Poll: Hybrid Fish

Would you keep a man made hybrid fish?

  • Sure.

    Votes: 48 40.0%

  • Never.

    Votes: 36 30.0%

  • As long as I know beforehand.

    Votes: 31 25.8%

  • I'd kill it.

    Votes: 5 4.2%
  • Total voters
    120
Thanks for clarifying mogurnda, I'm no biologist, so I'll make lots of slip ups on stuff like this since any knowledge I have is more peripheral.

We'll have to tiptoe around with posts like these, otherwise our favourite ferryman might catch us.:D
 
Another reason that many people have an issue with hybrids is that sometimes what occurs inside a glass box would never occur in nature. For example, fish species from different continents would never breed in the wild - obviously - but can and will in an aquarium.
 
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my trouphy fish speaks my beliefs (first listed fish)
 
I am only disgusted with the fact that it was being passed off as a real rainbowfish when there is no such thing as a "Marci".

IMHO that is not a rainbowfish and should never have been listed with a latin name as though it were.

Rainbowfish will interbreed, but they do not do so in the wild because most species do not exist in the same rivers/lakes/eustraries/whatever. Those that do keep to themselves and their own kind. Any crossbreeding that may have occurred to create new specie happened a long, long time ago.

Many rainbowfish are disapppearing from their habitats because of the introduction of non-native snakeheads, mosquitofish, and Tilapia cichlids. In some cases, the only survivors on a specie are those that are in captivity in aquaria.

IMHO keep the hybrids at home where they belong. Do not sell them to the public. Not only does it lessen the gene pool, but it will drive up the sales of the real rainbowfish.

And people wonder why I pay big bucks to buy my rainbowfish directly from reputable breeders. This is why.

More information:
Rainbowfish distribution:
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/21803/20040913/members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Intro.htm
Lake Wanam Project. The endangerment of Glossolepis wanamensis (Lake Wanam or Emerald Rainbowfish) and the disappearance of Chilatherina fasciata (Barred Rainbowfish).
Hybridisation of Rainbowfish:
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/21803/20040913/members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Hybrid.htm

Roan
 
happychem said:
Celura, I seldom disagree with you, but in this case, I do.

There's much evidence that a lot of evolution thus far has resulted from natural species crossing. I fail to see how it's cruel. If the species are compatible and choose to mate, it happens in the wild, I fail to see why it becomes cruel because they're living in a glass box.

While this may be less of an issue with fish, interspecies mixing is the best way to weed out species specific weaknesses. Pure bred is all well and good, but the idea that species purity gives the animal an advantage is crap.

I'm trying to think of a good example, but I don't want to open another can of worms, ahem.

Oh, dogs.

Golden retreivers, gorgeous creatures, extremely prone to canine hip displasia (I think that's what it's called, I'm no vet), bad hips in any case. Pure breds are highly susceptible to these species traits because both mother and father can carry the "weak hip gene". If a golden were crossed with another compatible dog, the progeny would be less likely to suffer from bad hips later in life.

If it is possible to produce a beautiful fish in captivity that is more resiliant, what's the harm. Certainly there's no objection to people who breed pure strains in captivity?
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You people need to learn what evolution is. Evolution is natural mutations within a species, the stronger surviving and breeding better than the weaker.

What you are talking about is cross species breeding. This is not evolution. Cross species breeding happens very little in the wild. Nature has safe guards to prevent this from happening. Most species cannot be interbred, they must be very closely related. Often the resulting offspring are weak and infertile. Mules and burrows are a result of horses and donkeys mating. They are infertile and cannot beed. the hybrid parrot cichlids that we are discussing cannot breed or can very seldom breed. Tigers and lions can be interbred by humans but in the wild this does not happen. Closely related species have different breeding seasons and different breeding behaviors. So species interbreeding is not a common occurance naturally. Its not evolution.

Dogs... different species of dogs were not crossed. All domesticated dogs are the same species. They are essentially a subspecies of wolf. They can all interbreed with eachother and with wolves and have fertile offspring.

What we are talking about here are two different things. Parrot cichlids were created by breeding two DIFFERENT species. Different kinds of dogs were created by taking some desireable traits and breeding them like we have done to create different kinds of platies. Neither of these are evolution. Often dogs bred for certain traits are weaker than before. Many fish that have been bred for certain traits are so inbred that they are hard to keep.

Either way both are man-made processes. Is it good or bad? Who knows.
 
I chose never....but that is to say I would never knowingly buy one. If I bought a fish and found out later that it was cross-bred then of course I would keep it and try to give it the best chance at a healthy life.

Also, I agree that if the fish was naturally cross-bred then I would not see the harm in buying the fish. My favorite example is the hybrid white bass; an off-shoot of a true striper and a white bass. I have caught these fish on many occasions and I can assure you that they are strong, healthy fish.
 
You people need to learn what evolution is. Evolution is natural mutations within a species, the stronger surviving and breeding better than the weaker.

What you are talking about is cross species breeding. This is not evolution. Cross species breeding happens very little in the wild.

Parrot cichlids were created by breeding two DIFFERENT species.
Click to expand...

Evolution by mutations within a species is one theory of how evolution works. There are two other main theories that are in contention with the idea of random mutations.

The definition of a species is that two different species cannot produce offspring with each other. A minority of scientists claim that creatures that can produce infertile offspring (I.E. Mules. Though there are two recorded cases of mules that did have descendents.) are the same species. It's not a black and white issue.

But as a rule, not an exception, two species can not interbreed to create offspring, or sexually viable offspring depending on which camp you are in.

post script: Why was this ancient thread of mine dug up?
 
Celura said:
I think it's cruel, and I don't like the practice.

I don't like that people play God and breed things that wouldn't occur in nature to amuse themselves.

I will never own a hybrid.
Click to expand...

have you ever heard of a mule???

i don like when people say they no what god thinks is right or wrong, in some ways genetic engenereing has the possibilites to save many lives, what has this got to do with the fish (like the glow-in-the-dark zebras)? funding, the places that do the reasearch into genes to find cures for cancer, parkensens, and diabetees need $$$ so they create these fish to help with that. also its probably better for someone to buy a 'manmade' fish than to take a natural one from the wild

the dyinghowever... is jus sick.... :sick:
 
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