree with it doesnt mean its wrong. Thats why i said get a clue.


give me one GOOD reason that they shouldnt be here.....and dont say because they were let loose in non-native areas and messed things up...because ANY non-native species can distroy eco-systems.

and dont think im a parrot fanatic anyway....i wouldnt own one i personally think they arent appealing...but im sure a lot of people do......


so lets say they found out how to alter a fish's color and looks by messing with its genes, its basically the same thing with out having to have another fish with the qualities that you are trying to mix....would that be wrong??? Then in the same case if they could genetically alter the genes in an unborn baby who has alopecia (no hair) and make it have hair....would that be wrong???? Its basically the same thing "messing with nature to get the results you want"

one more thing "because they DO NOT cross breed in the wild" actually this is incorrect....there was an article on yahoo, maybe a month ago, that was talking about some species of SW fish that are cross breading, i believe it was in the indian ocean, albeit they do look very similar, but it does happen.
ok im done.

 

[Oscar_Mania]

If you like blood parrots, keep blood parrots. Some purebred dogs are hybrids of two different breeds of dogs, such as the bull mastiff. Nobody's destroying them. If it was me, I would let some of the hybrid fish grow to adults just to see what they look like. I would not however sell them or give them away to people.