I have a strange question.....

[blueturq]

What if I used my 37 gallon (almost same dimensions as a 29 gal, except it has a little bit more height than a 29 gal) as a breeding tank for a pair of cichlids.

But I want to create a hybrid....

I would like to cross a female convict cichlid with a male of another cichlid (rather than a male convict), but I am not sure what else would do good in there, or let alone if it would crossbreed successfully with the convict

Any suggestions?

 

[adgolde]

im not sure if you can cross breed any species

 

[SnakeIce]

you are on your own on this one.

This idea has some pretty strong feelings mixed up in it. I for one could make some observations as to what might work but I'm not giveing that information out for this intended purpose.

 

[YoFishboy]

There are so many great cichlids out there already that hybridization is not really necessary. Hybrids tend to be less hardy and often boring. In fact, if you want to breed some cichlids, hook up with a local cichlid or fish club and get some stock of cichlids that are in danger of being lost in the wild. By breeding them instead, and keeping the species pure, you will be doing a great service to the hobby and you will enjoy watching more natural spawning behavior. Good luck!

 

[TONO]

I wouldn't do it.

 

[Aqualung]

How about trying to create a new color form of convicts, as opposed to some mutant species?

 

[SnakeIce]

yes convicts are easy to breed I bet you could develop a line of convicts that have great colors. I've seen some pretty drab convicts and some nice ones as well, getting a great line going might make them worth something.

 

[delmore]

You want to create hybrids? Not a good idea at all.

There are lots of color morphs of convicts -- pink, marble, yellow, etc. Cross breed those to explore genetics. Honduran red points should NOT be bred with convicts.

I would be very disappointed in you as an aquarist if you proposed breeding a convict with another species of cichlid. Reconsider.

 

[Harry Tolen]

Why does this subject keep coming up? The question has been answered repeatedly in this forum and others.

Serious hobbyists uniformly condemn the practice of hybridizing species. The resultant crosses pollute pure/wild bloodlines, are not genetically stable, and create inferior specimens that frequently get loose in the hobby and create havoc for serious breeders.

And let me pre-empt the usual (and always wrong) argument that hybridization is like crossing dog breeds. It is NOT. Dogs are all one species, and crossing them is like mixing up two different bloodlines of guppies. What results is still just a dog (or a guppy). When you mix two different fish species, the genetic dynamics are completely different and almost wholly negative in effect.

So please, no more hybridization threads.