What is wrong with hybrid shrimp?

[jflng]

Don't worry I don't plan on mixing any.
I'm just curious. Humans hybridize plenty of animals. I don't hear any issues with a mule's existence (for example). I doubt any pure shrimp strains will be threatened with extinction.
So where is the argument I missed?

 

[Sorab]

A lot of the shrimp we keep are colour morphs or selectively bred so crossing them with related species can result in dull or wild type shrimp which do not look so good.

 

[ThePBM]

i don't think that's a possibility. what's more dull than a ghost shrimp? my point exactly.

 

[jflng]

Perhaps some will revert back to "wild type" colors." Some may produce offspring that are less than desirable, but this can't be the real concern. I have read comments where people seem to take offense at the thought of shrimp hybridization. It almost appears to be an ethical issue.
It is also my understanding that any shrimp under the same family name can interbreed. I doubt every shrimp on the market from the family Caridina derived from the same wild cousin.

 

[pixl8r]

The main reason why most shrimp breeders frown on the practice of creating 'mutt' shrimp is when they get sold as a specific breed. Unlike the designer dogs (labradoodle sp?), mutt shrimp confuse and anger people when they make a purchase and get something other than what they want.

This is even more important with the myriad of color morphs out there now.

If anyone wants to interbreed shrimp, and they never give, or sell any, that's fine by me.

 

[jflng]

So that is the main reason behind the debate? I completely understand the irritation from purchasing a "mutt" shrimp when expecting a pure breed.
But what if one wants a mutt shrimp. People buy mutt dogs all the time. Is it then wrong to sell them if you're honest with the buyer? I would think mixing shrimp would bring some new interesting specimens to the market. I would like to see pictures of some mutt shrimp if anyone has them available.
You did say this is the reason "most shrimp breeders" have problems creating mixed shrimp. Are there any other reasons?

BTW, I like your term "mutt shrimp." I vote that as their official name.

 

[Sploke]

You're also confusing terms here. When you mix dogs, its not hybridizing. All dogs are a single species, there are just different breeds. A hybrid is a cross-breeding of two different species.

 

[jflng]

You're also confusing terms here. When you mix dogs, its not hybridizing. All dogs are a single species, there are just different breeds. A hybrid is a cross-breeding of two different species.

Yes that is true, but my first example the mule is a hybrid. The dogs may not be the best example to use but it still helps the point.
Here are some more true hybrids:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrids

 

[feemia]

Here are some more true hybrids:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrids

Very interesting. I didn't know that the blood parrot cichlid was a hybrid. That could be used as an argument for or against hybridization, depending upon how you feel about blood parrots.

 

[jflng]

I remember there having been more than one definition for hybrid from my old biology classes, so I looked it up. Apparently mixed dogs are considered hybrids. This is a definition from Wiki:

In biology, the word hybrid has two meanings. The first meaning is the result of interbreeding between two animals or plants of different taxa. Hybrids between different species within the same genus are sometimes known as interspecific hybrids or crosses. Hybrids between different sub-species within a species are known as intra-specific hybrids. The cross-breeding of dogs is closest to the latter.

I also found that link interesting feemia. That's why I posted it here. We could use that whole page to debate hybridization; that is, if there even is a debate to begin with.
Lets not even get into the infamous beefalo and mermaid debates.